Welcome! This is a studio course on programming for interactive and generative work. We start from scratch in JavaScript and p5.js, and move on to learn some basics in computer graphics, using machine learning models in interactive web-based apps, and how software is structured. No prior programming experience is expected.

This page summarizes format, outcomes, policies, grading, and the weekly schedule. The order and details of the sessions are subject to change. When in doubt, the official SFU outline and Canvas announcements win if they ever differ from a draft here.

• Class — A mix of live coding and studio time. Sessions are recorded and posted on this site.
• Prep — Some weeks have a short video or reading to do beforehand. These are posted with each week in the schedule. You should practice some of the programming concepts in advance. And watch the videos I send along.
• Environment — We will use VS Code (if you're comfortable with something else, go for it), a browser, and Git. You will post all work and assignments on Github.
• Expectations — plan roughly 5–7 hours/week beyond class for assignments and project work.
• Two weeks have no class. Sept 30 and Nov 11 are statutory holidays. Those weeks run as take-home modules: material to watch and something to make, no in-class session.

By the end of this course you should be able to:

• Read, write, and debug JavaScript from scratch.
• Build interactive, animated, and generative work with p5.js.
• Structure a software project using version control, sensible file organization, and documentation.
• Work with core computer graphics concepts: coordinate systems and transformations, raster and vector, and what the GPU does.
• Use machine learning models in the web
• Recognize and apply common software design patterns.
• Simulate motion, forces, and emergent behaviour.
• Scope, build, document, and exhibit an original project of your own definition.

• Textbook — none required. Everything we use is free and online. I will share teaching material for each class.
• p5.js reference — the primary reference for the course.
• The Coding Train — Daniel Shiffman's video courses, used for some prep material.
• The Nature of Code — free online, used late in the term.
• ml5.js — machine learning models for the browser.
• Environment — VS Code, a current browser, and a free GitHub account. We set all of this up in week 1.

Each week's recording and slides will be linked in the schedule table below as they go up.

These are roughly the distribution of grades. I will give plenty of extra grade as we move on. So don't stress too much.

You define one project early and build it through the term. You start thinking about it in week 1, discuss it in week 2, propose it in October, demo a running version in November, and exhibit it at the end of term. I know that people come in with different expertise. THE QUALITY OF YOUR FINAL PROJECT depends on where you start.

You choose the form and declare it in your proposal:

• An artifact / installation, with documentation and a video, or
• An artifact and a short paper in a conference format, if you are working toward a publication.

Either way I expect to see code in live

This syllabus is subject to change. But use it as where we I will post all changes. I will send announcements when assignments are out. And I will update this table regulrarly.

This course builds on versions of IAT 806 taught by SIAT colleagues before this offering, including Philippe Pasquier, Wolfgang Stuerzlinger, and on the open teaching materials of Daniel Shiffman (The Coding Train) and the Processing Foundation.