Lesson 4
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Hello Creative Objects

Using object-oriented programming for interactive graphical simulation. See tutorials at Skills Labs.

If you are new to programming, you may optionally elect to engage AI assistants. If that is of interest, check out the bonus Lesson 26 on using AI.

Lesson Table of Contents

Video

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Lesson outline

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Lesson 4: Skills Lab 2

Introducing custom objects for creative coding.

Objective

Apply object-oriented programming to create interactive graphical simulations through hands-on practice with custom objects.

Outline

This skills lab session uses a flipped classroom model where students work through Tutorial 3 at their own pace. Tutorial 3 ties together concepts from the first skills lab, exploring custom objects for creative coding.

Tutorial 3 focus

Complete Tutorial 3 which integrates foundational Python skills with creative coding techniques.

  • Object-oriented programming in the context of creative coding.
  • Creating and managing custom objects for visual elements.
  • Building interactive graphical simulations.
  • Connecting concepts from Skills Lab 1 with new techniques.
Flipped classroom approach

Students work independently with support channels available.

  • Work through tutorial materials at their own pace.
  • Access support through various help channels including peer review.
  • Receive assistance from instructors during lab time.
  • Practice using the Sketchingpy Online Sketchbook.

Take Aways

Object-oriented programming enables more sophisticated and maintainable interactive visualizations by organizing code into reusable custom objects.

Citations

[1] B. Adhikari, "Marey's train schedule," University of Missouri Saint Louis, 2021. Available: https://badriadhikari.github.io/data-viz-workshop-2021/minards/

[2] B. LeRoy, "Review of Tufte's The Visual Display of Quantitative Information," Carnegie Mellon University, 2018. Available: https://benjaminleroy.github.io/pages/blog/public/post/2018/05/16/review-of-tufte-s-the-visual-display-of-quantitative-information/

License

This lesson is part of Interactive Data Science and Visualization and is released under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 license.

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Written materials

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Reading

We will take a look at some of the ideas of Edward Tufte that continue to shape data visualization today. Please read this review of Tufte from LeRoy.

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Works cited

This is the works cited from the lecture. Note that additional sources may be used in exercises and other supporting documentation.