Write Code Like a Pro

CODERS ARE ROCK STARS

Coders are the people who are building the future. You can stake your own claim on the future by learning pro coding techniques. Take a look inside to figure out how and why coders think a bit differently, the basics of building a working application with a professional coding language, and how to test your app to make sure it works. Get a jump on your future as a rock-star coder today!

• See the big picture get a grip on how pro coders start and finish a project
• Know the code get your hands on a pro coding language and put it to work
• Make things happen create a working application you can share with friends

Sarah Guthals, Ph.D., has dedicated her life to coding education. She builds technology for kids to learn, create, and share safely online. She loves to help teachers demonstrate coding in the classroom, and she wishes she could teach her cats how to code!

Introduction xi

About This Book xi

Foolish Assumptions xii

Icons Used in This Book xii

Where to Go from Here xii

Chapter 1: Getting Started with Java and Processing 1

Getting Started with Processing 2

Save and Reopen Processing Programs 9

Chapter 2: Writing Your First Program 13

Getting to Know the Canvas 14

Calling Methods in Java 21

Creating Variables 23

Chapter 3: Drawing with Code 25

Drawing a Triangle 26

Drawing a Rectangle 30

Drawing a Quadrilateral 32

Drawing an Ellipse 34

Drawing an Arc 36

Creating a Unique Drawing 38

Chapter 4: Adding Color to the Canvas 39

Adding Color to Your Canvas 40

Learning about RGB Values 43

Adding Color to Shapes 45

Chapter 5: Coding Your First Animation 51

Learning about Methods 52

Writing Your First Two Methods 54

Writing Your First Two Original Methods 57

Adding Parameters to Your Method 63

Chapter 6: Allowing User Interaction 67

Moving with the Mouse 68

Interacting with Mouse Clicks 72

Making a Horizontal Slider 74

Working with Conditional Statements 75

Moving Shapes with the Keyboard 79

Chapter 7: Coding Your First Game 85

Creating a Scene 86

Adding a Character to Your Game 90

Adding Movement to Your Videogame 96

Updating the Background 99

Adding Gravity to Your Videogame 101

Making Lava Pits 104

Chapter 8: Making Artificial Intelligence 111

Adding an Enemy to Your Videogame 112

Making the Enemy Move 114

Creating Your Own Java Class 116

Creating a Second Java Class 123

Adding Health to Your Character 128

Giving Your Enemies Collision Detection 131

Chapter 9: Planning Your Ninja Bird Game 135

Making Sense of the Flappy Bird Code 138

Outlining Your Ninja Bird 140

Designing Your Java Classes 141

Chapter 10: Planning Your Ninja Bird Methods 147

Designing Your Setup Method 148

Designing Your Draw Method 151

Designing Your Collision Methods 156

Adding Helper Methods 159

Chapter 11: Coding the Ninja Bird Basics 165

Converting Comments to Code 166

Chapter 12: Coding the Final Ninja Bird Code 191

Adding Randomness to Your Pipes 192

Detecting Collision 194

Keeping Score in Your Game 201

Cleaning Up the Code 208