Experiencing Networked Urban Mobilities by Malene Freudendal-Pedersen Katrine Hartmann-Petersen Emmy Laura Perez Fjalland

Author:Malene Freudendal-Pedersen,Katrine Hartmann-Petersen,Emmy Laura Perez Fjalland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)
Published: 2017-09-13T00:00:00+00:00

‘Code-Alongs,’ Coding, and Soundscape

The chapter draws on my research method of ‘code-alongs’: participation in coding sessions to learn how to code or contribute to civic hacking initiatives, during 2014 and 2015 in Dublin. The discussion focuses on an introductory workshop organized by Coding Grace (https://codinggrace.com/) on ‘Processing,’ a programming language for the visual arts, in which I participated as a programming beginner. At the workshop, I followed the tutor to write code to create canvases and simple shapes before adventuring into the visualization and animation of 2D and 3D objects.

These coding sessions, including the civic hacking events I attended, can be quiet. At the workshop, the tutor explained the way Processing works, reasons, and acts, and the participants replicated the tutor’s code as projected onto the screen at the front of the room. Particularly in the morning sessions, the delivery of these instructions dominated the space. While the tutor was experienced and confirmed with participants if his pace was appropriate, the responses were short. Instead, the prevailing sound coming from the participants was the typing at varying speeds for code writing and note taking. Participants did ask questions, but in a careful manner, fearful of disrupting other participants and the flow of tuition.

The tutor adopted live coding during the workshop, which created a mixture of wonder and fear. Participants were amazed when experiencing the immediate effect that these codes produced. But to live code well, the tutor had to have new lines of code keep appearing on the screen, while simultaneously providing enough context to understand and appreciate them (see Figure 16.1). He needed to explain the structure of the code, but more importantly the reasoning and appropriate amount of knowledge behind it, while avoiding delving in too deep to confuse tutees. The success of a living coding session also required considerable effort from the participants, because keeping up with the pace is no less a demanding task. Participants had to follow the code exactly as the tutor types on the screen and with a high degree of precision, otherwise they would be returned with nothing but error messages. Furthermore, neither the tutor nor the participants wanted the workshop to be a copy and paste exercise, and both aimed at becoming acquainted with the way in which this particular language reasons, acts, and often times confuses its users.

Figure 16.1 Live coding: writing and explaining code simultaneously

Source: Sung-Yueh Perng.

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