As I posted the other day, I have been spending some time playing around with dynamic drawing with the HTML5 Canvas element and EaselJS. I have put together quite a few examples and experiments and will be posting them (along with what I learned from them) over the next couple of weeks.
The first example I want to share is a simple one which I call “follow”. It basically uses EaselJS to create a snake like shape that follows you mouse. Here is a screen shot of a graphic I created with it:
One of the features of HTML5 that developers are most excited about is the Canvas element. The Canvas element essentials provides a bitmap canvas for dynamically rendering shapes and bitmap graphics. It is very similar to the Flash Player’s Bitmap and BitmapData classes.
However, working with the Canvas element can be difficult, especially if you need to manage, update and or / animate multiple shapes and bitmaps. Unlike the Flash Player, the Canvas element does not have a concept of a display list or individual items to render. Instead, it provides a single Canvas on which to draw, and it is up to the developer to determine what needs to be rendered and when.
As you have probably heard, Apple has updated the terms of their developer program license. In particular, section 3.3.1 has been revised and now allows developers to develop applications with a wider array of tools and technologies, including Flash CS5.
We have posted some more information on this on the Adobe Conversations blog. Speaking about the packager for iphone included in Flash CS5:
The feature is available for developers to use today in Flash Professional CS5, and we will now resume development work on this feature for future releases.
Well, as you may have noticed from my blog posts the past week or two, I have been playing around with Flash and Arduino. I have a ton of ideas and projects in mind, but wanted to start on something that wouldn’t be too overwhelming, and would give me a good opportunity to learn the basics. Well, I have finished my first project, and wanted to share it with everyone. It is a Flash / Arduino based speed detector with clients for Mac, Windows and Android based devices (via Adobe AIR 2.5 beta).
This is a ongoing post where I will post tips, tricks and gotchas that I learn while developing with Flash and the Arduino. I will update this from time to time with more information.
If your Flash / Arduino communication does not seem to be working, then make sure that you have set the BAUD rate to the same rate in both your Arduino code, and the configuration file for your Serial Proxy (such as TinkerProxy).
I have been working with integrating Flash and Arduino on a project lately, and really having a blast. It was pretty easy to get started, yet there is a ton of extensibility and flexibility.
Well, I don’t want to be the only one having this much fun, so I figured I would put together a quick contest. So, if you are interested in playing around with Flash and Arduino, then tell me why in the comment below. Let me know about what project you have in mind. Bonus points for creativity and visual aids.
In this post, I will show how to setup your development environment and started developing Flash projects that integrate with the Arduino electronic platform.
So, what is Arduino? From the website:
Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It’s intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments.
Basically, the Arduino can be a bridge from the computer to the physical world, allowing developers and artist to both read input from sensors, as well as output from the computer to the physical world.
If you follow me on twitter, then you have probably noticed that I have been learning about Flash, physical computing and electronics lately. I started out working with Phidgets, and have recently begun working with the Arduino (Ill write up Flash / Arduino getting started tutorial shortly). I am currently working on a project where I need to send data from Flash to the Arduino, and quickly discovered that it is not as easy as I thought it would be. In this post, I will show an example of how to send multibyte Numbers from ActionScript to Arduino.
I have just moved the as3corelib library over to GitHub (at the urging of Darron Schall). This should make the project a little easier to manage, and in particular, make it easier for developers to contribute patches, and for me to review and accept them.
All files, issues, source, and wiki pages have been moved from the old site to the new one. The old site is still up, but directs people to the new site, and will no longer be updated.
Phidgets are a set of devices and sensors that provide a simple way for developers to create applications that both send and receiving information from external sensors, motors and pretty much anything else you can hook up via electronics. They are similar to the open source Arduino electronic platform.
Im not going to do a big comparison between Arduino and Phidgets in this post. I plan to do that in another post (along with an Arduino / Flash hello world article). Suffice it to say though, that one of the major benefits of Phidgets, is that the Phidgets devices are a bit higher level, both on the hardware, and software side and thus can be a little easier for a developer new to electronics to get started with.
