I want to put this into a book with expanded tutorials / examples!
http://www.shiffman.net/teaching/nature/
I've been saying that I'm going to do this for 2 years now and I've only drafted about 4 chapters. It's time for me to suck it up and finish the book by summer 2011. I would like to raise a little money to pay for illustration and design work, as well as some copy editing support. By doing this, I also create a mini-contract between me and you, and if I don't finish writing the book I'll just feel guilty about it all the time until I do.
Though I'm not yet sure what service I'll use, I'm planning on self-publishing the book and making it available in print and in digital form. I also expect that much of the book's content will be available on my web site for free. I'm guessing the book will be between 250 and 300 pages, $10 for an ebook, and $25 for a print copy (black and white).
Description:
Can we capture the unpredictable evolutionary and emergent properties of nature in software? Can understanding the mathematical principles behind our physical world world help us to create digital worlds? This book will focus on the programming strategies and techniques behind computer simulations of natural systems. We’ll explore topics ranging from basic mathematics and physics concepts to more advanced simulations of complex systems. Subjects covered will include forces, trigonometry, fractals, cellular automata, self-organization, and genetic algorithms. Examples will be demonstrated using Processing with a focus on object oriented programming.
Sort of a maybe Table of Contents:
I. Introduction II. Numbers! 1. Vectors and Motion 2. Forces 3. Oscillation 4. Physics libraries (box2d and toxiclibs) 5. Particle Systems 6. Steering behaviors and group behaviors 7. Cellular Automata 8. Fractals and L-Systems 9. Genetic Algorithms 10. Neural Networks
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- (72 days)