Eat Sleep Code Repeat

The Udacity iOS Nanodegree course often asks questions to inspire additional exploration of tools such as Xcode. During the Intro to iOS App Development with Swift lesson, Udacity asked students, “How will you create image assets for your app? In other words, how can you generate 1x, 2x and 3x image assets automatically?” Since Udacity encourages blogging as a strategy for reinforcement and learning, I decided to go ahead and post my findings (and many, many more to come).

In order to save time creating vector images, Xcode 6 has support for creating vector images at build-time. In order to do this:

1. Create the vector image of your choice using vector-based software like Adobe Illustrator. This image has to be the 1x size that you expect to use for your app.

2. Export the vector image to a PDF.

3. Open up Xcode 6 and create an Image Assets (Images.xcassets) if you do not already have one. This file can be found in the Project navigator.

4. Create a "New Image Set.”

5. View the Attributes of the Image Set you just created and change the property "Scale Factors" to "Single Vector." Note: The Image Set will now show one "Universal" slot for a single image.

6. Drag your exported PDF into the "Universal All" slot in your Image Set / Assets.

7. Build and run your app.

Note: Although at build-time Xcode 6 will generate the additional necessary vector images for your apps, it does not store the images in your Image Set. However, this is a nice way to save space and stay organized since you would not have to manually create a new image for each sizing scale, especially if in the future Apple introduces 4x, 5x, etc.

Ta-da! Hopefully this is a helpful Xcode feature for some of you. If you are interested in reading about this process in detail, there are some great articles here:

Using Vector Images In Xcode 6

Today, I purchased a Novation Launchkey 61 from Guitar Center. When I opened it from the box, I eagerly wanted to get started using it. The keyboard comes with very simple instructions that direct the user to hop onto the www.novationmusic.com/register website. Following the given instructions will get you downloading the software you need for your computer, most notably, Ableton Live Lite 9. The keyboard comes with an Ableton Live Lite 9 registration key so that a separate software purchase is not necessary.

Protips: Are you going to Guitar Center to get a feel for the hardware in person? If you are deciding to make a purchase, be sure to do a price lookup on the Guitar Center official website first (http://www.guitarcenter.com/). Prices on the website are not always immediately reflected in-store. If there is a sale announced online, your local Guitar Center will likely honor that sale by doing a price match. I got lucky and purchased this keyboard for only $139.99 (original price $249.99).

Also, from one keyboard n00b to another, remember that you will need to also purchase a keyboard stand! Guitar Center has Proline Keyboard Stands immediately available, nothing too fancy is required here.

Troubles?

The Novation “Launch” products are pretty easy to setup. Once you have the software, it is basically plug-and-play. To setup, I watched the YouTube Novation Launchkey video that was suggested by the Novation website (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiRPuLlgIwc). However, I had some issues given my lack of experience using Ableton. When I matched my MIDI preferences, as demonstrated in the video, I was seeing lights but hearing no sound. I had confirmed my USB drivers were working, but to no avail. Even more confusing, when I looked closely at the MIDI Ports setup in the video, Track and Remote On/Off buttons were both set to “On” for both MIDI Port Inputs and no Outputs, as seen here:

It is possible that this is correct for some people and perhaps an older version of Ableton, but it did not work for me. Thus, I decided to share my own successful experience for anyone else looking for Launchkey setup guidance.

My specs:

Novation Launchkey 61 (but this could probably work with 49, 25)

Ableton Live 9

OS X Yosemite 10.10.3

Getting started.

1. Ensure that you have Ableton Live Lite 9 installed. Note: I will assume that this is completed. There are other software downloads suggested by Novation, but this is focused on setup for Ableton. 2. Open up Ableton Live Lite 9. 3. Configure Ableton Live Lite 9 by clicking on “Live” and then “Preferences.”

3a. Click on the MIDI / Sync tab on the left hand side.

3b. Under “Control Surface” select “Launchkey” from the dropdown. Note: This was confusing for me because there are references on the Novation website to the Launchkey 61 as “Launchkey MK2″ but that setting did not work for me.

3c. Under “Input” select “Launchkey 61 (Launchkey InControl).” Note: InControl refers to the series of buttons with less than and greater than symbols on the middle of your keyboard.

3d. Under “Output” select “Launchkey 61 (Launchkey InControl)” again.

3e. Configure the MIDI Ports, Track, and Remote to match “On” as follows:

4. Plug in the Novation Launchkey USB cable from the keyboard to your laptop. There should be lights that turn on, most notably the red “InControl” buttons. Note: If you have USB issues, search the Novation Answer Base (http://us.novationmusic.com/answerbase/search).

5. Watch this awesome video “Novation // How to produce and share a track in Ableton” and it will teach you all the basics you need to know to get started!

Completing that video is very rewarding, and I highly suggest watching the video a few times to ensure you comprehend the basic capabilities of your keyboard and Ableton.

I discovered that a co-worker of mine studied architecture for his undergraduate degree and that we share similar interests in art, so he lent me his drawing/architecture book titled, Drawing and Designing with Confidence: A Step-By-Step Guide. When I read the introduction, I realized that the general message could be applied to any discipline, such as programming, and I found it to be very encouraging and inspiring.

To illustrate this point, I took the original introduction and replaced words related to drawing with words related to programming. There are plenty of books about developing good programming skill, but I wanted to highlight the importance of developing a good programming attitude:

Loose vs Tight

What does it take to program and design well? Maybe one needs to be talented, but there is much more to it than that. Attitude plays a big part, along with confidence and a willingness to take risks.

A good attitude will help you in whatever you do. This means sharing with others, taking initiative, taking risks, being energetic, believing in and liking yourself, and listening to others. Having a good attitude will help you to loosen up and be receptive, instead of being tight and afraid to try.

Loose vs tight means a willingness to try instead of being afraid to start. A tight person is handicapped with fear and does not want to take risks or make mistakes. It is this fear that keeps a tight person from starting and just jumping into a program. Being loose has to do with attitude. It is hard to be loose without having confidence in your work and yourself. You must genuinely like what you do and convey that positive feeling to others. You are the only one who can keep yourself from programming well. One gifted with talent will not necessarily be successful without discipline. Also, people are not always born with talent; in fact, with hard work, any person can be talented.

When you program, go ahead and take risks. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Try to see a mistake as something positive. … Always have confidence in your work, and this will enable you to take criticism in a positive way. Know that criticism could lead to better ideas. Loose people don’t worry about what others think about their program, but they do listen to others to pick up ideas that are informative.

TL;DR

For those needing encouragement to program and reason to believe in their own potential to do so, consider and remember:

A good attitude will help you in whatever you do.

You must genuinely like what you do and convey that positive feeling to others.

You are the only one who can keep yourself from programming well.

One gifted with talent will not necessarily be successful without discipline.

People are not always born with talent; in fact, with hard work, any person can be talented.

Always have confidence in your work, and this will enable you to take criticism in a positive way.

There are those well-versed in programming and fixing errors within IDEs. Then, there are those desperately wiping sweat off their brow, throwing their hands in the air in frustration after hours of, "Why won't you work?!?!?1111" I encountered a NetBeans error mentioned in several other posts, similar to this one example here. However, I am updating the fix with this post since I struggled to find solutions for newbies using Netbeans 8.0.1 for MacBook. I was able to resolve the error by following these steps:

In NetBeans 8.0.1, select Netbeans > Preferences > Java > Ant

In the Properties section, add the following property:

libs.CopyLibs.classpath=pathtoyour_netbeans/java/ant/extra/org-netbeans-modules-java-j2seproject-copylibstask.jar

In my case, the path was specifically located here:

libs.CopyLibs.classpath=/Applications/NetBeans/NetBeans 8.0.1.app/Contents/Resources/NetBeans/java/ant/extra/org-netbeans-modules-java-j2seproject-copylibstask.jar

Apply and hit OK.

Build your project again. Perhaps also try to do a clean and build. Note: If the path does not work for you, you will need to manually locate your own class path.

Manually Locate Class Path

Go to Finder > Applications > NetBeans

Right click on the NetBeans application and click Show Package Contents

Click on Contents > Resources > NetBeans > java > ant > extra

If the file org-netbeans-modules-java-j2seproject-copylibstask.jar is NOT there, you will need to download it and move it to the extra folder.

A friend introduced me to an underground computer art subculture that produces real time executable videos (often referred to as demos) composed of purely programmed graphic animations and 8-bit music. This culture is collectively referred to as the demoscene and is made up of weeklong demo party competitions that first gained traction in Hungary. The catch? Traditional competitions often have a strict storage limitation of 64 kilobytes (KB).

The Moleman 2 demoscene documentary titled, The Art of the Algorithms (2012), conceptualized the significance of this storage limitation well. Consider that 64 KB is typically only enough space for about 4 seconds of average quality MP3 or about half a second of video – yet, these demos can run as long as 5 minutes.

Now, consider 64 KB again, and watch this popular example by Conspiracy titled, Chaos Theory. The sounds of synths coupled with drum and bass are particularly mesmerizing, guiding viewers through a sequence of mechanical chaos that could be easily mistaken for high definition*.

Or perhaps, if 64 KB did nothing for you, try this 4 KB demo by Rgba titled, Elevated:

Although at first glance these videos appear to be magic, the only magic wands demoscene wizards wield are tools such as C, byte code, hex editors, Trackers, Commodore 64s and Amigas, among other things. All of these tools may have a vague and perhaps boring familiarity to the modern programmer seeking to push the advancement of technology. However, the beauty of demoscenes surfaces a unique appreciation and perspective to technology that is often overlooked or forgotten:

Creativity is driven by limitation, not by limitlessness. Low-level programming (byte or machine code, etc) has less abstraction between the code and the machine, making it possible to create far more efficient code in terms of speed and memory. The programmer has greater control over the code, increasing the number of possible solutions for a single problem and creating a more open playground for developers in spite the 64 K limitation. In this sense, limitation forces programmers to explore solutions that otherwise would not have been practical to attempt.

Programmers are driven by intrinsic motivation. Majority of participants are self-taught. They compete with professional quality music and graphic production without expectation of a large monetary reward (if any). The demoscene is often driven by autonomy, mastery, and purpose, taking ownership of their own ideas and sharing simply to contribute to the excitement of the demoscene community.

Computer science is viewed as an art form. Programming is often dismissed purely as logic lacking the humanity that speaks from traditional art forms. However, people forget that computers and code themselves are human-made things that effectively serve as tools for creating just as equally as the traditional paintbrush. While the demoscene initially translated traditional art forms, such as drawings onto a screen, the alternate medium of code made room for other artistic expressions. Not simply just graphics, but art in the form of elegant and clean code, pixel art that forced imperfect color palettes, and demos that spoke like the haikus of video production.

Design is, above all else, the most important thing. Design is not only artistic, but it is extremely thoughtful. When there are limitations to how much a team can fit into a single executable file, there must be delicate consideration of all components. The code, the music, and the graphics must all be orchestrated to resonate in harmony and generate a message that the audience can connect with in some way. When resources are limited, very deliberate design decisions must be made in order to gain the most powerful and cohesive piece possible.