Proce55ing is a tool for learning basic concepts in interaction that will lead to expansion of media and future tools. The strength of Proce55ing as a tool for education lies in its simplicity, generality, and extensibility. Its simplicity makes it easy to use — making it possible to create basic interaction within a short time period. Its generality makes it an ideal tool for conveying many concepts: vector and raster drawing, procedural and object oriented programming, image processing, parameterized form, interaction with standard input devices and custom serial devices, 2D and 3D graphics. It is extensible in the sense that it may be used at multiple levels of difficulty and the basic software library may be extended in time as people develop and share their own functions.

Proce55ing is not a commercial production tool, but rather built specifically for learning and sketching. It may be downloaded from the internet and is free to use. Tools for sharing information and code will be available on the Proce55ing website in the near future.

Proce55ing is written in Java and enables the creation of Java Applications and Applets within a carefully designed set of constraints. It uses a 2D/3D Java rendering API that is a cross between postscript-style imaging in 2D and 3D rendering with OpenGL.

Proce55ing is currently used as an educational tool at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, Italy. It has been used to teach workshops at Hyperwerk in Basel and UIAH in Helsinki.

Ben Fry & Casey Reas