processing / processing/libprocessing

Python sketches are not Pythonic

Open
#230 2 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

Dominant language
Rust
Stars
69
Forks
14
Avg merge
15d 22h
Merged PRs (30d)
3

Description

Sorry for the vague title, feel free to update it.

Using https://github.com/processing/processing-examples-mewnala/blob/6e416d80852ee9e147b70ae93cbf8f6dda871ba3/Basics/Structure/Redraw/Redraw.py as an example, a mewnala sketch structure and common techniques has several issues that makes it less ideal as Python code:

  • Sharing state between frames requires the use of global
  • Even when wildcard import is removed, some variables are injected at the runtime and linters catch them as "undefined":
  • setup function is not meaningful, the same results can be achieved just without. Using setup to initialize variables etc. causes even more undefined issues because how scopes work in Python.

As an alternative, a class based approach can solve all these issues:

from mewnala import (
    Line,
    Sketch as BaseSketch,
)

class Sketch(BaseSketch):
    def __init__(self, width=640, height=480):
        super().__init__()

        self.width = width
        self.height = height

    def setup(self):
        self.size = (self.width, self.height)
        self.stroke = 255
        self.loop = False

        self.y = 180

    def draw(self):
        self.background = 0

        self.y -= 4
        if self.y < 0:
            self.y = self.height

        line = Line(0, self.y, self.width, self.y)
        line.draw()

    def mouse_pressed(self):
        self.redraw()


if __name__ == "__main__":
    sketch = Sketch(width=1920, height=1080)
    sketch.run()

No more magic imports, no more undefined variables, and now the sketch has a Python-native syntax feel much more natural comparing to the previous version.

I removed the setter function calls too, it's a Java-native pattern and feels weird with Python.

We can go one step further and eliminate the setup() What does it do for the sketch can be covered by __init__ in a class context.

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reading the linked Basics/Structure/Redraw/Redraw.py example and the referenced libprocessing issue #150. Compare the current sketch lifecycle with the proposed class-based approach, then clarify which API changes are in scope and how an updated example would demonstrate completion.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
developer-experience
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
38/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.