Processing-Austin

🌟Today marks the 15th year of @openprocessing 🌟 As I googled through its screenshots today, it is hard not to get emotional... 👇🧵 I had no idea I launched the OP in the same month as @Github. It was one of the only few code-sharing platforms online, with one big difference: It was all about @Processing. With 2-3 sketches uploaded per day, these tiny bits of codes would run like little magic exhibitions right in your browser (IE?)! You had to export your sketch as Java Applet, zip the folder and upload it. You could follow amazing artists like @flight404, @albagcorral, @fjenett, @golan, @mariuswatz, @DianaOnTheRoad share their sketches from all around the world. A few months in, it became (probably the very first) platform you could code online (in a plain textarea!) and run your sketch, thanks to @jeresig's @processingjs. Many teachers started using OP to teach creative coding (creative what??) to their students while sharing their syllabuses with us: You could follow them give assignments and see student sketches every week! First classes were from Berlin and Istanbul. As @p5xjs and other initiatives by @ProcessingOrg foundation kept breaking the barriers to code, they inspired the tagline still up on the OP homepage today: "Coding is beautiful". I couldn't hide my excitement when @bruces wrote about it at @Wired, and got even proudly scared when @kcimc installed his privacy rights project hidden behind OP sketches at an Apple store. I have seen users join from all ages. I watched my niece of 4yo get amused with the sketches of Richard Bourne, a senior user with 12k sketches on OP! 15 years, 370k users, 1.5m sketches, and half a generation later, the magic continues with the same creativity and curiosity! I am not much of an artist myself. But I am very honored to have played a part in this beautiful community to create art, exhibitions, NFTs, classes, workshops, and more. Thank you all for making @OpenProcessing happen! - Sinan (@msawired)