Compatibility Mode? How to help people coming from Py.Processing

[villares]

Hi, @hx2A

First I would like to express my feelings of joy for the existence of this work of yours, I hope many people may join you to help and make this something even more wonderful everyone can use.

Do you think we could have some kind of "Compatibility Mode" to help people migrate examples from Processing Python mode?

I have tons of examples and didactic materials with the the traditional Processing naming conventions like noFill() and mousePressed etc.

[hx2A]

@villares , thank you for your kind words! It makes me very happy to hear how py5 brings you joy. I do hope many join together to build a community of people who make this something even better. There's still a lot to be done, particularly around documentation and example code. You are welcome to join this emerging community!

Do you think we could have some kind of "Compatibility Mode" to help people migrate examples from Processing Python mode?

I have written code to covert Processing (Java) to py5 (Python), and used it for the example code you see on most pages in the reference documentation. It is not possible to do a perfect conversion but I could get it to work 90% of the time. I only had to use that once and I just manually fixed the errors. The basic idea behind that was to tokenize the code and then convert camel case to snake case. However, note that some Processing functions such as map and filter are called remap and apply_filter in py5 to avoid conflicts with Python builtins.

Converting processing.py code to py5 would be much easier because they both use python syntax already. My suggestion would be to use Python's tokenize library to tokenize processing.py code, and then read through the tokens to identify what needs to be changed. You can build a mapping of Processing names to py5 names using these data tables:

https://github.com/hx2A/py5generator/tree/main/py5_resources/data

I don't think a perfect translation will be possible but something that does 98% of the work is very achievable. Perhaps we could build a utility function and add it to py5_tools, so it becomes a part of the library? That would be a great contribution.

[hx2A]

You'll have to tell me more about these translation tools for Twitter. I'm not on Twitter now but am starting to believe I should be using it, if I can learn how to do so effectively. You make it sound like a worthwhile tool for communicating with people and not just a mechanism for people to spew bile.

I have a half-baked idea for the future of py5 that involves multiple (spoken) languages. I'll ask you more questions about it later!

[villares]

there is a translate button https://twitter.com/ryotakob/status/1406571432146997248

[hx2A]

@villares Hmmm, I don't see that translate button. Is this a browser extension you've added?

[villares]

No, I'm just using Chromium (Chrome without extra Google telemetry) and Firefox also works, a small "translate" blue link appears, but you have to click on the tweet l suppose (it enters a thread reading mode I guess).

[hx2A]

I see. It probably only appears for people who are logged in. In any case, I intend to make use of this feature when I join.

[villares]

Oh, you can make a class that implements callabe objects with __call__() that also have a __bool__(), it is doable :D

[villares]

Oh, don't bother with a converter for my stuff! Actually I have quite a few projects done in Processing Python mode, three years of daily sketches etc...

[hx2A]

Already done! I needed to invest time in translators anyway. Eventually I will need to convert imported mode <=> module mode.

[villares]

In my opinion, the grand strategy to bring everything to the global namespace, and maybe using import *, is to use run_sketch() or something to monkey patch, kind of "decorate" draw(), so it will update all the globals (like key, mouse_x, mouse_y & etc).

[hx2A]

Right. The latter is better.

Syntax errors are handled differently. In run_sketch.py the error message is horrific. This code:

rect(10))

Gives this error message:

 run_sketch /tmp/test.py 
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/jim/INSTALL/anaconda3/bin/run_sketch", line 8, in <module>
    sys.exit(main())
  File "/home/jim/INSTALL/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages/py5_tools/tools/run_sketch.py", line 34, in main
    imported.run_code(args.sketch_path, classpath=args.classpath)
  File "/home/jim/INSTALL/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages/py5_tools/imported.py", line 128, in run_code
    _run_sketch(sketch_path, classpath, exit_if_error)
  File "/home/jim/INSTALL/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/site-packages/py5_tools/imported.py", line 104, in _run_sketch
    sketch_ast = ast.parse(sketch_code, mode='exec')
  File "/home/jim/INSTALL/anaconda3/lib/python3.8/ast.py", line 47, in parse
    return compile(source, filename, mode, flags,
  File "<unknown>", line 3
    rect(10))
            ^
SyntaxError: unmatched ')'

Only the piece at the end is helpful.

[hx2A]

@tabreturn @villares I am pleased to say I have finished py5bot and have merged it into main. I'm very excited about this and can clearly see the value. Thanks again for the encouragement to work on this feature.

py5bot is a second Jupyter Notebook kernel that executes every cell as its own static mode py5 sketch. It supports the default and opengl renderers. In addition, the py5 kernel has a new IPython magic called %%py5bot that makes just that cell into a py5bot cell. I think that will be useful for learners moving from the py5bot kernel to the py5 kernel.

In addition, I reworked the code so that any error messages point to the line with the problem and there are no Python or Java stack traces showing py5's internal code. For example:

size(200, 200)
background(255, 0, 0)
rect("error")

gives this error:

py5 encountered an error in your code:
    1    
    2    background(255, 0, 0)
--> 3    rect("error")

TypeError: The parameter types (str) are invalid for method rect.
Your parameters must match one of the following signatures:
 * rect(a: float, b: float, c: float, d: float, /) -> None
 * rect(a: float, b: float, c: float, d: float, r: float, /) -> None
 * rect(a: float, b: float, c: float, d: float, tl: float, tr: float, br: float, bl: float, /) -> None

Once I got that working I applied what I learned to the run_sketch.py utility that @tabreturn used with Thonny. So that has the same clean and beginner appropriate error messages. Also, the other magics like %%py5draw have better error messages.

I have one OSX bug I want to fix and then I'll do a release, probably this weekend. I'll add py5bot to the py5examples repo so it is available via binder.

The py5bot kernel plus the settings/setup combo both make this an important release. I've also fixed various bugs and straightened out some things I wanted to fix before sharing it with more people.

I need to update the documentation to add these new features. After the release I'm going to fix bugs as they come in and focus much more on making progress with tutorials and how-to's documentation. I do have more ideas for new features, but I'll leave them alone for now.

Also I created a twitter account for py5 and myself and will start using both when I do the release. I'm new to twitter and don't really know how to use either effectively, so any pointers would be helpful.

[hx2A]

And I see py5bot doesn't work so well on Macs for the OpenGL renderers. I know what the problem is though. We'll see if I can fix it.

And referring back to your examples, the static sketches rect(10) and rect(10)) will now yield the following errors:

py5 encountered an error in your code:
    rect(10)

TypeError: The parameter types (int) are invalid for method rect.
Your parameters must match one of the following signatures:
 * rect(a: float, b: float, c: float, d: float, /) -> None
 * rect(a: float, b: float, c: float, d: float, r: float, /) -> None
 * rect(a: float, b: float, c: float, d: float, tl: float, tr: float, br: float, bl: float, /) -> None

There is a problem with your code:
SyntaxError: unmatched ')' (<py5bot>, line 1)
    rect(10))
            ^

[tabreturn]

Great work, @hx2A! I look forward to testing the new release. I'm keen to get involved in documentation, but this month is a bit manic for me. Please let us know your Twitter account (I don't personally have an account, but I follow users using RSS). @villares could probably give you some pointers.

[hx2A]

I'm keen to get involved in documentation, but this month is a bit manic for me

Same here. I'm also busy with a collaboration I'm doing with an artist for a commissioned work. I can't talk about the details but I am using py5 for it. This library is great for prototyping ideas.

I'm eager to work with you on the documentation when you are ready!

Great work, @hx2A! I look forward to testing the new release.

Thanks!

Today I discovered that py5bot doesn't work at all on OSX, but I figured out exactly why and I know how to fix it. I'm also now close to solving most of my OSX issues. OSX has been a thorn in my side for months. Rather than do a release this weekend I will finish off those problems so I don't have to think about it anymore.

I created py5coding for Twitter. I'll also have a personal Twitter account but haven't made up my mind what the handle will be.

[villares]

I haven't seen any examples on the notebook without the py5. prefix, so I think I missed this use, even the page you mentioned about the notebook 'magic' invocation has the prefix http://py5.ixora.io/reference/py5draw/
I'll have to find time to test things out! Thanks, and cheers, and try not to do too much!

[hx2A]

Hmmm, it is clear to me that the documentation needs work.

Module mode, class mode, and imported mode are all 3 ways of using py5. Everything you can do in one mode can be done in the other two, with some adjustments to the code. Any time you see code in module mode (with py5. prefixes) you can translate it to imported mode by erasing py5. everywhere.

I see how the reference documentation is not clear about this. I have an idea to present the example code in module mode and imported mode, with a toggle button to switch between the two. That way it will be more clear and the user an see whichever one is more convenient.

I just did the release, and of course found a small bug right after. :)

[tabreturn]

Fantastic project, @hx2A! And this is a great thread. I'll be keeping a close eye on py5, and I'll try to contribute where I can.

[tabreturn]

Sorry -- yeah, I deleted it to make a new topic: #19

[bryanidem]

Hi! Fantastic initiative! I'm new working on open source projects, but I'll do my best to collaborate in this project. :)

[hx2A]

Excellent! I'm looking forward to working with you.

Open source projects are an excellent opportunity to learn from others. You can interact with and learn from people who are outside the group of people you work with in a professional setting. I've learned a ton this way.

There is a code of conduct for this project and for most other open source projects. Open source works best when people create welcoming environments for others from different backgrounds or programming experiences to ask questions and to make contributions.