An introduction to Processing

Processing is very similar to Arduino in the sense that it has a similar interface to the Arduino IDE. But Processing is used mainly to create graphical interfaces or to display data in real time, which is what we are going to be doing in this chapter. Let's get started.

The first thing you will have to do is to download and install the latest version of Processing from https://processing.org/download/.

Install it like you installed Arduino.

Open the application. The environment looks very similar to the Arduino IDE, right? This should make it easy for you to work with.

For a quick demo on what Processing can do, go to File | Example and, under Inputs, choose MouseXY (Mouse2D). Run the sketch and be amazed! Try some other examples, such as (Topics | Simulate | Flocking), to see what else can be achieved.

Now we are going to use this powerful software along with the Arduino and number touch pad to create a tic-tac-toe game.