Linked List: July 6, 2008

Sunday, 6 July 2008

Big Contrarian 

Jack Shedd’s Big Contrarian has quickly turned into one of my very favorite weblogs. Good writing, interesting links, and an original, thoughtful design. Highly recommended.

ContextFree.js and Algorithm Ink: Making Art With Javascript 

Aza Raskin:

Computers programs lost something important when displaying a splash of color stopped being one line of code. As a kid, I remember being able to type “plot x,y” on the Apple II to throw up a phosphorescent splotch. When the simplicity of the one-line plotter went away, so did the delight at being so effortlessly generative — in a visual way — on the computer. ContextFree.js is a stab at making it easy again. It’s like a grown up version of Logo (or at least the Turtle Graphics part of Logo).

If you remember Logo, you know how cool this is. If you don’t, trust me, check this out. And as Ryan Singer points out, the UI that Raskin created for the Algorithm Ink “IDE” is quite clever, too. Plus, the whole thing is implemented using just JavaScript and the Canvas element.