Exploratory Programming for the Arts and Humanities (Hardcover)

This book introduces programming to readers with a background in the arts and humanities; there are no prerequisites, and no knowledge of computation is assumed. In it, Nick Montfort reveals programming to be not merely a technical exercise within given constraints but a tool for sketching, brainstorming, and inquiring about important topics. He emphasizes programming's exploratory potential -- its facility to create new kinds of artworks and to probe data for new ideas.

The book is designed to be read alongside the computer, allowing readers to program while making their way through the chapters. It offers practical exercises in writing and modifying code, beginning on a small scale and increasing in substance. In some cases, a specification is given for a program, but the core activities are a series of "free projects," intentionally underspecified exercises that leave room for readers to determine their own direction and write different sorts of programs. Throughout the book, Montfort also considers how computation and programming are culturally situated -- how programming relates to the methods and questions of the arts and humanities. The book uses Python and Processing, both of which are free software, as the primary programming languages.

這本書介紹了程式設計給具有藝術和人文背景的讀者，不需要先備知識，也不需要對計算有任何了解。在這本書中，Nick Montfort揭示了程式設計不僅僅是在給定限制下的技術練習，而是一種用於勾勒、腦力激盪和探究重要主題的工具。他強調程式設計的探索潛力 - 它能夠創造新類型的藝術品並探索數據以獲得新的想法。

這本書設計成與電腦並行閱讀，讓讀者在閱讀章節的同時進行編程。它提供了實際的編寫和修改程式碼的練習，從小規模開始，逐漸增加內容。在某些情況下，會給出一個程式的規範，但核心活動是一系列「自由項目」，故意未明確指定的練習，讓讀者有機會確定自己的方向並編寫不同類型的程式。在整本書中，Montfort還考慮了計算和程式設計如何在文化上定位 - 程式設計如何與藝術和人文學科的方法和問題相關。本書使用Python和Processing作為主要的程式設計語言，這兩者都是免費軟體。