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Show HN: I Design with Code

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21–30 of 39 posts

Re: Show HN: I Design with Code

#22
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm guessing you aren't a programmer then?

You don't have to be a non-programmer to want less code. Some things are much better represented with visual models than text streams.

How about code that's closer to NLP?

Using my Powershell module, this creates a Powershell module that loads a Powershell Filter that does FizzBuzz:

New-Module FizzBuzz.ps1 (New-Function Filter-FizzBuzz (New-FunctionStatement If -not _ Modulus 15 'return "FizzBuzz"' (New-FunctionStatement ElseIf -not _ Modulus 5 'return "Fizz"' (New-FunctionStatement ElseIf -not _ Modulus 3 'return "Buzz"' 'return $_' ) ) ) -Filter)

And that command's output: https://github.com/Gilgamech/Main/blob/master/FizzBuzz.ps1

Re: Show HN: I Design with Code

#24
post #12
post #9

I was curious as to how this was done, so I took a look at the external JS that CodePen was configured to load. He's using GreenSock[1], which looks like a really cool tool for building rich interactions and animations with SVG+JS in the browser. 1: https://greensock.com/

It is. But it's never got much love outside of Advertising/Marketing circles (was originally a animation toolkit for Flash, now JS) because it was closed source and pay-to-use. It (probably) is the best animation library out there.

With over 1.6 million sites using GreenSock (and growing fast), I'd say it's gotten plenty of love outside Advertising/Marketing circles ;)

It's widely seen as the go-to animation library on the web...period. Most award-winning sites use it. Chris Gannon is clearly a magician with it. Love his work.

As for the licensing, the codebase is on github and it's free to use in the vast majority of use cases including most commercial ones. See http://greensock.com/why-license/ to understand the "why" behind the model. Hopefully you'll see how it can actually be a very good thing for the community (as evidenced by the decade-plus track record and ongoing updates). But I realize it's not for everyone and that's okay. There are some misunderstandings out there about the license, so I hope folks will take a moment to read that article I mentioned above.

Happy tweening!

Re: Show HN: I Design with Code

#25

I would like to see less code and more of everything else. This is funny though :-)

I'm genuinely surprised the kind of reaction this comment is getting. There wouldn't be a design if it wasn't for actual programming. The vector graphics you see are mathematical models which are 'coded' in a script or a programming language and animated with the help of... again... programming. I understand the concept of less code and more stuff, but the fact that people are saying programming is not for designing…

I'm fairly shocked too. I appreciate that lots of people don't understand this way of creating stuff but to suggest that programming and design are two separate entities is to deny an exciting approach to design in general.

Re: Show HN: I Design with Code

#26

I would like to see less code and more of everything else. This is funny though :-)

I'm genuinely surprised the kind of reaction this comment is getting. There wouldn't be a design if it wasn't for actual programming. The vector graphics you see are mathematical models which are 'coded' in a script or a programming language and animated with the help of... again... programming. I understand the concept of less code and more stuff, but the fact that people are saying programming is not for designing…

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: I Design with Code

#28
post #12
post #9

I was curious as to how this was done, so I took a look at the external JS that CodePen was configured to load. He's using GreenSock[1], which looks like a really cool tool for building rich interactions and animations with SVG+JS in the browser. 1: https://greensock.com/

It is. But it's never got much love outside of Advertising/Marketing circles (was originally a animation toolkit for Flash, now JS) because it was closed source and pay-to-use. It (probably) is the best animation library out there.

Yes it is the best library by a mile and it has got lots of love in the dev/des community. A well maintained, paid library is preferable to a neglected open source library.

Re: Show HN: I Design with Code

#29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Code is perfectly suited to design. What is design if nothing other than patterns. What's code? Patterns.

Different kind of patterns. Design is about visual abstractions; code is more about textual and conceptual abstractions. The design space of a visual medium tends to be much easier to explore... visually. (Also consider that a typical way of developing a website or application UI involves everything from drawing on paper through painting in Photoshop through building mockups in a graphics-oriented design package.)

I think at times we get too caught up in the visual components. Visuals like sketches and mockups and even code-less prototypes are perhaps best for communicating concepts, which is a part of design. But there's also the part of design that's less about communicating designs and more about applying the concept and designing a way that it can be created and engineered. That's where designing with code is extremely helpful.

So yeah, if I'm exploring or communicating ideas to non-technical people then yeah maybe code is less appropriate, but to say that you shouldn't design with code is ignoring a huge part of the design process.

Re: Show HN: I Design with Code

#30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. "I design with code" sounds a bit like "I clean floors with a power drill". A powerful tool, indeed, but very ill-suited for that job.

Code is perfectly suited to design. What is design if nothing other than patterns. What's code? Patterns.

Is architecture best represented in code? It's all about patterns.

Why do we have CAD tools at all when architects and engineers could just be writing code for buildings?

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