Hello,

I'm band new to processing and was wondering if someone could give me some advice on this little program.

I am in the early stages of an animation timeline interface. If you run the code below and click and drag on the back line, you will notice a lag/delay as the position of the frame number tries to keep up with the position of the black line.

I'm wondering if my code is on the right track, or if there is a way to optimise it so there is no percievable lag?

Here is the Code:
Code:

int frame = 0;
int val = 0;
void  setup(){
  size(500,100);
  background(204);
  smooth();
  strokeWeight(4);
  line(0, 0, 0, 100);
  PFont font;
  // The font must be located in the sketch's 
  // "data" directory to load successfully
  font = loadFont("ArialMT-48.vlw"); 
  textFont(font);
  fill(0, 102, 153);
  text("0", 10, 65);
}

void draw()
{

  if (mousePressed == true){
    background(204);
    frameNumText(mouseX, frame + 10, 65);
    line(mouseX, 0, mouseX, 100);
    frame = (mouseX);
  }


  if(keyPressed == true){
    background(204);
    line(frame + val, 0, frame + val, 100);
    frame = frame + val; //update the frame var to the current position
    frameNumText(frame, frame + 10, 65);
    delay(60); // a slight delay to allow for human reflexes 
  }


}

void frameNumText(int num, int X, int Y)
{  
  PFont font;
  // The font must be located in the sketch's 
  // "data" directory to load successfully
  font = loadFont("ArialMT-48.vlw"); 
  textFont(font);
  fill(0, 102, 153); // a light grey colour
  text(num, X, Y); //text position based on the input arguments
}


void keyPressed() {
  if (key == CODED) {
    if (keyCode == LEFT) { //if the left key is pressed
      val = (-1); // take one of the current value
    } 
    else if (keyCode == RIGHT) { //if the right key is pressed
      val = (+1); //add one of the current value
    }
    else{
      val = 0; //set the val to zero so there is no effect.
    }

  } 

} 

Thanks! That definately helps. I am still noticing a slight lag though.

Is there any way I can stucture the code so that line and the fonts are drawn simultaniously so they are completely locked to each other?

Yes, I think I am having trouble elsewhere.

Maybe lag is the wrong word for it. I am wanting to keep the relative distance between the number and the black line the same at all times.

If you click and drag the line back and forth very quickly, you can see one object lagging behind the other. It's a minor detail. But for such a simple piece of code, I was hoping that there would be a way to keep the two objects locked to each other in the spacial sence.

Here's the code again with the adjustments you suggested.
Code:

int frame = 0;
int val = 0;
void  setup(){
  size(500,100);
  background(204);
  smooth();
  strokeWeight(4);
  line(0, 0, 0, 100);
  PFont font;
  // The font must be located in the sketch's 
  // "data" directory to load successfully
  font = loadFont("ArialMT-48.vlw"); 
  textFont(font);
  fill(0, 102, 153);
  text("0", 10, 65);
}

void draw()
{

  if (mousePressed == true){
    background(204);
    frameNumText(mouseX, frame + 10, 65);
    line(mouseX, 0, mouseX, 100);
    frame = (mouseX);
  }


  if(keyPressed == true){
    background(204);
    line(frame + val, 0, frame + val, 100);
    frame = frame + val; //update the frame var to the current position
    frameNumText(frame, frame + 10, 65);
    delay(100); // a slight delay to allow for human reflexes 
  }


}

void frameNumText(int num, int X, int Y)
{  
 // PFont font;
  // The font must be located in the sketch's 
  // "data" directory to load successfully
 // font = loadFont("ArialMT-48.vlw"); 
  //textFont(font);
  //fill(0, 102, 153); // a light grey colour
  text(num, X, Y); //text position based on the input arguments
}


void keyPressed() {
  if (key == CODED) {
    if (keyCode == LEFT) { //if the left key is pressed
      val = (-1); // take one of the current value
    } 
    else if (keyCode == RIGHT) { //if the right key is pressed
      val = (+1); //add one of the current value
    }
    else{
      val = 0; //set the val to zero so there is no effect.
    }

  } 

}



 

Wow! You have a good eye. It works great now, and you were right about using mouseX directly too.

Thanks NoahBuddy!

Dan.