Drawing and Detecting Characters Sequence

Programming Questions

Nokjao

Drawing and Detecting Characters Sequence

in Programming Questions • 8 months ago

Hi, I'm working on a poster (static) in which a given text input was transform into characters and placed onto screen with text() function.

The hard part is--I need to detect a specific word(s) in the characters, say "company", and then kind of transform it along z-axis so the word kinda "falls" into the dark behind. The neighboring characters in the radius (both in-lines and the lines above and below) will have to "fall" to follow the word too, sort of like rocks fallen after one trips down the cliff.

So far, I've only come up with a generic drawing of characters. Please look at my code and advise ASAP. Thanks!!

import processing.opengl.*;
String[] lines;
String message;
PFont f;
float posX;
float posY;
int fontSize;
void setup() {
r = 60;
//arclength = 0;
posX = 0;
posY = 10;
fontSize = 20;
lines = loadStrings("anytext.txt");
message = join(lines, " ");
size(650, 650, OPENGL);
background(0);
f = createFont("Arial",fontSize,true);
textFont(f);
textAlign(CENTER);
smooth();
}
void draw() {
// For every box
for (int i = 0; i < message.length(); i++ ) {
// The character and its width
char currentChar = message.charAt(i);
float w = textWidth(currentChar);
posX += w/2;
pushMatrix();
translate(posX, posY);
fill(255, random(50, 200));
text(currentChar,0,0);
// Check to see if the line hits the end of the window
if (posX >= width-w*0.7) {
posY = posY + fontSize*0.75;
posX = 0;
}
}
}

Replies(5)

Chrisir

Re: Drawing and Detecting Characters Sequence

8 months ago

Hello,

first you can use a

text(c, x, y, z);

and DEcrease the z to make a letter fall into your monitor away from you.

z--;

I think into the screen away from you is making z smaller. The screen is 0, the more into the screen the more negative the number is -100, - 200 etc. ...

Your Approach

Obviously since each character has a different x,y,z you need a class

class Character3D {
char c; // one char
float x;
float y;
float z; // falling
boolean visible = true;
boolean alive = true;
boolean belongingToCertainWord = false;
boolean hasStartedFalling = false;
// etc. .................
}

This class describes one character, especially its current state of falling.

Now you need an arraylist A (or an array) of the class Character3D. In setup() you put all characters in the arraylist A using add(). Check whether the char belogs to "company".

Now in draw() you loop over A and DEcrease the z if appropriate.
If the z is smaller than say -3000 kill the char by setting alive to false first and then in another loop in draw() remove() all with if (!alive).

The neigbouring chars are dragged with it

Since the neigbouring chars are dragged with the main chars (of the word "company" e.g.) you need a kind of function for that.

I am not too sure about that.

Maybe it's enough to say if my left neighbour's z is bigger than mine I increase my z by 1/10 of our z's distance?

Or maybe a kind of spring?

Look up in the examples spring / springs / flocking

http://processing.org/learning/topics/

Greetings, Chrisir