Good Bye Processing 2, Hello Processing 1 - I'm Sorry I Left You

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artsnova

Good Bye Processing 2, Hello Processing 1 - I'm Sorry I Left You

in General Discussion • Other • 4 months ago

As soon as my Coursera class on digital media is over (assuming I can actually complete it) I will be dumping Processing 2 and returning to Processing 1. Why?

Well, my laptop is a mere 2 years old. I've updated my NVIDIA drivers to the most recent available for my card (March 2012) and yet many sketches that ran fine under Processing 1.51 crash under Processing 2 with OpenGL errors. In addition, all sketchs that references either P2D or P3D crash 100% of the time! I assume that this is because my system is not brand spanking new. My understanding is that a conscious decision was made to make Processing 2 more dependent on OpenGL - which is highly version and device driver sensitive!

Rather than replace my computer just so that maybe Processing 2's OpenGL errors will disappear, I'll replace Processing 2 with Processing 1 instead - thus returning to a land where OpenGL errors apparently do not exist.

Best Regards, Jim

Replies(7)

benj.n.su..

Re: Good Bye Processing 2, Hello Processing 1 - I'm Sorry I Left You

4 months ago

Unfortunately, all new versions go through a period like this, some more gracefully than others. Before P1 was as stable as it is now, I imagine that it too went through these growing pains. If you enjoy the stability of P1, the best way to extend the benefit that you currently reap is by contributing your issues (as specifically as possible) to the locations below (if you haven't already). Doing so is the only way P2 will ever become as mature as the P1 you know and love. After having done so, feel free to return to your regularly scheduled P1 programming.

Read caseyraes' advice here: Re: Processing 2.0: so frustrating and disappointing!!!

https://github.com/processing/processing/issues?state=open
https://github.com/processing/processing/

artsnova

Re: Re: Good Bye Processing 2, Hello Processing 1 - I'm Sorry I Left You

4 months ago

Hi, I think you missed my point - that being the change in direction that Processing has taken with regards to its reliance on and use of OpenGL. I am assuming that Processing 2 is not working for me - not because of bugs in Processing - but because of whatever incarnation of OpenGL Processing is relying on.

Thanks for the links. I've had reported on one other issue I had over on GitHub. I too get the same errors the original poster complained of. However, I ask you to note the last sentence of the last comment: "Let's hope your new video card brings some sunshine" and that is precisely my complaint. I am guessing that the incarnation of OpenGL that is being used for Processing development is some incarnation that my video card can not support (even though my drivers are only maybe 16 months old!) or that my video card drivers did not correctly implement.

FYI - I have Photoshop CS4 but had to turn off its OpenGL features because Photoshop was prone to crashing. Since turning off OpenGL, Photoshop has not crashed one single time! So is Adobe the problem or is NVDIA's implementation of OpenGL the problem?

Best Regards, Jim

cageehv

Re: Good Bye Processing 2, Hello Processing 1 - I'm Sorry I Left You

4 months ago

An update from my side (I was the one complaining in that original post):

Yesterday I did install my new video card (Geforce 630) and that actually fixed the OpenGL problems on one of my desktops.

So now, finally, I can use some Processing 2.x sketches on ONE of my THREE machines...

Sucks that you have to upgrade/replace your hardware (or even buy new computers: cannot replace the graphics board of my laptop!) to keep on using your existing sketches (and I have quite a few ;-))

So my frustration is only partly gone now...

Rolf

benj.n.su..

Re: Re: Good Bye Processing 2, Hello Processing 1 - I'm Sorry I Left You

4 months ago

Yes, i did miss your point. my apologies. I had interpreted our complaint as "i'm receiving errors so i decided to replace my graphics card to solve them".

It's definitely a bummer when things are not backwards compatible. That this is sometimes the nature of major revisions of programs is not very comforting, I know.

artsnova

Re: Re: Good Bye Processing 2, Hello Processing 1 - I'm Sorry I Left You

4 months ago

Hi,

I can understand having to upgrade if your hardware is excessively old. But is it in Processing's best interests to rely on a version of OpenGL that may make it useless for a large fraction of its user base?

I'm taking a Coursera class that involves developing apps so they call for installing Processing 2. There were a huge number of forum posts from folks having issues getting all the pieces to work together. I'll be curious to see how many OpenGL error complaints there will be as the course progresses.

Best Regards, Jim

cageehv

Re: Good Bye Processing 2, Hello Processing 1 - I'm Sorry I Left You

4 months ago

@benj:
The 'non backwards compatibilty' is really bad: I'm ending up having two versions of every sketch... A 1.51 one and a 2.x one. Already spent days of work on this issue :-(

Rolf

PhiLho

Re: Good Bye Processing 2, Hello Processing 1 - I'm Sorry I Left You

4 months ago

The OpenGL problems appear only if you do 3D...

So not all Processing relies on OpenGL.
I think somebody made a library doing the old P2D / P3D job (software emulation), perhaps it is still usable in the stable version? It might need to change your sketches, but it can be a good alternative.

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