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Whats the difference between Processing's Java and real Java?

glenmcmurchyglenmcmurchy
edited July 2015 in Using Processing

Hi,

I had a discussion with my lecturer, showing him a project I made on processing. He seemed confused because he said that wasn't proper Java. I have made a game using processing and Im thinking of downloading Android Studio and trying to make it on that to put onto the android store. So I was just wondering whats the difference between Java used in processing and "real" java? is it hugely different? and is it a very steep learning curve to go from making a game on processing and then rebuilding it on android store in Java?

Thanks, Glen

Best Answer

Answers

  • blindfishblindfish

    It is essentially Java; but from my understanding (I've not written any pure Java applications) Processing removes the need to do a lot of boilerplate work to get things up and running; and it wraps sketch code - including 'Class tabs' - up in its own Class (I'm probably over-simplifying).

    So in that sense it's not Java; but the underlying language is still Java; so the syntax will be the same... From a Computer Science perspective you're probably expected to learn all the tedious boilerplate stuff and the Class structures are likely to be far more complex :/

    Having started down the path of JavaScript development there's no way I'm switching to a lumbering beast like Java; whatever the advantages :P

  • glenmcmurchyglenmcmurchy

    I have heard of JavaScript but never used it, so this might be a silly question. what exactly is it? is it like an improved version of Java? and can you use that to make maps on android and IOS?

  • GoToLoopGoToLoop
    edited July 2015

    I have heard of JavaScript... What exactly is it?

    • In the beginning, its name was a marketing ploy to seduce Java devs to use it! >:)
    • I believe its more correct name is ECMAScript or something like that. :-@
    • In its outer cluster the syntax is almost the same as Java's.
    • But internally it's a very much weirder beast entirely! :-SS
    • Since JS is present in all modern browsers, writing programs in it is essentially the same as deploying them to the whole world! <:-P
  • quarkquark

    Java vs JavaScript

    There are lots of articles like this one on the web. The point is that apart from some superficial syntax similarities they are completely different programming languages.

  • GoToLoopGoToLoop

    Some excerpts from:
    http://forum.Processing.org/two/discussion/6863/can-this-be-made-a-class-variable

    Processing's pre-processor gathers all ".pde" tabs together and wraps 'em all up as 1 top class!
    Therefore our own classes & interfaces there become nested to that PApplet "sketch mega class"!

    There are 3 types of nested classes:

    1. static
    2. inner (non-static)
    3. anonymous (non-static too)

    Conventionally in the Java world, anonymous class instantiation is the only type considered by programmers!
    Inner classes are mostly a Processing thing aFaIK. And static nested classes are even a rarer sight anywhere!

    A separate ".java" tab would allow us to have top classes in it.
    A regular top class is the opposite of a nested 1. And can have both static & non-static members! \m/
    It is indeed the logical solution for Java's point-of-view. However, not so much for Processing's! Here's why: @-)

    • Processing's pre-processor won't touch non-".pde" files at all.
    • Hence we gotta know the nuts & bolts about Processing's syntax differences in relation to Java's!
    • Then we gotta make the conversion ourselves when needed!
    • We can't access non-static members from Processing's API and its canvas w/o its PApplet reference!
    • Thus we gotta type that reference every time we need to call something as simple as a rect() method!
    • It's unpleasant & ugly for a Processing programmer to do so! :P
  • blindfishblindfish
    Answer ✓

    Look it up. It has similar syntax to Java, but otherwise no relation at all. It's a scripting language initially developed for use on the web; processingJS runs JavaScript in the browser; p5js is pure JS; and JS is gaining favour on the server side.

    If you want to build mobile apps look up phonegap (there are other options): you can write html, css and JS and package it up as an app for both iOS and Android...

    Java is perhaps considered a more 'serious' programming language; and more robust when building large applications. But we're straying away from your original question: I know that Processing does hide some features, like private members; but someone experienced with Java will have to tell us why your lecturer didn't think Processing code was 'proper' Java...

  • glenmcmurchyglenmcmurchy

    This thread was like an episode of LOST. My questions were answered but now I have soooo many more! haha

    cheers guys

  • GoToLoopGoToLoop
    edited July 2015

    I know that Processing does hide some features, like private members;...

    • I remember I had to explain away that so many times in some other forum threads...
    • Processing doesn't "willfully" hides private nor protected or anything else!
    • The fact that those access keywords doesn't seem to work is entirely the Java language's fault itself!
    • Inner classes somewhat "inherit" any states from their enclosing classes via "closure".
    • And in turn, enclosing classes can access all members of their nested classes, irrespective of their access level!
  • blindfishblindfish

    You're being pedantic :P

    Let's put it another way: the way Processing is set up means that some features, like private members, are not available...

    The point being that I imagine private members is the sort of thing you'll be learning about on a programming course, so their omission might seem strange to a lecturer.

  • GoToLoopGoToLoop
    edited July 2015

    I concur w/ ya! But keep in mind that access keywords are still in effect!
    If we define any class in some ".java"-suffixed tab and it tries to access any private member
    from ".pde"-suffixed tabs, it won't be allowed as expected! [-X

  • glenmcmurchyglenmcmurchy

    I watched some tutorials online of game programming in Java and so far it doesn't seem that different. Apart from some syntax differences and having to import things it seems to be pretty much the same layout and procedure so I'm guessing it shouldn't take me to long to change my code from processing Java to Java used in android studio.

  • quarkquark
    edited July 2015

    You can make your code look like proper Java by including the access modifiers yourself, for instance Processing is quite happy with

    public void setup () {

    and

    public void draw (){

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