We created Processing to make programming interactive graphics easier. We were frustrated with how difficult it was to write this type of software with the programming languages we usually used (C++ and Java) and were inspired by how simple it was to write interesting programs with the languages of our childhood (Logo and BASIC). We were most influenced by Design By Numbers (DBN), a language created by our research advisor, John Maeda, which we were maintaining and teaching at the time.

Processing was born in spring 2001 as a brainstorming session on a sheet of paper. Our goal was to make a way to sketch (prototype) the type of software we were working on, which was almost always full-screen and interactive. We were searching for a better way to test our ideas easily in code, rather than just talking about them or spending too much time programming them in C++. Our other goal was to make a language for teaching design and art students how to program and to give more technical students an easier way to work with graphics. The combination is a positive departure from the way programming is usually taught. We begin by focusing on graphics and interaction rather than on data structures and ....