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== Project ==
Program graphical effects for a ColorWall using the Tkinter GUI toolkit.
== Goals ==
* Have fun experiment with and creating graphical effects.
* Practice using functions and classes.
* Get experience with graphics programming using the Tkinter GUI toolkit.
== Project setup ==
=== Download and un-archive the ColorWall project skeleton code ===
* http://web.mit.edu/jesstess/www/BostonPythonWorkshop6/ColorWall.zip
Un-archiving will produce a <code>ColorWall</code> folder containing several Python files, including: run.py, effects.py, and advanced_effects.py.
=== Test your setup ===
From a command prompt, navigate to the <code>ColorWall</code> directory and run
<pre>python run.py -a</pre>
You should see a window pop up and start cycling through colorful effects. If you don't, let a staff member know so you can debug this together.
== Project steps ==
=== 1. Learn about HSV values ===
Run the ColorWall effects again with
<pre>python run.py -a</pre>
The names of the effects are printed to the terminal as they are run. Pay particular attention to the first 4 effects:
* SolidColorTest
* HueTest
* SaturationTest
* ValueTest
What are the differences between these tests? Given these difference and how they are expressed visually, how does varying hue, saturation, or value change a color?
=== 2. Examine <code>Effect</code> and the interface its subclasses provide ===
All of the effects inherit from the <code>Effect</code> class. Examine this class and its <code>__init__</code> and <code>run</code> methods.
==Suggested exercises==
<ul>
<li>
Find and change the colors used in the <code>Checkerboards</code> effect, and re-run the effect:
<pre>
python run.py Checkerboards
</pre>
Then change the line
<pre>
if (x + y + i) % 2 == 0:
</pre>
to
<pre>
if (x + y + i) % 3 == 0:
</pre>
re-run the effect, and see what changed.
</li>
<li>
Find and change the color of the columns in the <code>Matrix</code> effect, and re-run the effect:
<pre>
python run.py Matrix
</pre>
Each column that we see on the wall corresponds to a <code>Column</code> object. Add some randomness to the color used by each column (the variable whose value you changed above) using the <code>random.random</code> function, re-run the effect, and see what happens.
</li>
<li>
Walk through <code>Twinkle</code>. Find explanations of the <code>random.randint</code> and <code>random.uniform</code> functions in the online documentation at
http://docs.python.org/library/random.html.
Experiment with these functions at a Python prompt:
<pre>
import random
random.randint(0, 1)
random.randint(0, 5)
random.uniform(-1, 1)
</pre>
Then experiment with the numbers that make up the hue and re-run the effect:
<pre>
python run.py Twinkle
</pre>
</li>
<li>
Write your own effects!
</li>
</ul>
==Some Useful Links==
If you choose to use HSV colors you define instead of the dictionary, you may find some of the following useful:
* [http://www.yafla.com/yaflaColor/ColorRGBHSL.aspx A graphical HSV color picking website]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSL_and_HSV HSV on Wikipedia]
* [http://docs.python.org/library/random.html Python random library]
* [http://docs.python.org/library/time.html Python time library]
[[Boston Python workshop 2/Saturday projects|« Back to the Saturday project page]]
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