Ok, I think I've tapped into a rich new vein of pointless demos.

permalink

Mobile OSs are wire-hostile

On my Android web browser, I can download a .love file and open it.

After downloading the file, I can open it in my file browser.

I can copy the file into Android using the USB port -- but I CANNOT open it there. Identical bits in storage.

And mobile browsers don't understand file:// So I need the internet to transfer data between two devices right next to me -- even WHEN I have the right wire.

Local-first?! I'd settle for local-somehow-anyhow.

permalink

Achievement unlocked: kids are fighting over a program I made.

< 60 LoC; it was a pretty nice experience to build it on Android using Lua+LÖVE+MiniIDE.

Check it out on the LÖVE Forums.

permalink

I've been "building" an "instrument". Thanks to some samples from Ivan Reese.

To recreate the above you need:

1. To install LÖVE for your platform (really just Android or iOS since we're talking multitouch in this post.)
2. Download a special build of MiniIDE containing Ivan's samples.
3. Paste in the following 70-line script and hit 'Run':

   g = love.graphics
   draw, line, circ, pt, color = g.draw, g.line, g.circle, g.points, g.setColor
   abs,min,max = math.abs, math.min, math.max
   audio = love.audio.newSource
   if od == nil then
       od,ou,omp,omr,okp,okr = love.draw, love.update, love.mousepressed,
   love.mousereleased, love.keypressed, love.keyreleased
   end
   W,H = g.getDimensions()
   -- visuals
   cs, N = {}, 100
   function sq(x) return x*x end
   function dist2(x1,y1, x2,y2)
     return sq(x2-x1) + sq(y2-y1)
   end
   
   -- audio
   ts = {}
   
   function love.draw() -- od()
     for _,c in pairs(cs) do
       circ(c[1],c[2])
     end
   end
   
   function circ(cx,cy)
     for x=cx-N,cx+N do
       for y=cy-N,cy+N do
         local dist = dist2(cx,cy, x,y)
         if dist < N*N then
           color(abs(x-cx)/N, abs(y-cy)/N, 0.5) --, dist/N/N)
           pt(x,y) end end end
   end
   
   function love.update(dt) ou(dt)
     local touches = love.touch.getTouches()
     for _,id in ipairs(touches) do
       if cs[id] then
       cs[id][1], cs[id][2] = love.touch.getPosition(id)
       ts[id]:setPitch(pitch(cs[id][2]))
       end
     end
   end
   
   function pitch(y)
     if y <= H/2 then
       return 2 - y*2/H  -- vary pitch from 2 to 1
     else
       return 1.5 - y/H  -- vary pitch from 1 to 0.5
     end
   end
   
   function love.keypressed(key, ...) okp(key, ...)
     escape()
   end
   
   function love.touchpressed(id, x,y, ...)
     cs[id] = {x,y}
     ts[id] = audio('ivanish/MaternalBowedGuitar.mp3', 'static')
     ts[id]:setLooping(true)
     ts[id]:play()
   end
   
   function love.touchreleased(id, ...)
     cs[id] = nil
     if ts[id] then ts[id]:stop() end
     ts[id] = nil
   end
   
   function escape()
     error('StopScript')
   end
   

One of those 70 lines contains 'ivanish', and I've been playing with that line by varying the sample. (Unfortunately there isn't a way to browse the list, so you have to look inside the love/zip file.)

permalink

A silly app built for kids over the weekend using MiniIDE on a tablet.[1]

Currently breaks MiniIDE; there's no way to edit its code once you run it :joy: You can still use the console, though!

[1] Video not recorded on tablet.

permalink

I just came up with a name for the versioning scheme I've been using recently:

Zettelkasten versioning

1, 2, 3, ... 14, 14a, 14b, ... 14z, 14aa, ... 14ak1, 14ak2, ...

Inspiration.

My versions are to communicate identity to users. That's it. Not value, not recency, not stability, not compatibility, not difference, not support status, just identity. Am I using the same version as you?

permalink

It's now easier to build and run little LÖVE apps for yourself on Android

1. Install LÖVE from the app store (see https://love2d.org)
2. Download MiniIDE.love from https://love2d.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=94852. I've been contributing to this app and vouch for it.

Video preview.

(MiniIDE has also been tested on iOS without limitations. But I gather LÖVE is quite tortuous to install on iOS, so you're on your own there..)

permalink

You can now make any app end-user-programmable -- as long as it's built in LÖVE

Read more on the Malleable Systems Forum.

permalink

"What can we do with what we have ready to hand?" -- Cristóbal Sciutto

permalink

Yesterday was a good day. I built a little app for someone to connect to their R server, plot a dataset based on different dimensions. Pretty trivial, but hopefully easier for them to modify than other similar apps out there.

permalink