Programming from A to Z Overview

Study Notes

Introduction and Inspiration

The playlist "Programming from A to Z" is introduced, created by an ITP NYU professor.
The course's origins are traced back to an influential presentation by Nick Montfort, a poet and artist, discussing computational techniques in writing.
Text processing and generation are central to the course.
The instructor's prior experience with a Java-based "Programming from A To Z" course inspired this version.
Allison Parrish's "Reading and Writing Electronic Text" course is mentioned, similar in concept but focusing on Python and poetry/generative text.
The revival of the course uses JavaScript for web-browser interactivity, enabling text display on the web.

Course Goals and Topics

The course aims to enhance JavaScript programming skills, for beginners familiar with courses like P5js.
Key programming concepts like prototypes, closures, and anonymous functions will be taught.
The course encourages creativity in developing computational text outputs via experimentation and playful approaches.
The curriculum starts with DOM manipulation (using P5js) and comparisons to other frameworks.
Regular expressions, text input methods, and challenges generating random poetry are included.
A "found poetry" web page creation assignment is planned.

Examples and Inspirations

Regular expressions are highlighted as a powerful text manipulation tool.
Data-driven text generation is covered, using resources like Wordnik and Google spreadsheets.
Server-side programming using Node.js is emphasized.
Twitter bots are a key focus, leveraging existing video tutorials.
Classic text algorithms (word counting, TF/IDF, Bayesian analysis) are included.
Markov chains for probabilistic text generation and generative grammars are part of the syllabus.
The course incorporates the Tracery story generation library by Galaxy Kate Compton.
Custom grammar-based language design and generation are discussed.
Chrome extensions are referenced, with Addie Wagenknecht's "Girls versus Git" as a creative example.

Course Format and Accessibility

The course content on YouTube is free to access.
A Patreon subscription provides enhanced interaction through a Slack channel for discussion and support.
The instructor's philosophy is "free content, paid interaction."
Other inspirational figures in the field, including Lynn Cherny and Darius Kazemi, are acknowledged.
Relevant links and resources will be provided in the video description.

Description

This quiz covers the key concepts introduced in the 'Programming from A to Z' playlist, created by a professor at ITP NYU. It highlights the course's focus on text processing and generation, influenced by Nick Montfort’s ideas and drawing inspiration from Allison Parrish's work. The course utilizes JavaScript for interactive web-based text applications.