---

---

Happy New Year

---

Happy new year! I like to use this milestone as an excuse opportunity to look back at what got done over the past year, and to look forward to what I want to get done in the next 365 days.

Last year I planned on doing the 100 days of code challenge. My goal was to create 100 new examples. I ended up only creating 25 examples.

Last year at this time I had just finished up the first batch of tutorials and was working pretty steadily on adding Processing examples:

This chart shows how many tutorials and examples I created from the site’s creation in June 2016 to the time I wrote last year’s new year blog. Notice that the tutorial section had pretty much leveled off, and I was busy adding examples. That’s when I set the goal of adding 100 more examples.

But pretty much as soon as I said that, my focus shifted from adding examples to adding tutorials: Java, server, and P5.js tutorials. I ended up adding 45 new tutorials in 2017.

This chart shows how many posts I created in 2017. Even though I only added 25 examples, I also added 45 tutorials, 6 blog entries, 10 teaching guides, and 2 gallery pages. That’s 88 total posts, or about 1 post every 4 days.

When I first started this site, I put the Processing tutorials together and thought that stuff like JavaScript, server-side development, and P5.js would be nice to get to someday. It’s pretty cool that “someday” is here.

Here’s what all of the progress looks like:

This chart shows all of the posts I’ve created since I started the site: 68 tutorials, 59 examples, 15 blog entries, 10 teaching guides, and 2 gallery posts. That’s 154 posts, or 1 post every 3.5 days.

So although I didn’t get anywhere near my goal of adding 100 examples, I’m pretty happy with how much I got done this year.

What’s next?

My goal in 2018 is to add Android and libGDX tutorials. I’d also like to put together a “real” Android game. I have a few apps and little games out there, but I haven’t ever really tried to spend the time to polish something to a point where I’d charge any money for it. I don’t plan on making a million dollars, but I’ve had an idea in my head for a while and I think it’d be cool to see it through to a finished product.

I’m also using some of the tutorial content in an outreach program at my day job, which is really cool.

The Android and libGDX tutorials will finish up everything I set out to do with the site. There are a few tutorials in the existing sections I’d like to add (drawing to a buffer in Processing and P5.js, basic trig, how to make an app), and I have a few ideas for blog entries. But I’m looking forward to being “done” and then going back and polishing things up and adding more examples. That opens up some very exciting opportunities, but that’s probably next year’s new year post.

I’d love to hear from you! What are your favorite accomplishments of 2017? What are you looking forward to in 2018?