This reading made me reconsider what I thought live coding was, in the sense that I may have understood it in a more traditional sense, computing-wise. For example, I would liken it to an interactive DJ set, but after the reading, I’m not sure I would still describe it like that. I feel like every time I tell someone I’m taking this class and they ask me to explain what it is, I come up empty, so this really helps kind of clear the air. I was also really intrigued by the mention of the political angle, and how showing the screen and the code you go against what Big Tech essentially wants, which is to make the computers feel invisible so our interactions with them are “seemingly natural”.
At first, I thought live coding was just coding in front of people, but after reading, I understood that it is more about changing the code while it is running and treating it like a performance. I liked the idea that the code itself is shown and becomes part of the artwork. It made me think about programming in a different way, more like playing an instrument than writing a normal program.
In the Hydra chapters, I learned that textures are just patterns, not colors. For example, osc() makes stripe patterns, noise() makes cloudy patterns, and voronoi() makes cell-like shapes. One part I was a bit confused about is modulation, but I think it means using one pattern to change another pattern. I want to try this myself in class because it seems like small changes in the code can create very different visuals.
I was really struck by the idea of live coding as a “technique of making strange.” The text mentions it in a creative sense, but what I noticed is how deep this simple act feels to me. When I use apps or websites, everything is designed to be smooth and invisible like the code is hidden and the choices are pre made. I just click and things happen. It feels easy, but also a little like I am being led.
Live coding by putting the raw code on screen for everyone to see, does the opposite. It makes the machine visible again. For me, that seems powerful. It turns coding from a private and technical task into a public conversation. That act of showing feels like a small act of resistance in a world that wants technology to feel natural and unchallengeable. It reminds me that I am a user, not just a consumer and there is a big difference.
The reading states that “Live coding is about making software live.” As an aspiring software engineer, my experience with coding has always involved writing an algorithm, testing it, debugging it, and deploying it. Essentially, I have always programmed software to execute tasks that, once deployed, perform the same actions repeatedly for users. However, I realize that throughout my programming experience, I have never once treated the software as a live entity with which I could interact in real time. The software was always pre-programmed, static. Therefore, I find the concept of live coding (where the software feels alive and can be interacted with during a performance) a fascinating way to blend artistic expression with such rigid field of programming.
To prove the liveliness of coding, the reading also points out that live coding is similar to live music performance. The real, social, and spiritual experience of music happens in the moment of performance, with the presence of the musician and the audience. Similarly, live coding embodies the same principle. It is a performance where the creation of music (through writing code happens) live, in front of an audience. There is no pre-recorded track, the music is generated in real time from the performer’s actions. Thinking about learning live coding seems a bit intimidating to me at this point. However, I find the idea of learning the algorithms and methods to manipulate my laptop screen to express my ideas truly exciting.