FSOSS 2010/processing.js/vectors

Vectors

• Object with a direction and magnitude (length)
• Typically represented using coordinates for simplicity
• Used for storing position, velocity, acceleration, etc.
• Processing has a built-in PVector object for 2D and 3D

Operations

Addition

• Graphically -> add head to tail
• Algebraically -> add components [3, 3] + [1, 2] = [4, 5]
• PVector.add(v1, v2);
• vec.add(v);

Subtraction

• Graphically -> flip the direction of one vector, then add
• Algebraically -> subtract components [3, 3] - [1, 2] = [2, 1]
• PVector.sub(v1, v2);
• vec.sub(v);

Scale

• Graphically -> stretch or shrink
• Algebraically -> multiply components by scalar [1,3] * 2 = [2, 6]
• PVector.mult(float);

Calculate Magnitude

• Graphically -> measure length
• Algebraically -> use Pythagorean theorem
• PVector.mag()