p5.asciify ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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p5.asciify is a powerful add-on library for p5.js and the most advanced open-source ASCII conversion library available, designed to transform canvases and textures in WEBGL mode into dynamic ASCII/textmode representations in real-time. With p5.asciify, you can create intricate ASCII art, textmode games, interactive ASCII experiences, and much more in the web browser with ease.

p5.asciify is used in live coding performances, installations, interactive art projects and more, allowing artists and developers to explore the unique aesthetic of ASCII art in a modern context. The library is designed to be flexible, efficient, and easy to use, offering a comprehensive range of tools to help you develop unique and engaging ASCII projects.

Features

• Renderer management: Create and manage multiple ASCII renderers with different settings to create a unique rendering pipeline.
• Pre-built renderers: Add pre-built renderers, like 'brightness'- or 'edge'-based ASCII converters, to your pipeline.
• Custom renderers: Add your own custom ASCII renderers to the pipeline through code to create unique effects by controlling each cell's ASCII character, character color, background color, and more individually.
• Asciifier management: Create and manage multiple asciifiers to apply different ASCII rendering pipelines to different textures or the main canvas in parallel.
• Font management: Set the font and font size for all ASCII renderers in the pipeline of an asciifier.
• Grid management: Apply a perfect and responsive grid based on the canvas/texture dimensions, font size, and font metrics, or create a custom grid with a specific number of columns and rows.
• WebGL1/WebGL2 support: All shader code provided by p5.asciify is written in GLSL ES 1.0, making it compatible with both WebGL1 and WebGL2 contexts, allowing for a wide range of devices to run your ASCII projects.
• Export functionality: Export your ASCII art as .txt, .svg and .json files for easy sharing and printing, complementing the native image and GIF saving capabilities of p5.js.
• Plugin system: Create reusable custom renderers as plugins and share them with the community!

Installation

Prerequisites

• p5.asciify requires p5.js version 1.8.0 or later.
  • The library is also compatible with p5.js versions 2.x.x, but only from version 2.0.2 onward.
• p5.asciify only runs in WEBGL mode, so make sure to set up your canvas accordingly:

function setup() {
  createCanvas(800, 800, WEBGL);
}

That's it! You're now ready to install and use p5.asciify in your p5.js projects.

Importing the library

Global mode

Download the latest umd version of p5.asciify from the GitHub releases page or import it directly from a CDN like jsDelivr. The library is distributed as a single JavaScript file, which you can include in your project by adding the following script tag to your HTML file after importing p5.js:

<!-- Import p5.js before p5.asciify -->
<script src="path/to/library/p5.min.js"></script>

<!-- Import p5.asciify after p5.js -->
<script src="path/to/library/p5.asciify.umd.js"></script>

<!-- Or import it directly from a CDN like jsDelivr
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/dist/p5.asciify.umd.min.js"></script> 
-->

Instance mode

Download the latest esm version of p5.asciify from the GitHub releases page, import it directly from a CDN like jsDelivr, or install it using npm:

npm install p5.asciify

import p5 from 'p5';
import { p5asciify } from 'p5.asciify';

const sketch = (p) => {
    p.setup = () => {
      p.createCanvas(800, 800, p.WEBGL);
    };

    p.draw = () => {
      p.clear();
      p.background(0);
      p.fill(255);
      p.rotateX(p.radians(p.frameCount * 3));
      p.rotateZ(p.radians(p.frameCount));
      p.directionalLight(255, 255, 255, 0, 0, -1);
      p.box(800, 100, 100);
    };
};

let myp5 = new p5(sketch);

At this point - when imported correctly - your p5.js canvas in WEBGL mode should already be converted into a grid of ASCII characters with the default settings applied. Happy coding! (｡◕‿‿◕｡)

Learn more

📚 Visit the Official Documentation

Explore the comprehensive documentation at p5.textmode.art for:

• Detailed guides
• Interactive examples
• Complete API reference
• Tips and tricks
• ... and much more!

The documentation will help you unlock the full potential of p5.asciify in your creative coding projects.