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Build your own Fantasy IDE

dadageek presents

Build Your Own Fantasy IDE with Char Stiles!

Sunday, March 9 | 3-5:30p

dadaLab - 2008 Alexander Ave. Austin, TX.

// Don't miss Livecode @ dadaLab event after the workshop! More info here: https://events.humanitix.com/l...

This workshop is part of ongoing thesis research at the MIT Media Lab exploring new ways to make programming more expressive and engaging. Your experimental editors might help shape the future of creative coding tools!

Tired of the same old IDEs? Ever wanted to build your own experimental code editor? In this hands-on workshop, we'll dive into what it takes to make your own code editor and then break all the rules by creating our own weird and AI-laced variations. We'll start with a writing prompt and a journey through creative coding IDE history. Then we'll get our hands dirty by building off a basic web-based code editor for p5.js using JavaScript. Once we've got the foundations (syntax highlighting, basic editing features), things get interesting... We'll experiment with additions like:

  • Making your editor converse with you through an AI interface 

  • Creating code snippets that evolve and mutate over time 

  • Building new types of visualization and interaction patterns 

  • Adding your own experimental features!

JavaScript experience and familiarity with web development basics are recommended.

You'll learn:

  • Essential libraries like CodeMirror Techniques for extending and customizing editor behavior Ways to integrate AI and generative systems into your editor

  • How to deploy your creation as a web application

  • How modern code editors actually work under the hood

By the end of the workshop, you'll have:

  • Built your own working web-based code editor

  • Added at least one experimental feature 

  • Learned the technical foundations to continue developing your own tools

  • Contributed to research about the future of programming environments

Meet your Instructor!

Char Stiles is a computational artist, educator, and programmer. She works creatively in the lower levels of graphical computational systems & makes jokes about how computers work. She is currently at the MIT Media Lab's Future Sketches group researching the future of creative coding in performance. She is a part of the Livecode.nyc collective & she co-founded Hex House, an artist studio and event space in East Williamsburg. She has performed internationally, including festivals such as Electric Forest, Portola, and Mutek Nexus. She has lectured and led workshops at Carnegie Mellon University, Duke University, University of Limerick, MIT, and NYU.

Earlier Event: February 24
LIM Open Lab Workshop 4
Later Event: March 9
Livecode @ dadaLab 2025