ABSTRACT
Computation is central to significant innovations that are shaping the way that design is practiced today. As design software has become more central to a range of disciplines, it has become increasingly clear that a grasp of foundational concepts in computation bears long-term benefits. The initial decision to develop a platform-independent computational geometry library was a practical one. Computational design, like many forms of design, is a hands-on endeavor, and learning proceeds best through reflection on doing. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book introduces the core concepts in geometric scripting, and presents the mechanics of textual programming. It also presents the twin concepts of objects and types, which together represent the heart of object-oriented-programming, the dominant approach to composing programs and structuring data in modern computation. The book also explores intermediate topics that present geometry and code in fresh combinations.
