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AniFrame: A Programming Language for 2D Drawing and Frame-Based Animation

Mark Edward M. Gonzales, Hans Oswald A. Ibrahim, Elyssia Barrie H. Ong, Ryan Austin Fernandez

TL;DR

AniFrame addresses the hurdle novice programmers face when engaging in creative coding by introducing a domain-specific language tailored for 2D drawing and frame-based animation. It combines animation-specific data types, operations, and built-in functions with a frame-centric sequencing model, a Python-like syntax, and a static type system with type inference to balance expressivity and accessibility. The paper details the language design, the three-stage ANTLR4-based implementation, and two illustrative use cases (composites and recursion), complemented by a usability study that suggests improved readability and writability. Open-source availability further supports practical adoption and extension for more complex sketches and potential 3D extensions in the future.

Abstract

Creative coding is an experimentation-heavy activity that requires translating high-level visual ideas into code. However, most languages and libraries for creative coding may not be adequately intuitive for beginners. In this paper, we present AniFrame, a domain-specific language for drawing and animation. Designed for novice programmers, it (i) features animation-specific data types, operations, and built-in functions to simplify the creation and animation of composite objects, (ii) allows for fine-grained control over animation sequences through explicit specification of the target object and the start and end frames, (iii) reduces the learning curve through a Python-like syntax, type inferencing, and a minimal set of control structures and keywords that map closely to their semantic intent, and (iv) promotes computational expressivity through support for common mathematical operations, built-in trigonometric functions, and user-defined recursion. Our usability test demonstrates AniFrame's potential to enhance readability and writability for multiple creative coding use cases. AniFrame is open-source, and its implementation and reference are available at https://github.com/memgonzales/aniframe-language.

AniFrame: A Programming Language for 2D Drawing and Frame-Based Animation

TL;DR

AniFrame addresses the hurdle novice programmers face when engaging in creative coding by introducing a domain-specific language tailored for 2D drawing and frame-based animation. It combines animation-specific data types, operations, and built-in functions with a frame-centric sequencing model, a Python-like syntax, and a static type system with type inference to balance expressivity and accessibility. The paper details the language design, the three-stage ANTLR4-based implementation, and two illustrative use cases (composites and recursion), complemented by a usability study that suggests improved readability and writability. Open-source availability further supports practical adoption and extension for more complex sketches and potential 3D extensions in the future.

Abstract

Creative coding is an experimentation-heavy activity that requires translating high-level visual ideas into code. However, most languages and libraries for creative coding may not be adequately intuitive for beginners. In this paper, we present AniFrame, a domain-specific language for drawing and animation. Designed for novice programmers, it (i) features animation-specific data types, operations, and built-in functions to simplify the creation and animation of composite objects, (ii) allows for fine-grained control over animation sequences through explicit specification of the target object and the start and end frames, (iii) reduces the learning curve through a Python-like syntax, type inferencing, and a minimal set of control structures and keywords that map closely to their semantic intent, and (iv) promotes computational expressivity through support for common mathematical operations, built-in trigonometric functions, and user-defined recursion. Our usability test demonstrates AniFrame's potential to enhance readability and writability for multiple creative coding use cases. AniFrame is open-source, and its implementation and reference are available at https://github.com/memgonzales/aniframe-language.
Paper Structure (19 sections, 4 figures, 3 tables)

This paper contains 19 sections, 4 figures, 3 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Works
  3. Language Design
  4. Animation-Specific Features
  5. Data Types and Operations
  6. Built-In Functions
  7. Frame-Based Animation
  8. Control Structures
  9. Type System and Scoping Rules
  10. Language Implementation
  11. Lexical Analysis
  12. Parsing
  13. Semantic Analysis and Code Generation
  14. Error Handling
  15. Sample Use Cases
  16. ...and 4 more sections

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: Sample AniFrame Code and Resulting Output. Designed for novice programmers, AniFrame supports a varied set of features that simplify the creation of composite objects and provide fine-grained control over animation, thus facilitating expressivity and exploration for creative coding.
  • Figure 2: Partial Parse Tree for Listing \ref{['code']}. This figure focuses on the repeat loop (Lines 4 to 6). Terminals are underlined.
  • Figure 3: Composite Object Drawn and Animated in AniFrame. The figure (a character sprite waving its left hand) shows selected frames from the output of the code in Listings \ref{['kirby']} to \ref{['ani_func']}.
  • Figure 4: Sierpiński Triangle Drawn in AniFrame. The figure was generated programmatically using recursion. The code is given in Listing \ref{['sierpinski']}; the step is dictated by the last argument in Line 14.