Tool for running Processing (Java) sketches in the browser, feedback welcome

Processing Development
1

Hi all,
I built p5forge, a small browser tool that converts Processing-style sketches to p5.js and runs them instantly.

The idea is simple:

  • paste Processing-like code
  • transpile to p5.js
  • run and iterate fast in one UI

This is still best-effort and intentionally lightweight, but I want to make it genuinely useful for creative coding archives and teaching material.

Here is the demo
Here is the repo

Feedback and suggestions are welcome

2

Hi @Meiller and thanks for sharing!

For anyone interested to dig further into that topic, here are two related projects also worth knowing about:

  • Processing.js: it’s unmaintained now, but it still runs a large fraction of older Processing sketches in the browser. Here’s an example of a recent processing.js sketch on openprocessing.org.
  • Darren Kessner’s processing-p5-convert: parses the sketch code into an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) and translates from that, which makes it more robust than a simple regex approach.
3

I’ve made another update. My project now includes a proper AST-based compiler. It supports many more language features, including enums, interfaces, and abstract classes.

4

I gave it another try, and it still seems to struggle with some simple Processing sketches, for example sketches using PShape throw:

Unknown type 'PShape'

A good benchmark would be to get the official Processing examples running: https://github.com/processing/processing-examples

By the way, are you targeting p5.js v1 or v2? Because there are some substantial differences between the two.

5

Now PShape works. The project is now based on p5.js v2. I have also significantly improved Java compatibility and the editor. The goal is to develop an almost complete implementation of Processing in the browser for educational purposes and rapid experimentation.