Creative Process Journal, 23-24.

Week 5

In continuation of my previous work, where the tedium of repeatedly creating websites for a non-linear reading experience was felt, I began exploring methods to automate the generation of website code. To connect nodes visible in the VS Code window, I needed to develop a feature that creates a new code page. However, the act of entering code had to be as simple as a click. Otherwise, it would become a tedious task akin to manually copying and pasting code pages.

I referred to the internet to create the code, and lacking extensive knowledge of HTML, I had to invest a considerable amount of time in interpreting and understanding the code. (Given the close association of my topic with websites, it seems imperative to delve deeper into studying HTML!)

I configured the code to automatically generate an HTML file and allow users to specify the storage path simultaneously when pressing a button within the generated code. Unfortunately, implementing a mechanism where a single button adds the same HTML file to VS Code posed a challenge, as it required obtaining user consent. Delighted with the fact that I could represent this entire process in code, it took me a while to realize the flaw in this experiment later on. The complexity introduced by this series of steps ended up being more intricate than the original intention, and it functioned differently than intended, which was a point of discovery for me.

After pondering and attempting various code modifications for several days, the outcomes were either an increased complexity or non-functioning code.

Consequently, I took a step back to observe the situation. I decided to refocus on the original goal of the experiment: exploring the creation of an infinitely generating page with a simple action of clicking a button. Feeling that I might have been too immersed in the code itself, I contemplated alternative approaches and came up with a new idea. "What if, instead of clicking a button in the code, clicking a button on the page itself generates a new page with the same functionality and navigates to that page?" I shifted my interest from the code itself to the pages as the output.

Similarly, after consulting various codes and multiple attempts, I theoretically managed to implement an HTML file with a button that, in theory, generates an infinite number of new pages. However, I encountered an issue where the pages stopped generating after a certain point. This was due to internet policies preventing the automatic creation of too many identical pages. (Thanks to GPT for the answer!)

Continuously executing the code and generating pages through the simple act of clicking the button, I found myself intrigued by the diverse outcomes presented. Although there are already many works with the perspective of using clicks as input to showcase visually interesting results, I believed that there was a distinct difference between creating and experiencing it firsthand. (I could almost hear Andreas's voice saying, "Just do it.")

It's a homepage that displays random text when you click a button. The mechanism involves randomly selecting a button corresponding to a number drawn from the data I've written. Initially, the buttons descend, revealing a random number. However, I felt that the displayed texts lacked visual appeal. To achieve visually interesting results, what additional elements should be incorporated? How does this activity differ from kinetic text? I need to ponder and research these aspects further.

Feedback and Reflection

Through various challenges, I've come to grasp how hyperlinks actually function in code. While not every attempt ended in success, the process has continually reminded me of the importance of staying focused on the original purpose. Though not all endeavors yielded favorable outcomes, the journey underscored the need for a persistent reminder to remain concentrated on the ultimate goal.