About vvvv – visual programming for .NET

VVVV

Visual programming for .NET

vvvv is a powerful visual programming environment designed for artists, designers, and technologists to create real-time generative art, interactive installations, and immersive visual experiences. Unlike other tools, vvvv offers granular control and supports the full .NET ecosystem, enabling seamless integration of advanced libraries. It also stands out with multi-threading capabilities for smooth performance and the option to export your patches as native Windows applications.

Used by professionals all over the world, vvvv is perfect for large-scale projects that demand real-time processing and complex visuals. Whether you’re crafting live shows or interactive spaces, vvvv provides the flexibility and power needed to push creative boundaries.

WHAT IS VVVV?

Why choose vvvv?

When talking about visual programming environments, vvvv stands out where you might hit limitations in other environments. Unlike others that restrict you to curated high-level node sets, vvvv allows you to extend its functionalities completely visually by essentially patching C# directly. This unparalleled flexibility means you can overcome obstacles and push your creative boundaries further than ever before.

Intuitive Visual Programming

vvvv’s node-based visual programming interface makes it incredibly easy to get started. You can create complex multimedia projects without writing a single line of code, simply by connecting nodes. Perfect for visual thinkers and beginners, vvvv offers an approachable entry into the world of programming.

Real-Time Operation

Designed for real-time operation, vvvv allows you to see changes instantly as you create. Thanks to its state hot-reload technology, vvvv is ideal for live performances, interactive installations, and rapid prototyping, where immediate feedback is crucial. vvvv’s runtime mode allows you to modify your program while it is running, with compilation happening seamlessly in the background. This saves you time by instantly showing the effects of your changes without needing to restart your program.

The Visual Language Powering vvvv

vvvv acts as the development environment for VL, its powerful visual programming language. VL enables multi-paradigm programming by combining elements from dataflow, functional, and object-oriented programming, providing a rich and versatile environment. VL combines visual code blocks for loops, conditions, and more, making it easy to create complex logic without writing code. With VL, you get the flexibility to tackle more complex projects and enhance your creative possibilities. VL also provides an advanced type system, ensuring reliability and efficiency with automatic type detection and support for both simple and complex data types. The development environment includes real-time feedback, debugging tools, and support for asynchronous programming and multithreading.

Extendability and Openness

vvvv supports a wide range of input devices and protocols, making it highly versatile for interactive applications. Whether you’re working with sensors, audio/visual devices, or other software environments, vvvv has you covered. And if you miss a node implementation for a device, you can add it on your own by accessing any .NET library completely visually.

Harness the Power of .NET—With or Without Code

With vvvv, you can easily leverage the full .NET ecosystem without writing any C# code. Simply reference any available NuGet library, and it becomes accessible through the visual node browser, significantly expanding your toolkit for creative projects. However, for those who prefer coding or when text-based code makes more sense for certain tasks, vvvv offers the flexibility to write C# directly. This makes vvvv a perfect fit for both visual programmers and traditional developers, ensuring that no matter your workflow, you have the power to customize and extend your project as needed.

Export Executables

Unlike other visual programming environments, vvvv allows you to export your projects as standalone Windows executables and Linux Console apps. This means you can share your work easily, run it on different machines without vvvv installed, and even distribute your creations commercially.

Community and Resources

Benefit from a collaborative community and extensive resources that help you maximize your creative potential.

Flexible Licensing Model

vvvv offers a flexible licensing model, advantageous for artists and small studios working on a budget. With vvvv’s unique T.R.U.S.T model, you’ll learn without the hassle of copy protection, feature limitations, or mandatory registration. The vvvv developers trust that, as you advance your skills, you’ll declare your commercial use honestly, supporting the continued development of this incredible tool.

This video shows greatly how you patch in vvvv.

This VVVV showreel features stunning projects by renowned studios, presented in order of appearance:

Background

History of vvvv

Initially developed by Frankfurt based media studio MESO as an in-house tool to create real-time media installations, in the early 2000s vvvv amassed a global community that continuously develops the visual programming software further. MESO and many other professional studios became key drivers for avant-garde projects, produced many innovative installations with vvvv and engages in a mutually beneficial relationship with the creative software developers.

Being able to program in real-time and produce complex reactive media environments while operating on a graphical interface was the challenge set by the team of early vvvv developers Sebastian Oschatz, Max Wolf, Sebastian Gregor, and Joreg.

Over the past decade, design as well as art affiliated disciplines have profited from an extended repertoire of digital tools and rising technologies, with vvvv being one of the trendsetters in the field of creative coding. This is due in part to its graphical interface, which makes it appealing for designers who are used to iterative solutions.

Today, the use of vvvv has spread worldwide and it is a widely-used professional tool from immersive live visual set ups to actual product prototypes, from artistic projects to award-winning stage presentations on international trade fairs.

Driven by a diverse and high profiled community of visual artists and other software creatives vvvv has been maturing over the past decade to an industry standard when it comes to interactive environments.

In the early years, NODE Forum for Digital Arts became vvvv’s “real-life” platform for informational interexchange, which has by now grown into one of Europe’s biggest media arts festivals. The NODE Institute emerged in 2019 from the need of ongoing education all over the year.

The NODE Institute

connecting the nodes

Visual programming for .NET

Why choose vvvv?

Intuitive Visual Programming

Real-Time Operation

The Visual Language Powering vvvv

Extendability and Openness

Harness the Power of .NET—With or Without Code

Export Executables

Community and Resources

Flexible Licensing Model

History of vvvv

The NODE Institute

Legal

Program

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