CodeTree is a social network developed to create a worthwhile dialogue between new media artists of different skill levels and backgrounds. The objective of CodeTree is to facilitate learning between programmers, to introduce artists to new ideas and concepts, and to build an online exhibit of artistic expression through computer code.

The people involved in CodeTree include instructors, students and artists from around the world. The site is offered as a free service to anyone interested in programming art through the mediums of Processing, an open-source programming language developed by Ben Fry and Casey Reas at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Macromedia Flash, a Web animation tool that has introduced countless designers and artists to programming.

These two authoring environments were chosen because I feel they represent the two most popular forms of publishing code artistically on the Web. I also want to ensure that more than one authoring environment is provided for artists to choose from; with the constant rate of change in technology, it will be the concepts — not a particular programming language — that endure.

Site contributors are encouraged to document their code and include all authoring files with each submission to allow other users the opportunity to understand, amend and republish their own interpretation of the code. This submission requirement enables CodeTree to facilitate an open-source environment that is conducive to learning.
( Rich Hauck)