processing

Programming Interactivity: A Designer's Guide to Processing, Arduino, and Openframeworks
$50.00
This is a very good treatise about interaction among computers, microcontrollers, human beings and the outside world. In particular it explores Processing, Openframeworks and Arduino.
Absolutly clear on how to make things work, both hardware and software. Those who are not too familiar with electronics or programming will find the practical examples in this book easy to reproduce. Some problems may be encountered with "Openframeworks" though, having it up and running at the beginning. There are some links and forums where any unskilled individual can find help anyway.
This is a "must read" for the creative artist, designer, architect, etc.

Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists
$50.00
I also purchased another Processing Book (Learning Processing - orange cover) and although "Learning Processing" is a fantastic book, this one is much longer and in my opinion slightly better. Both are fantastic.

Visualizing Data
$39.99
a good book . On one hand for learning Processing on the other hand for (basic) visualizing techniques. A lot of examples.
Only the paper quality of the cover is at least at my copy quite poor. But thats a problem of O-Reilly not of the author.

Algorithms for Visual Design Using the Processing Language
$60.00
I would agree that this book is a lot less advanced than I was expecting but what makes it worse it the mistakes and lack of understanding by the author into many of the topics covered. For example when discussing fractals he makes the mistake of mixing up one way of generating a fractal with the definition of the class of fractals themselves. He even gets wrong the derivation of the name failing to mention it is anything to do with fractional dimensions. Other topics are equally well misunderstood in the authors mind.
However the worst aspect of the authors ignorance is when he strays into physical computing. His facts are not only wrong but examples and projects will lead people to permanently damage their Arduino boards if carried out. For example he states that circuits are made by welding together wires on a silicon board. This is patently rubbish, circuits are made by soldering together components onto a printed circuit board normally made of fibre glass. He gets the definition of why it is called a micro controller wrong and there are practical errors too. The section on LEDs fails to mention they need current limiting resistors and the example project given only works because there is an internal series resistor on the single type of Arduino board he used. Anyone attempting the same project and using another pin or board will permanently damage their Arduino. Similarly the sound transducer is shown correctly with a current limiting resistor but then he fails to use this in another project that combines two pieces of hardware.
All in all he give the feeling that he has attended a course on how to use Processing and the Arduino, he has incompletely understood it, and then thinks he is qualified to write a book. Not good enough!