Last week, the processing.js project released version 1.2 which is their largest release to date, and focuses on performance, compatibility, 3D, and bug fixes.

Since our last release, exciting things have been happening in browser development. WebGL, the 3D extension of the HTML5 canvas element, has now shipped in Firefox and Chrome, and is being tested in nightly builds of Safari and Opera. Processing.js has been fully WebGL compatible for more than a year, and version 1.2 includes some great 3D performance and bug fixes. We’ve also written a guide to help explain how Processing.js uses canvas and WebGL to support the various Processing render modes. Processing.js is a great way to get started with 2D and 3D graphics on the web, without having to understand all of the underlying technologies. With several guides for people new to Processing, JavaScript developers and Processing developers, there has never been a better time to jump in!

This release also includes some important changes to ensure better compatibility with Processing 1.5. First, we’ve altered our default frame rate to match Processing’s (i.e., 60 fps). Developers who are upgrading from previous versions of Processing.js, and who don’t explicitly set a frame rate, may notice that sketches seem to run more slowly. Don’t worry, Processing.js is faster than ever! Your sketch is just drawing at 60fps. It’s possible to make things as fast as the browsers will allow by setting a higher frame rate, but this will of course consume more CPU, and actually not provide any real gain other than bigger deltas between visible frames.

Here are some great examples of processing out in the wild:

• Winners of Zynga’s Facebook Game competition
• Using Processing.js to design tomorrow’s fashion
• A fantastic collaborative data visualization tool
• A real-time Twitter visualizer
• Another great Twitter visualization tool
• An experiment in painting with circles
• Visualizing MacGyver episodes
• @Zombies, a Social Network Story Telling experiment
• One of many interesting Processing.js and CoffeeScript experiments we’ve seen lately
• Using Processing.js as dynamic website background
• A virtual museum
• popcorn.js + processing.js + box2d.js
• Drawing flowers
• Video showing the iPad with Arduino + Processing.js
• Creating video game sounds and visualizing the waveforms
• A graph visualization tutorial
• A simple but fun mouse maze game
• Graffiti drawing demo

Since the release there has already been a minor point release to 1.2.1.

Congratulations to the Processing.js team.