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Reference for Processing version 1.0.1+. If you have a previous version, use the reference included with your software. If you see any errors or have any comments, let us know.

Name

### color

Examples

    color c1 = color(204, 153, 0);
    color c2 = #FFCC00;
    noStroke();
    fill(c1);
    rect(0, 0, 25, 100);
    fill(c2);
    rect(25, 0, 25, 100);
    color c3 = get(10, 50);
    fill(c3);
    rect(50, 0, 50, 100);

Description

Datatype for storing color values. Colors may be assigned with get() and color() or they may be specified directly using hexadecimal notation such as #FFCC00 or 0xFFFFCCOO.
Using print() or println() on a color will produce strange results (usually negative numbers) because of the way colors are stored in memory. A better method is to use the hex() function to format the color data, or use the red(), green(), and blue() functions to get individual values and print those. The hue(), saturation(), and brightness() functions work in a similar fashion. To extract red, green, and blue values more quickly (for instance when analyzing an image or a frame of video), use bit shifting.
Values can also be created using web color notation. For example, "color c = #006699".
Web color notation only works for opaque colors. To define a color with an alpha value, you can either use the color() function, or use hexadecimal notation. For hex notation, prefix the values with "0x", for instance "color c = 0xCC006699". In that example, CC (the hex value of 204) is the alpha value, and the remainder is identical to a web color. Note the alpha value is first in the hexadecimal notation (but last when used with the color() function, or functions like fill() and stroke()).
From a technical standpoint, colors are 32 bits of information ordered as AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGBBBBBBBB where the A's contain the alpha value, the R's are the red value, G's are green, and B's are blue. Each component is 8 bits (a number between 0 and 255). These values can be manipulated with bit shifting.

Syntax

    color var
    color var = colorvalue

Parameters

var | variable name referencing the value
colorvalue | any color value

Usage | Web & Application
Related | colorMode() color() hex() red() green() blue()

Updated on November 22, 2008 08:39:25pm PST