-What kind of media do you use for your work?   >  
I generally develop my artwork by writing code in a language like C++ or   Java. Occasionally I use Lingo and Perl. I use the software I write to   gather input from some kind of sensing medium, like a mouse or camera, as   well as to control of some kind of display medium, like a video projector,   sound system, etc. Increasingly I am using these languages to control more   sculptural elements, like motors.

-Could you please write the tech specs of each technology? (java, >   c...)   >  
Java and C++ are nearly identical languages. In fact, Actionscript (the   language used in Flash animations on the Web) is also nearly the same as   these. There are some fundamental things which every computer language   needs to be able to do, like iteration and conditional testing, and so   that is why these languages are all so similar. So the differences chiefly   amount to small divergences of syntax. To people's perception, however,   these languages seem very different, not because of the languages   themselves but because of how they are typically used. The companies which   make these languages have made it easy to use Flash on the Web, or C in   embedded systems. But it could easily have been the other way around.

-Could you please tell us why you chose to use that particular >   language or software for that particular work?   >
The language I choose to use under given circumstances is a purely   pragmatic question, whose answer ultimately comes down to extremely dull   details of efficiency tradeoffs. People say things like "It's easier to   make things quickly in Java, because the syntax is simpler," or "C++ is   better for making things robust and fast, because you can control all of   the memory allocation," or "Lingo may be a dopey language, but it provides   powerful kinds of connectivity to many other kinds of systems," etcetera.   I think it depends on the circumstances of the project. I usually don't   prefer to discuss the tools I use, since I think it gives people the wrong   idea about the substance of a given project. The people who like to argue   in the so-called "Language Wars" are very tiresome.

In practice, sometimes there is a toolkit for controlling something I'm   interested in, like graphics or sound, and then I'll choose the language   that works with the toolkit. I used Lingo for my piece "JJ" because Mark   Daggett was kind enough to share his Lingo Carnivore interface, so he   saved me some effort. But I could have made the piece in any number of   languages, and I don't think that the piece would have come out much   differently. More importantly, I don't think that knowing that the project   was made in Lingo versus Java is very helpful information... it certainly   does not describe what the project is about.

-Are some languages better than others for specific works? (I mean: >   java is better for ....... while C is better for ..... and html for....)   >  I think the answer is no. But it is easier to run some executables than   others.

-Do you think it is possible to understand your work without any kind   of computer schooling?   >
I hope so. But understanding my work is different from understanding how I   programmed it. Sometimes I look at code that I wrote a year ago, and I   myself don't understand it anymore.