Java Programming Assignment
Note 1: Only use Java classes that are part of the standard Java SE SDK distribution! For the purpose of this assignment, you are not allowed to use any third party classes.
Note 2: You will find plenty of “solutions” on the WWW that, at first glance, claim to do what this assignment asks you to do. Trust me, I have looked at them and they do not work correctly with respect to the details that our assignment asks you to implement, so please do yourself a favour and follow the instructions in this document and do your own work. This assignment is designed in such a way that a cut & paste job from the WWW will not work.
Note 3: Familiarise yourself with the Java Style Guide at the end of this document.
All cases of plagiarism will be pursued! If in doubt, consult the Student Academic Integrity Policy https://guard.canberra.edu.au/policy/policy.php?pol_id=3175 or ask your lecturer.
The context for this assignment (all parts) is the fictional 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Thredbo, NSW. This assignment will test a student’s knowledge of and skills in writing application software for a particular task, understanding the business rules of a particular problem, coding these in a computer program, developing a graphical user interface, reading data from a text file on disk, and connecting to an SQL database from within the program. As such, the assignment requires you to integrate and synthesise what you have learnt so far, in order to design and create a correctly working solution.
For this assignment, students will use the Java programming language and development will be on the Eclipse IDE platform as practised in the computer lab classes. This assignment consists of several stages, with different requirements for undergraduate students in 4478 Introduction to IT and for graduate / postgraduate students in 8936 Introduction to IT G.
?? Stage 1: A simple console program (no GUI)
?? Stage 2: The same but wrapped in a GUI
?? Stage 3: Input comes from a text file – read only once, then information stored in a suitable data class, array, etc.
?? Stage 4: Input comes from an SQL database file.
4478 IIT 8936 IIT G
Part A – Stage 1 (25 marks) Part A – Stages 1 and 2 (27 marks)
Part B – Stage 2 (10 marks) Part B – Stage 3 (13 marks)
Part C – Stage 3 (15 marks) Part C – Stage 4 (10 marks)
Bonus – Stage 4 (up to 10 marks)
Stage 4 is a bonus stage for undergraduate students to give you a stretch target. It allows you to pick up extra marks to make up for marks lost elsewhere in the assignment, but note that you cannot achieve more than 50/50 marks.
Rules for Calculating the Scores
Specifically, the software application to be written sits in the context of the Snowboard Halfpipe competition. In the halfpipe event, athletes have two runs (Run 1 and Run 2). Riders perform a series of flips and twists of their own choosing. Each run is scored by six judges on a 100-point scale, where a ‘perfect’ run would score 100 points. Judges analyse the overall impression of the run, the difficulty of the tricks, their combination, amplitude, execution, variety and so on. Deductions are made for mistakes, such as touching the snow or flat landings.
After each run, the judges award a score (0-100). The highest and the lowest scores from the six judges are thrown out and the average of the remaining four scores is the overall score for that run. The highest score from Run 1 or Run 2 is the overall total score for the athlete, i.e. the scores of Run 1 and Run 2 are not averaged. The athlete with the highest score wins the gold medal.
Test Cases
When designing and implementing software applications, it is always important to first work out how to test the program(s) and what data to use, then to code. The following test cases have been designed to systematically test different conditions in the above rules. Use these to test your program, but make sure that your program can also handle other data.
Test Description Run 1 Scores Run 2 Scores Overall
Athlete scores in both runs 55,60,67,58,50,60 85,89,95,93,92,92 91.5
Athlete scores in Run 1, but not in Run 2 100,100,100, 100,100,100 0,0,0,0,0,0 100
Athlete scores in Run 2, but not in Run 1 0,0,0,0,0,0 100,100,100, 100,100,100 100
Athlete does not score in either run 0,0,0,0,0,0 0,0,0,0,0,0 0
Submission Instruction
Add all Java files (ending in .java) to a ZIP file. You do not need to zip the entire project folder, just the Java source file(s) (the ‘src’ folder). Submit the ZIP file via Moodle (max. size 10MB). When ready for marking, make sure you click on “Submit the Submission”. There is no need for a cover sheet. By electronically submitting your assignment on Moodle, you acknowledge that this submission is your own work.
Stage 1
You are to write a software application using the Java programming language that enables a user to enter the six judges’ scores for Run 1 and Run 2 awarded to an athlete, and then calculate the overall score for each run and the overall score (best score from either Run 1 or Run 2). In Stage 1, you will be developing a Java program without a GUI. Input and output are via the console.
Step-­-by-­-Step Guide for Stage 1
1. Think about your strategy first of how you will compute the overall score for each run and then the best score overall based on the above rules. Different strategies are possible. Here is one:
a. Use an integer array of 6 elements to hold the scores of Run 1 and a second one for the scores of Run 2.
b. Once the scores for each run have been entered by the user via the console and stored in the corresponding array, identify the smallest and the largest score in each array. These will not be counted.
c. Compute the average of the remaining four scores in each array. These are the overall scores for each run.
d. Identify the larger score of the two runs. This is the final score for the athlete.
2. Create a new Java project.
3. Add a simple Java class named Stage1. Do not add a GUI.
4. In the Stage1 class (file Stage1.java), you may put all code for the user interaction and the calculation into the main method. (You might still need to define global variables and constants outside the main method at the start of the class.) Declare and instantiate the integer arrays that will hold the scores at the start of the main method, for example:
int[] iaRun1 = new int[6]; int[] iaRun2 = new int[6];
5. In the main method, add code to read in the six scores for each run from the console. In Java, there are different ways to do this. A recommended way is to use the Scanner class:
Scanner inConsole = new Scanner(System.in);
// Read the first score for Run 1
System.out.print(“Enter the first score (0-100) of Run 1: ”); iaRun1[0] = inConsole.nextInt();
Repeat (and adapt) the last two lines for the other scores for both Run 1 and Run 2.
6. Now add the code that implements your strategy of calculating the number of scores based on your strategy developed under step 1.
7. Finally, add three System.out.println() statements that state the result for Run 1, Run 2 and Overall Score on the console.
8. Test your implementation with the test cases mentioned above (and additionally your own).
What the tutors will be looking for
The tutor’s instructions include
• Constants vs literals. Using constants is important for the ease of maintenance. Not using constants will result in lower marks. For example, consider constants for the default number of scores in each run or the minimum and maximum possible individual scores.
• Program code layout. Separate blocks of code by a blank line. Use comments.
• A comment is not an essay. Comments are important for the maintenance of a program and should contain enough details, but keep them concise. Do not comment every single line.
• The program must have a prologue. Check style against the Java style guide attached below (last 4 pages).
• Good names for your variables and constants. Check style against the Java style guide attached below (last 4 pages).
• Does the program work correctly?
Please refer to the Java Assignment Marking Feedback sheet for details on marks, as these differ for 4478 IIT and 8936 IIT G students.
Stage 2
As the user input and program output via the console is not very satisfactory from a humancomputer interaction and usability point of view, your task in this stage is to design and implement a Java Swing GUI application (using the built-in WindowBuilder in Eclipse and Java Swing components) that provides an easy to use interface.
This GUI application must allow a user to input the scores for each run. To this end, the user can
• input the data using Java Swing GUI elements, e.g. text fields, radio buttons, drop down lists, etc.,
• click on a Calculate button that starts the calculation of the overall score for each run as well as the final score for the athlete (highest score – either Run 1 or Run 2) from the current input and displays the output, and
• an Exit or Quit button to properly close the program.
Use the same code for the calculation of the scores as in Stage 1. Reusing code is an important part of software development.
You have a great degree of freedom in what GUI elements you choose and how you would like to design the layout of your GUI. The below example is really just that – an example the design, which you may copy if you are feeling uninspired to come up with your own design. What matters is the functionality of the design and that the user can input the required data in a sensible fashion.
Example of what the “empty” GUI might look like. You are free to use your own layout and other GUI elements, as long as the functionality is correct.
Notes:
• For this assignment, you do not have to do any checking for invalid user input (you may of course, if you want to), for example you do not have to check whether the user has typed in a negative number or a letter in the text fields for the scores. Checking for invalid user input will be discussed in lectures later in the semester.
• Your user interface does not have to be identical to the one above. This is just an example of how the GUI could look.
• Your GUI should update the output labels “Total“ for each run and “Best Score:” for the overall best score of the two runs in an appropriate manner with the calculated scores based on the rules when the Calculate button has been clicked.
What the tutors will be looking for
The tutor’s instructions include
• Constants vs literals. Using constants is important for the ease of maintenance. Not using constants will result in lower marks. For example, in addition to Stage 1, consider constants for the default width and height of the text fields so as to easily achieve a uniform look.
• GUI Design. Is it simple to use and easy to understand? Are all required components there?
• Program code layout. Separate blocks of code by a blank line. Use comments.
• A comment is not an essay. Comments are important for the maintenance of a program and should contain enough details, but keep them concise. Don’t comment every single line.
• The program must have a prologue. Check style against the Java style guide attached below (pp. last 4 pages).
• Good names for your variables and constants. Check style against the Java style guide attached below (last 4 pages).
• Does the program work correctly? Are the elements drawn the right way?
Please refer to the Java Assignment Marking Feedback sheet for details on marks, as these differ for 4478 IIT and 8936 IIT G students.
Step by Step Guide for Stage 2
1. Draw a sketch of your graphical user interface on paper. What Java Swing components will you use? Where will you place them? The above GUI is just an example. You can copy the design of it or create your own.
2. Add to the same project that was used for Stage 1, a new Application Window class (New ? Other ? WindowBuilder ? Swing Designer ? Application Window) for your GUI.
(See below for a screenshot.)
3. As in the lectures, workshops and lab classes, give that Java application a suitable name – Stage2 – (and optionally package name) of your choice.
A new JFrame object will be created and you should be able to switch between the Java source code for it as well as the empty GUI in the WindowBuilder editor in Eclipse.
4. Right-click on the grey area inside the JFrame and set the layout to “Absolute layout”. (Note, this shows up as “null” layout in the source code.)
5. Adjust the size of the JFrame to a suitable size for your GUI.
6. Add all the components for your GUI. Use Java Swing components, which you can add via the Palette in the WindowBuilder’s Design view. Make sure that the names you use for these components comply with our Java Style Guide (see below).
7. Add event handlers (ActionListeners) for your buttons, radio buttons, check boxes, etc. To do so, in the GUI editor right-click on the element (say, a JButton) and select Add event handler ? action ? actionPerformed. (Similar events may be needed for your checkboxes, radio buttons, etc.)
8. Add the code that does the actions, e.g. that does the calculation of the scores for each run and the overall best score.
9. Reuse your code for the calculation of the scores from Stage 1 by copying and pasting it from the Stage 1 main method into the Calculate button’s event handler.
10. Test your application! Run it as a Java Application. Enter the test cases listed above and check if your program gives the same result.
11. Make sure your code adheres to the Java style guide. Check for prologue comment and other comments in your code. You need to manually add more comments than the automatically generated comments!
Stage 3
In Stage 3 of the assignment, the input will not come directly from the user any more, but rather from a text file.
The file scores.txt contains the run scores of several athletes. Each line of this file contains the scores of Run 1 and Run 2 of one athlete. Each line consists of the athlete’s name, country, scores for Run 1, and scores for Run 2, separated by semicolons. The scores for each run consist of a comma-separated list of values. The following is an example:
Torah Bright;Australia;55,60,67,58,50,60;85,89,95,93,92,92
You will need to copy scores.txt into the same directory of your Eclipse project that holds the
.project file. When marking, the details in the file may change, but the structure will not.
Your task will be to add code to your program that reads the scores data from the text file, puts these into appropriate storage in memory (I suggest you create a data class similar to the example in star4.java and then create an array or vector that will hold each instantiation of that data class), adds the athlete names to a JList object, and allows the user to choose a name from this list.
Upon this selection, the program displays the country’s name for the currently chosen athlete in a text label (JLabel), displays the scores, computes the total scores for each run and the best score overall, then updates a drawing panel to display the scores in a bar graph like comparison. These are new components in Stage 3 that you can add to your Stage 2 GUI or write it as a separate GUI application (either way is fine).
Notes:
• For this part of the Java assignment, add Java Swing GUI components that allow the user to select a person’s name, via a JList, and that calculate the scores as well as draws a bar graph like comparison of the scores from each judge for both runs of an athlete in the text file.
• The bar graph should be drawn as soon as a person’s name is selected in the JList. It should show the score from each judge in each run as a vertical bar starting from a common baseline near the bottom of the drawing area.
• Update the label “Total …” and “Best score: …” labels according to the information for the currently selected athlete by getting the relevant information from the storage in memory (e.g. the data class) and calculating the scores for each run and the overall best score.
• Use different colours for the highest and lowest scores that are scratched, so that they are easily visible.
• The average score of each run is shown as a coloured horizontal line across the graph. Choose a suitable colour that is different from the colour you used for the vertical bars representing the scores.
• Try to reuse code, such as the code for the drawing, from Stage 1 and Stage 2. This will mean that you should have the GUI code separated from the drawing code and the file reading code (i.e. in a separate method or separate methods). This is good programming style!
• Remember that it is good practice to have a Quit button in your GUI to exit the program.
• The drawing area must have a minimum size of 300 x 200 pixels (but can be bigger). The drawing area should have a clearly visible border, but the bars / rectangles and lines not.
What the tutors will be looking for
The tutor’s instructions include (apart from the usual such as good variable names, prologue / comments, code layout, …)
• Use of constants. Think about where you could use constants here. For example, consider the width of the bar graphs to be a constant.
• The text file should only be read once. You probably want to do that at the start of the program. Consider how you would do that.
• Correct display of athlete’s information based on the details in the file.
• Separate GUI functionality from drawing. Students should use a separate method for the drawing. It is good practice and follows good programming style to separate GUI code from other code.
• There are various ways you can store the data when reading the file. You could use a multidimensional array, or create your own data class and then use an array or vector of this new data type. Using your own data class is preferential.
Stage 4
Here, the input will now come from an SQL database contained in the MS Access file scores.mdb. This file is available on the IIT / IIT G site on Moodle (UC LearnOnline).
There are two tables in the database, tblScores and tblCountry.
The table tblScores contains fields “athleteName”, “country”, “Run1_Judge1”,
“Run1_Judge2”, “Run1_Judge3”, “Run1_Judge4”, “Run1_Judge5”, “Run1_Judge6”, “Run2_Judge1”, “Run2_Judge2”, “Run2_Judge3”, “Run2_Judge4” , “Run2_Judge5”, and , “Run2_Judge6”.
A typical record would be Torah Bright,Australia,55,60,67,58,50,60, 85,89,95,93,92,92 .
Write a Java program with a GUI (Note: extending your GUI program from Stage 3 is acceptable, but you could also write a separate Java file for Stage 4; either way is OK) that allows the user to do the following:
• Let the user select the name of an athlete (e.g. from a JList) and display the athlete’s scores in the drawing area as in Stage 3. Update the labels in the GUI showing the scores, name, etc.
• Create a database report consisting of all athletes’ total scores for Run 1 and Run 2, and present the report with the following columns: “Athlete”, “Country”, “Total Run 1”, and “Total Run 2”. The report should be in ascending alphabetical order of “Athlete”. It should be written to a file “database_report.txt”. Make sure that your columns are properly aligned. Text columns should be left aligned, number columns right aligned.
Notes:
• You may extend your GUI from Stage 3 to include Stage 4, in fact you could start from Stage 2. If you do, label the parts clearly with “Stage 2”, “Stage 3”, and “Stage 4”, so that your tutors know which part of your program is in reply to what part of the assignment. Alternatively, you may write a separate file for each stage but can reuse code.
• Use a Disconnected Database Access model, i.e. connect to the database, run the SQL command, get the resulting virtual table in the ResultSet object, then disconnect again. Do not connect to the database and store all database information in local storage. Database Report for Stage 4
Each database report should
• include a header,
• include a column header,
• have columns lined up, with text columns left justified and numeric columns right justified.
• make provision for multi-page reports. At least one of your reports should actually be more than one (fictional) page in length. Do this by defining the report page length as 5 lines.
What the tutors will be looking for
The tutor’s instructions include (apart from the usual such as good variable names, prologue / comments, code layout, …)
• Correct connection to the database.
• Correct identification of all athletes’ scores. Show each judge’s score in a separate text label.
• Correct visualisation of the scores as a bar graph for the selected athlete in the drawing area as in Part A.
• Make sure that the lines in the database reports are split into pages and the columns are lined up and correctly formatted.
Java Style Guide
General
Your programs should be
• Simple
• Easy to read and understand
• Well structured
• Easy to maintain
Simple programs are just that. Avoid convoluted logic, nested if-statements and loops, duplicating execution (such as reading files multiple times), repeated code, being “clever”.
Programs can be made easier to read by following the “Layout” and “Comments” guidelines below.
Well structured code uses methods and functions to help tame complexity.
If programs are simple, easy to understand and well structured they will be easy to maintain. Easily maintained programs will also use constants rather than literals, and use built-in functions and types. Layout
The text editor in the Eclipse IDE does a good job of automatically laying out your program. You can control this operation to some extent (using the Tools/Options menu). However, you are unlikely to need to do so.
White space
Use white space freely:
• A blank line after declarations
• 2 blank lines before each function declaration
• A bank line between sections of a program or after a sequence of statements to separate a block of statements.
Names
Well chosen names are one of the most important ways of making programs readable. The name chosen should describe the purpose of the identifier. It should be neither too short nor too long. As a guide, you should rarely need to concatenate more than 3 words.
Letter case
Constants use ALL_CAPITALS. e.g. PI, MAXSTARS
Variables use firstWordLowerCaseWithInternalWordsCapitalised e.g. cost, numStars
It is a good idea to use the so called Hungarian notation where the first letter (or two) indicate what type the variable has:
• i for int, e.g. iNum
• l for long, e.g. lNum
• c for char, e.g. cLetter
• b for byte, e.g. bNum
• f for float, e.g. fFloatingPointNum
• d for double, e.g. dFloatingPointNum
• s for String, e.g. sName
• bo for Boolean, e.g. boCar
Methods (subs and functions) use firstWordLowerCaseWithInternalWordsCapitalised e.g. cost(), numStars()
Recall that the IDE preserves the capitalisation of the declarations.
Types of names
1. Names of controls / GUI elements should have a prefix indicating the type of control (Java Swing). The prefix should be lower case with the remainder of the name starting with upper case.
Control prefix example
text field text box label list box
combo box command button radio button check box panel track bar / slider jTextField jTextArea jLabel jList jComboBox jButton jRadioButton jCheckBox jPanel jSlider jTextField_ jTextArea_Amount jLabel_Result jList_Students jComboBox_Shares jButton_Quit jRadioButton_Colour jCheckBox_Salt jPanel_Drawing jSlider_X
2. Names of functions should be nouns or noun-phrases
Example:
newSum = sum(alpha, beta, gamma)
or
newSum = sumOfStudents(alpha, beta, gamma)
rather than
newSum = computeSum(alpha, beta, gamma)
3. Names of methods should be imperative verbs
Example:
printResults(newSum, alpha, beta)
rather than
results(newSum, alpha, beta, gamma)
4. Names of Boolean functions should be adjectives or adjectival phrases
Example:
if (empty(list))
or
if (isEmpty(list))
rather than
if (checkIfEmpty(list))
Comments
Comments should explain as clearly as possible what is happening. They should summarise what the code does rather than translate line by line. Do not over-comment.
In Java, you can either use /* Comment */ for a block comment possibly extending over multiple lines, or you can use // Comment for a one-line comment.
Comments are used in three different ways in a program:
• Heading comments
• Block comments
• End-of-line comments.
Heading comments: These are generally used as a prologue at the beginning of each program, procedure and function. They act as an introduction, and also describe any assumptions and limitations. They should show the names of any files, give a short description of the purpose of the program, and must include information about the author and dates written / modified.
Block comments: In general, you should not need to comment blocks of code. When necessary, these are used to describe a small section of following code. They should be indented with the program structure to which they refer. In this way the program structure will not be lost.
End-of-line comments: These need to be quite short. They are generally used with parameters to functions (to explain the purpose and mode of the parameter), and / or with variable declarations (to explain the purpose of the variable), and are not meant to be used for code. In Java, use // for endof-line comments.
Comment data, not code: Comments about the data – what it is and how it is structured - are much more valuable than comments about the code.
Prologue
Each of your programs should have a prologue. This is a set of “header comments” at the top of
Form 1. It should include
who wrote it // Author: Roland Goecke
when it was written // Date created: 12 Feb 2013
when it was last changed // Date last changed: 1 Mar 2013
what it does // This program does...
what files it reads / writes // Input: sample.txt, Output: none
Constants
A literal is a number such as 10 that is stored in a variable. You should avoid literals in your program code. Instead use constants. They are stored differently in the computer memory and can be used more efficiently by the compiler / interpreter. For example, instead of int iFine = 80;
use
public static final int SPEEDING_FINE = 80;
...
iFine = SPEEDING_FINE;
This makes your program easier to maintain. If the speeding fine changes, the change only has to be made in the one place. Methods and Functions
Using methods and functions is one of the simplest and most effective ways of dealing with complexity in a program.
When you write your own method or function to perform a calculation, it should not refer to any GUI controls. Do not mix IO and calculations in a method or function.
Method
• encapsulates a task
• name should be a verb. Example: printReport()
• should only do 1 task.
Function
o encapsulates a query
o return type is int, boolean, double…;
o if return type is boolean, name should be an adjective, otherwise name should be a noun.
?? Examples: isEmpty(list), SquareRoot(number) o should answer only 1 query.
Comments for each function and method (to be placed on the line before the method / function starts)
name above rules apply
purpose what it evaluates or what it does
assumptions any assumptions made, particularly on the arguments
Duplicated Code
View any duplicated code with suspicion. Look for a way of factoring the duplicated code into a method.
Built-­-in functions
Unless you have a good reason, use built-in functions rather than writing (or not writing) your own. They will be correct, flexible and familiar to a reader.
Types
Using types is an important way of making your intentions clear. Java does not allow you to be sloppy with your types. In IIT / IIT G, you are expected to choose appropriate types. You are also expected to use type conversions such as Integer.parseInt(“123”) and Double.toString(123.45).
Simplicity
Simplicity has long been recognised as one of the most important characteristics of programming. There are many ways of simplifying programs. These include avoiding nested IF statements, nested loops and complex conditions.