PROGRAMMING PROJECTS:

1. Due date: 07/02/2001, by 12:30p.

• Required File Names: ClickMe2.java, ClickMe2.html .
• The exercise is suggested by The Java^™ Tutorial: the applet in our second example draws a red spot when you click the mouse within applet's bounds. Use Java 2 API documentation to modify the applet so that it will display your name in purple instead of a red spot. (Hint: Purple is made of equal parts of red and blue.)
• This is how your applet should behave: ClickMe2.
• Make sure that you submit your header in the required format, and that you follow all the instructions listed below on this page.

2. Due date: 07/11/2001, by 12:30p.

• Required File Names: CheckAmount.java, CheckAmount.class .
• Computers are frequently used in check-writing systems such as payroll. To prevent fraud, most check-writing systems employ various check protection techniques. One common security method requires that the check amount be written both in numbers and "spelled out" in words. Write a CheckAmount program that inputs a numeric check amount and outputs the word equivalent of the amount. For example, the amount 112.43 should be written as

  	ONE HUNDRED TWELVE and 43/100
  	

  To simplify the case, you can assume that any check amount will be strictly less than 1000. The CATCH is that your program must handle all possible EXCEPTIONS and other errors that might arise because of bad input.
• The input/output method is up to your imagination, skill, and amount of time. The simplest way would be to read a number as command line argument, print out the result of conversion (or an error message) and terminate the program. A more intersting alternative is to arrange for interactive input, so that user will be able to do as many conversions as he or she wishes while the program is running. There are two possibilities to create simple input/output dialogs - CLI (Command Line Interface) or GUI (Graphical User Interface). For CLI version one can use java.io.BufferedReader class and java.lang.System.out.print() method, similar to Example 5. For GUI version one can use customizable graphical dialogs provided by javax.swing.JOptionPane class, please see Example 6 for an illustration of this class.
• Make sure that you submit your header in the required format, and that you follow all the instructions listed below on this page.

3. Due date: 07/18/2001, by 12:30p.

• Required File Names: Address.java, AddressBook.java .
• Write a class Address that represents a person's mailing address. It should have separate fields for the name, street address, city, state and ZIP code. Please think about what methods of java.lang.Object class should your Address class override. Include implementation for the overridden methods in your class. Create a simple driver class AddressBook which will allow one to store an unlimited number of mailing addresses (instances of Address class). At a minimum your AddressBook should allow user to enter new address, to search for a particular person's address, and to delete a specified address. Please do not forget about proper exception handling.
• Make sure that you submit your header in the required format, and that you follow all the instructions listed below on this page.

4. Due date: 07/26/2001, by 3:30p.

• Required File Names: Anagram.java .
• The exercise is suggested by The Java^™ Tutorial: An anagram is a word or a phrase made by transposing the letters of another word or phrase; for example, "parliament" is an anagram of "partial men," and "software" is an anagram of "swear oft." Write a program that figures out whether one string is an anagram of another string. The program should ignore white space and punctuation. (Hint: You need to use classes String and StringBuffer from the java.lang package, see Java 2 API specification.)
• The primary goal of this homework is to get acquainted with the String and StringBuffer classes. (We need to know them reasonably well since string manipulation is a necessary task for any kind of language based interaction.) Thus I am more interested in how you will implement a method which, given two Strings (phrases), decides if one of them is an anagram of the other, or not. The driver (i.e. main() method) is up to your imagination, skill, and amount of time.
  I would not recommend entering two phrases as a command line arguments - there is no natural division between two phrases, so in order to separate the phrases in a single array of arguments, one would have to introduce some artificial separator, and warn user about the proper usage. Not an elegant solution, at least in my humble opinion.
  Another arrangement for the driver (and the nicest one) is to ask for two strings dynamically, while the program is running. In order to get two strings from the user, one can use for example the input dialog provided by the JOptionPane.showInputDialog() (our D&D textbook uses this extensively right from the start, so there are plenty of sample code). Another way to read two strings from the user (in case you do not want to use Graphical Input Dialogs yet and prefer text-mode console input), is to use BufferedReader class. Please take a look at example Palindrome.java on the class web page to see how BufferedReader can be used to read strings interactively (this is Example #5).
• Make sure that you submit your header in the required format, and that you follow all the instructions listed below on this page.

5. Due date: 08/02/2001, by 04:00p.

• Required File Name: ColorSwitch.java .
• Colors are displayed on a video monitor by mixing the colors red, green, and blue (the three primary colors of visible light) in the amounts required to produce any given color. This method of display technology is called RGB. It is customary to specify intensity of each RGB component by an integer between 0 and 255. Create a Swing Application ColorSwitch which allows user to specify desired mix of Red, Green, and Blue. The application should then display the resulting color. (In case of erroneous input the application should display an error message in a separate dialog box). I would suggest to use the following classes:
  • javax.swing.JFrame for the main window;
  • javax.swing.JPanel for managing content of the main window;
  • javax.swing.JTextField for input of RGB values;
  • javax.swing.JButton for confirmation of input;
  • java.awt.Color for generating specified color;
  • javax.swing.JLabel for display of resulting color;
  • javax.swing.JOptionPane for error messages;
• Use Java 2 API documentation to learn about various classes involved in the project. Do not be afraid to experiment with the program.
• Make sure that you submit your header in the required format, and that you follow all the instructions listed below on this page.

6. Due date: 08/13/2001, by 4:00p.

• Required File Names: RaceDemo.java, RaceDemo.html, racedemo.jar .
• Write an applet that animates a race between three "runners". Each runner should be governed by a separate thread. The graphical representation of the "runners" and of the track is up to your imagination and skill. (For example, progress of each runner can be represented by a line of a different color, or you can represent each runner by a different geometric shape floating in space towards finish , or ...). There is just one requirement for graphics representation of the race: shape of the racing track should be SPIRAL, not just a straight line :-) The racers should run towards the center of that spiral. User should be able to choose (using different buttons, for example) whether the race should be "FAIR" or "UNFAIR". For a "fair" race you should set equal priorities to all runner threads. For "unfair" race you should set different priorities to different runner threads. (In this case you can either let user specify which runner gets the highest priority, or just set priorities at random). In the "fair" race all runners should try to "sleep()" for the same amount of time or to "yield()" at a regular intervals (the race should be really FAIR). For "unfair" race sleeping can be random. Give each thread a name. Print the name and current priority level of each thread before race starts. It would be nice if different threads would use different colors to print this information. After developing the applet, please pack all its class files (i.e. files generated by compilation of RaceDemo.java) into a single java archive file racedemo.jar. Arrange so that when a browser runs your applet, it loads the necessary classes from this jar file. In addition to creating an applet, please make your RaceDemo capable of running as a standalone application (outside of a browser). In other wirds, it should be possible to run it simply by typing "java LastDemo".
• To get you started, here is a different race applet from The Java^™ Tutorial:
  • The applet in action: RaceApplet.
  • The JAVA source code: RaceApplet.java.
  • The discussion of this applet in THE JAVA TUTORIAL: A Thread Race.
• Make sure that you submit your header in the required format, and that you follow all the instructions listed below on this page.

READING ASSIGNMENTS:

[1] Deitel & Deitel, "JAVA: How to Program, 3rd Ed." (Table of Contents)

[2] M.Campione, K.Walrath, A.Huml, "The Java Tutorial, 3rd Ed. A Short Course on the Basics."

06/25/2001

[1], Chapter 1 (sections 1.1 - 1.15).

[2], Chapter 1 "Getting Started".

06/26/2001

[1], Chapter 2 (sections 2.1 - 2.6).

[2], Chapter 2 "Object-Oriented Programming Concepts".

06/28/2001

[1], Chapter 4 (sections 4.1 - 4.13), Chapter 5 (sections 5.1 - 5.10);

[2], Chapter 3 "Language Basics".

07/05/2001

[1], Chapter 14 "Exception Handling" (sections 14.1 - 14.10);

[2], Chapter 7 "Handling Errors Using Exceptions".

07/10/2001

[1], Chapter 7 "Arrays" (sections 7.1 - 7.6 and 7.9), Chapter 8 "Object-Based Programming" (sections 8.1 - 8.16);

[2], Chapter 4 "Object Basics and Simple Data Objects".

07/12/2001

[1], Chapter 9 "Object-Oriented Programming" (sections 9.1 - 9.15);

[2], Chapter 5 "Classes and Inheritance".

07/17/2001

[1], Chapter 9 "Object-Oriented Programming" (sections 9.1 - 9.15);

[2], Chapter 6 "Interfaces and Packages".

07/24/2001

[1], Chapter 12 "Basic Graphical User Interface Components" (sections 12.1 - 12.15);

[2], Chapter 10 "User Interfaces that Swing (A Quick Start)".

08/05/2001

[1], Chapter 3 "Introduction to Java Applets";

[2], Appendix B "Writing Applets".

08/07/2001

[1], Chapter 15 "Multithreading";

[2], Chapter 8 "Threads: Doing Two or More Tasks At Once".

GENERAL PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES:

• Assignments will be distributed in class and posted on the class web page. Current homework assignments are listed above on this page. Read the text and stay a bit ahead of the lecture. Material from the reading part of an assignment may appear on midterms and finals. Approximately nine programming projects will be assigned over the course of the quarter. Each project will require you to write a program in Java to solve a specific problem.
• All programming projects must be submitted electronically, by placing your files in the "SUBMIT" folder in your account. Be sure to give your files the EXACT name required (remember that case counts). Computer programs must be submitted by the specified time on the due date. No homework will be accepted by e-mail to the TA or to the instructor. No late projects will be accepted.
  Leave the homework files in your "SUBMIT" folder for the rest of the course, even after they have been collected and graded. You may be able to submit files remotely with ftp, but it is best to make sure your submission works in the Lab before you submit. If you wish, you may overwrite a previous submission with a new version at any time before the due time on the due date. Please do not store any files in your submit directory other than those that are to be or have been collected. To confirm that you have submitted correctly, run the checksubmit program. This check generally requires a trip to the PIC Lab. Your graded assignment will be placed in your "RETURN" directory. Please create the directory if it doesn't exist. Also, check your "RETURN" subdirectory each week to verify your grades. This is very important; it is the only way to know for sure that you actually received credit for your assignment.
• Each program you submit MUST begin with the following header:
  /*
Your name
Your Student ID
Your e-mail address
I certify that the following represents my own independent work and
conforms with the guidelines of academic honesty described in the
course syllabus.
*/
Any homework submitted without this header will not be graded, and you will receive zero credit for it.
• Your code should be as easy to read as possible. Use indentation carefully and consistently to delineate levels of nesting. Disjoint blocks should be well separated by concise and informative comments. This will be worth at least 1 point of every assignment. Although you are allowed a fair amount of choice in style, please try to conform to the conventions used in lecture and in the text.
• You may use the PIC Computer Laboratory in Boelter Hall 2817 to work on your programming assignments. Use the Java 2 SDK for your projects in this class. If you have your own computer and would like to work at home, you can use your favorite java development environment. However, you must still submit your program to your UCLA class account. To do this, bring a floppy disk containing your program to the lab and copy your files to your class account. Always compile and test your programs on the lab machines before submission.
• Start working on programming assignments early. Do not wait until the last minute to submit your work, as the lab may be full near critical time. Deadlines for homework are strictly enforced.
• You are encouraged to discuss aspects of the course with other students, and you may discuss the homework assignments in general terms with others. You may also get help from the TA or the instructor in writing your programs. However, the general rules of academic honesty apply to all homework: each homework assignment must represent your own, independent work. In particular, you may not copy any part of a program written by someone else without citing the reference carefully.
• If you have a question on the way a homework was graded, you must contact the instructor within one week of its return. No e-mail request for regrades will be accepted, you must contact the instructor in person.
• Your programming will improve with practice. After finishing an assignment, do not be afraid to experiment with your own programs.