Preface

• present 4 iterative projects that the reader can implement
• brain-storm and solve each iteration
• discuss algorithm and data structure alternatives
• discuss "elements of programming style"

This book is not an introduction to programming or Java. It is intended to support a second semester course in either subject. It is assumed that the reader is comfortable with: variables and scope, flow of control constructs, arrays, functions, parameter passing mode(s), classes, objects, and the Java standard library. See appendix A for leveling topics. Recursion is used in two projects (a review is provided in appendix C).

Each project requires graphical user interface programming. This is only a means to an end. The focus is not on Javas AWT or Swing; the focus is exploring algorithm and data structure development. See Appendix B for sample GUI code to gauge the quality of Swing programming that will be used. If desired, the reader can copy this code to jump-start the GUI project.

Here are the highlights of each chapter.

Mastermind game (command line user interface) algorithm to evaluate each guess Mastermind abstraction in a class and driver code in main() 3 iterations Prompt for and receive input, supply a default answer Create a MastermindModel component that computes the "black" response Compute the "white" response in the MastermindModel Mastermind game (GUI) Model-View decoupling and reuse resize the game as the window is resized JFrame, Canvas, Graphics, MouseListener 8 iterations Draw the bare board Draw the color palette at the bottom Select a color and put it in the first row Add the JButton at the bottom and put colors in each row Add GUI exposure processing Integrate MastermindModel and add black-white responses Allow a new game to be started when the game is won Allow the answer to be toggled above the board
Fifteen Square puzzle (command line user interface) data structure to represent squares recursion FifteenSquare abstraction in a class and driver code in main() 5 iterations Display a 4x4 grid, receive input, update display Randomize the squares Implement single-square move Implement multi-square move Refactor to support user-defined width and height Fifteen Square puzzle (GUI) Model-View decoupling and reuse JFrame, JButton, GridLayout, ActionListener 2 iterations Draw the board Refactor into model, DOS view, and Swing view
Fourteen Peg puzzle (command line user interface) data structure to represent pegs data structure to represent jumps 3 iterations Draw the board Input a position and remove or reinstate its peg Input and implement move requests Fourteen Peg puzzle (GUI) Model-View decoupling and reuse JFrame, Canvas, Graphics, MouseListener 3 iterations Draw the board Select a position and remove or reinstate its peg Refactor into model, DOS view, and Swing view Fourteen Peg puzzle move advisor recursion algorithm to find all possible answers depth-first search 3 iterations Write a program that uses random moves to find solutions Write a program that uses depth first search to find every possible solution Integrate the second program into the results from the last chapter
Set game (GUI) multi-tiered algorithm to draw playing cards algorithm to evaluate each guess algorithm to find all possible answers JFrame, Canvas, Graphics, MouseListener 9 iterations Draw 12 blank cards Draw 9 cards that implement number, shape Draw 9 cards that implement number, shape, color, fill Encode the 4 dimensions and represent 81 cards Draw 81 cards Select, hilite, and remove 3 cards at a time Shuffle cards, build entire UI, count the number of sets found, refill holes Design the model, validate each set selected Compute all sets present, display the list of sets present

This book is modeled after the 1978 classic The Elements of Programming Style. That text took many programs culled from programming textbooks and reworked them while deriving rules like,

Write clearly - don't sacrifice clarity for 'efficiency'.