Objective

This project will give you practice in manipulating one-dimensional arrays, and writing JUnit tests.

Overview

The finished project will be a implementation of a game called "Jumble".  The game starts by choosing a random word from a dictionary.  The chosen word is scrambled, by applying one or more transformations to the word.  Then the scrambled word is displayed, and the user attempts to unscramble it using as many transformations as he/she needs!  The game automatically ends when the original word has been recovered.

See the sample run section for pictures of a typical game.  Note that there is a "hint" capability whereby the cells that are close to their correct position are colored yellow.

JavaDoc

Click here to see the JavaDoc for this project.   Here you will find specifications for the class you must write (Jumble) and also for the other classes that comprise the project.   Before attempting to write the Jumble class, be sure to read this document and familiarize yourself  with the following classes that have been written by us:

• Dictionary
• Cell
• Random131

Jumble Class

This is the class you will write, see the JavaDoc for a complete description.  Important:  You must follow the instructions very carefully, especially in the methods called generateScrambledPuzzle, generateRandomScrambledPuzzle, and getCurrentContentsAsCells.  Any deviation from the algorithms described in the JavaDoc will cause you to fail tests!  In particular, be sure that you are generating random numbers exactly as described therein!

Important notes:

• You may use whatever instance variables you choose.  We recommend using a char array to represent the solution word (the original unscrambled word), and another char array to represent the current word (the current state of the puzzle).
• You may add as many methods to the Jumble class as you like, either public and private.
• You may NOT write any constructors for this class.
• You may NOT use any static variables.

JUnit Tests

You are required to write a series of JUnit tests to test out the class you are writing.  20% of your grade on this project will be determined by the thoroughness of the tests you write.  (Note:  To get any credit at all for your JUnit tests, your project must pass all of the tests you have written!)  Put your tests into the file provided called "StudentTests.java".   If the tests are not located in this file, you will not get credit for them.

Each time you write a significant method for your class, you should write a series of JUnit tests (in the StudentTests file) that check to ensure that the method is working as it should.  If you come to office hours for help debugging this project, the first thing we are likely to ask you is:  "Show me a JUnit test that demonstrates the problem you are having."

Note:  In order to get JUnit to work, you may have to add the JUnit jar file to your build path. To do this, right-click the project folder and select "Build Path", "Add Libraries".  Select "JUnit" and click "Next".  Choose "JUnit 3.8.1" and click "Finish".

Interacting with the GUI

To make it easy (and more fun) to play we have provided a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that will allow you to apply transformations to the current set of characters representing the game state. To run the game using this GUI, run the main method found in the PlayJumble class.   (Note: In spite of the similarity of names, Graphical User Interfaces and Java interfaces are two separate concepts.)   You can develop this program without using the GUI at all. 

The GUI does all the work of interacting with the user and displaying the images. It calls methods in your Jumble class to perform the actual transformations, which define the game's behavior. You implement these transformations. The relationship is shown in the figure below.

The PuzzleGUI class relies on the Jumble class to implement the game's behavior. When the user clicks on cells in the puzzle, the GUI calls the appropriate methods from the Jumble class in order to perform the required processing.

Documentation

All code you write must be well documented:

• Every class needs to have a well defined and well described purpose.
• Every data member of a class (both static and instance) needs a comment to tell its purpose.
• Every method needs to have a well defined and well described purpose which is a "contract" for that method. If someone were to call the method, this comment should tell them everything they need to know about the method, including: assumptions that the method requires in order to work properly and what the method is going to accomplish. This comment should be very detailed and include everything someone modifying the code would need to know.
• Comments that are internal to a method are necessary to describe the purpose of parameters and local variables. Internal comments are also needed to describe the purpose of sub-parts of that method and to describe confusing sections of code.
   

Requirements

• As with all programming assignments:
  • You must use meaningful variable names and good indentation.  In particular, when you are naming the parameters for methods like "swap", do not use the variables names "i" and "j".  Instead, use variable names like "firstCellSelected" and "secondCellSelected" or something similar.
  • You must avoid code duplication, by calling appropriate methods (rather than cutting and pasting code), although you need not write your code so that multipleSwap calls swap. You may define your own private utility methods to perform often repeated tasks.
  • Because we are using an automatic testing system, it is important the you adhere closely to the specifications.
• You must use Random131.getRandomInteger(), and not Java's built-in random number generator, for all random numbers.
• You may not write any constructors for the Jumble class.
• You may not use any static variables in the Jumble class.

Grading

Your grade will be computed as follows:

• Style:  10%
• JUnit tests written by you in the file StudentTests:  20%
• Release Tests:  35%
• Secret Tests: 35%

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