Due: 2:00 P.M., Monday, 11/22/10

In this assignment, you are to implement the menu commands that were displayed in the dropdown lists in Program 8. These commands should work as they did in Programs 6 and 7. The only difference is that now the user interacts with the program through graphics components in the window instead of the command line. The Help function can be very simple: just a list of the commands and how to use them. Nevertheless, try to make the commands easy enough so they can be used without referring to the Help function. It can all be done with various kinds of textboxes, but you may also want to use some buttons, checkboxes, or radio buttons. The choice is up to you. The main criterion is that the program should be easy to use. You don't need to implement the display command because a picture of the board will be displayed in the final version of this program. For this assignment, all you need to do is create a simple graphics component showing where the board will eventually be displayed. The main thing you should do is make sure that your other graphics components (drop down menu items, text boxes, and so on) don't cover up the board.

Your program must follow these implementation restrictions:

• Your main method should be in a class named TestChess.
• You must use the Java classes in java.awt and javax.swing to implement your GUI. Some of you may have systems that allow you to "write" GUI programs by using your mouse to create graphics objects, i.e., without writing code. Do not do this. All the code in your program should be text written by you. (Of course, you will need to import and use many Java classes.)
• The program should interact with the user entirely through GUI components such as windows, menus, buttons, text boxes and so forth. The details are up to you; the main criterion is that the commands and responses should be easy to understand and use. The only time the command window is used is to initiate execution of the program.
• All game files should be kept in a folder named GameFiles, which should be in the current directory.
• You should organize your TestChess.java file following the example of HelloWorldSwing in the tutorials. That is, the main method contains nothing but a call to the method SwingUtilities.invokeLater, and the file also contains a static void method which is the start of your GUI code.

Your grade will be based on how well you design and implement the code, how thorough your error handling is, on good programming practices, and on thorough testing. Coding guidelines for Java programs are posted here.

Add comment documentation to your program (all classes) and use javadoc to extract the documentation into an HTML file. Include a javadoc comment for each class and each method. The class comment should include your name and the date (use the @author tag). Method comments should briefly describe the purpose of the method, its arguments, and what, if anything, it returns (using @param and @return as appropriate).

The physical location of the javadoc comments is critical. A class comment must immediately precede the line containing the keyword class, and method comments must immediately precede the method.

When you have commented your source files, run javadoc to create the .html files and view them in a browser of your choice.

• You don't need to turn in hardcopy of your source code or test run.

  Do not give me a copy of the javadoc.html files.

• All Java programs will be submitted by copying (or ftping) them to a specially designated directory in AFS. Each person in the class has a subdirectory which has the same name as your login in /afs/cu/class/cs242/fa10

  Within this individual directory, create a subdirectory named p9. Copy only the source files and an executable JAR file into this directory, not class files or javadoc files. So, for example, if your login name was smithjd then the files TestChess.java, TestChess.jar, and any other .java files your program uses should be copied to /afs/cu/class/cs242/fa10/smithjd/p9. These directories have permissions set so that no one other than yourself and Prof. Lynch can read the files. You may, of course, use whatever operating system and compiler you wish to develop your code, but the version you turn in, both hardcopy and the files submitted to AFS, must compile and run under JDK installed in the Clarkson ITL (our lab room).

  I should be able to run your program by downloading TestChess.jar into any folder and entering the command line

  java -jar TestChess.jar

• Correct execution. The program must follow all the specifications above.
• Correct implementation. The program must follow all the design requirements above.
• Error checking. You have to figure out what kinds of errors your program should check for, and how it should handle them.
• Readability of the code: commented and well-structured, so that it is clear what the code is doing. Use an accepted programming style. The style of the text is fine, or you can follow the Code Conventions. Whatever you do, be consistent.
• Appearance of the graphics. Your graphics window should be neat and easy to understand.
• Human factors. An inexperienced user should be able to run the program, and the program should interact with the user with clear, understandable prompts and responses. This means that the user will always be able to tell whether or not a command was successfully executed, and if it was not successful, the user is told what the problem was.
• Timely submission of your program. Programs uploaded after the start of Thanksgiving break will not be graded.