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CSCI 1302 - Gallery v2022.sp

Approved for: Spring 2022

Some Image

This document contains the description for the cs1302-gallery project assigned to the students in the Spring 2022 CSCI 1302 classes at the University of Georgia.

Deadline Options

There are different deadline options for this project. Students who perform their final submission via the submit command before the date/times listed below automatically receive the associated Submission-Based (SB) extra credit. The late penalty does not start applying until after the final date listed.

  • TUE 2022-04-26 (APR 26) @ 11:55 PM EST (+20 SB Extra Credit)
  • WED 2022-04-27 (APR 27) @ 11:55 PM EST (+10 SB Extra Credit)
  • THU 2022-04-28 (APR 28) @ 11:55 PM EDT (+0 SB Extra Credit)

Please read the entirety of this file before beginning your project, including the FAQ in the Appendix.

Table of Contents

Course-Specific Learning Outcomes

  • LO1.d: Use shell commands to compile new and existing software solutions that are organized into multi-level packages and have external dependencies.
  • LO2.e: Utilize existing generic methods, interfaces, and classes in a software solution.
  • LO3.a: Create and update source code that adheres to established style guidelines.
  • LO3.b: Create class, interface, method, and inline documentation that satisfies a set of requirements.
  • LO5.b: Utilize a build tool such as Maven or Ant to create and manage a complex software solution involving external dependencies.
  • LO7.a: Design and implement a graphical user interface in a software project.
  • LO7.c: Use common abstract data types and structures, including lists, queues, arrays, and stacks in solving typical problems.

Academic Honesty

You agree to the Academic Honesty policy as outlined in the course syllabus. In accordance with this notice, I must caution you not to fork this repository on GitHub if you have an account. Doing so will more than likely make your copy of the project publicly visible. Please follow the instructions contained in the How to Download the Project section below in order to do your development on odin. Furthermore, you must adhere to the copyright notice and licensing information at the bottom of this document.

Updates

Updates will be posted here. You will be informed about any changes through Piazza and eLC so please keep a lookout for them.

Project Description

Your goal is to implement a GUI application in Java using JavaFX 11 that displays a gallery of images based on the results of a search query to the iTunes Search API. This will require you to lookup things in Javadoc and apply your knowledge of things like inheritance, polymorphism, and interfaces. The functional and non-functional requirements for this project are outlined later in this document. Here is an example of what your program might look like:

screenshot1

Part of software development is being given a goal but not necessarily being given instruction on all of the details needed to accomplish that goal. For example, even though working with things like images, threads, JSON, and the iTunes Search API haven't been covered in class, you are going to need to lookup how to do these things in order to complete this project. Starter code and a generously helpful FAQ are provided. After actively reading through the main parts of this project description and taking notes, please read through the FAQ to see if it answers any of your questions.

This project is also designed to help you better understand the usefulness of good class design. While you can technically write your entire JavaFX-based GUI application entirely in the start method, this will make your code messy, hard to read, possibly redundant, likely more prone to errors, and it wouldn't pass a style audit. Before you write any code, you should plan out your application's scene graph (i.e., the containment hierarchy), and design custom components as needed. If you find that you are writing a lot of code related to a specific component (e.g., setting styling, adding event handlers, etc.), then it's probably a good idea to make a custom version of that component in order to reduce clutter.

We are also using this project to further introduce you to Maven. As you are actively encouraged to create and document additional classes in order to create customized, reusable components (e.g., for dealing with the image views), it would be slightly tedious to compile and run your code frequently. Instead, you can use Maven to more easily compile your code and handle dependencies (e.g., for the Gson library mentioned in the FAQ). Please see the "Project Structure" sub-section of the Absolute Requirements section for an overview of what you can do with Maven. While this project is already provided to you as a Maven project, you may still find is useful to read the CSCI 1302 Maven Tutorial to gain a better understanding of what Maven is.

Suggested Checklist

To help you with planning out this project, here are some suggested steps you can take that your instructors believe will help you complete the project more easily. Some of the items in this checklist may not make sense until you have read the entire project description, including the appendices. These steps are suggesions and, therefore, do not constitute an exhaustive list of steps that you may need to take to complete the project.

Preparation:

  • Read through the entire project description, including the appendices, and write down questions as you go.
  • Read it again! This time, you may be able to answer some of your own questions.

Frontend:

  • On paper, decompose the visual elements of your application to identify some of the objects you may need.
  • On paper, draw the scene graph for your app.
  • Identify opportunities for the creation of custom components.
  • Write some of the code to make your app look like what it needs to look like.
  • Use Git to stage and commit your changes often; create and merge branches, as needed.

Backend:

  • Create any custom component classes.
  • On paper, hash out how you might store the list or lists of image URIs.
  • Write a method to retreive the JSON response string for a query to the iTunes Search API based on a query string.
  • Write a method that returns a list of URI strings based on a JSON response string retrieved from the iTunes Search API.
  • Use Git to stage and commit your changes often; create and merge branches, as needed.

Putting it all Together:

  • Consider using a list or array to help you access the various ImageView objects in your scene; making new ImageView objects all the time is not reccommended. Remember, the ImageView objects are like the picture frames. You wouldn't toss out a picture frame every time you changed the picture.
  • Make the buttons work at a basic level (you can decide what basic is).
  • Make the progress bar work (requires careful consideration of the threading required by some of your app's event handlers).
  • Make the random-replacement work.
  • Use Git to stage and commit your changes often; create and merge branches, as needed.

Project Requirements & Grading

This assignment is worth 100 points. The lowest possible grade is 0, and the highest possible grade is 120 (due to extra credit).

Functional Requirements

  • Main Requirements (100 points): Your application needs to have the components listed below. They need to function as described. If a certain aspect of a component (e.g., style or behavior) is not specified in these requirements, then that aspect is at the discretion of the implementor. The screenshot provided earlier in this project description is meant to serve as a reference. It is okay if implementors deviate visually from the screenshot. You should setup the application's scene graph in whatever way makes most sense to you and meets the requirements. In addition to the required components, implementors should feel free to add more components and/or functionality as long they do not distract too heavily from the functionality of the required components. Here are the required components:

    Before we break down the points, please see the mockup below, which contain notes about the app's required functionality. Details provided in the mockup are to be considered as part of the project requirements. To access the mockup, you can click on the image below or the link below the image.


    Entire Mockup | Mockup Slideshow

    Here are some details about the required elements:

    • Search Bar (60 points): The app must have an area near the top that contains a play/pause button, a component for users to enter a search term, a component for users to select a media type, and a "Get Images" button. Additional details are provided in the mockup.

      • Play/Pause Button (10 points): This button should allow the user to enter and leave "play" mode, the semantics of which are described later under "Random Replacement." The button text should change, as needed, to reflect whether the app is "play" mode.

      • Query Term Field (10 points): This component should allow the user to enter in a term that your application will use when it queries the iTunes Search API. Its initial contents should correspond to some default term of your choosing (e.g., "jack johnson").

      • Query Media Type Dropdown (10 points): This component should allow the user to select a media type that your application will use when it queries the iTunes Search API. This dropdown should default to having "music" selected.

      • Get Images Button (30 points): This button should cause the application to query the iTunes Search API using the URL-encoded version of the term and media type provided by the user, then update the "Main Content" area accordingly and/or show an alert (if a problem is encountered).

        • Instructions for how to query to iTunes Search API are provided here, including a description of the parameters you can provide when performing a query. When your application performs a search query, only the following parameters should be used:

          Parameter Value
          term URL-encoded version of the term provided by the user.
          media URL-encoded version of the media type provided by the user.
          limit "200"

        • Only a distinct set of URIs should used if there are any duplicates. Implementers are not expected to handle situations where two distinct URIs refer to identical images.

        • If less than twenty one (21) distinct artwork image URIs are available in the query response, then an alert dialog should be displayed to the user with an appropriate error message. In this scenario, the images in the main content area should not be updated.

        • If twenty one (21) or more distinct artwork image URIs are available in the query response, then all the images associated with those distinct URIs should be downloaded. After all the downloads are complete, the main content area should be updated to display the first 20 downloaded images. The remaining images should not be omitted as they will be needed to facilitate the "random replacement" described elsewhere in this document.

    • Message Bar (10): The app must have an area near the top that provides initial instructions to a user, then gets updated over time, as the user interacts with the app. Additional details are provided in the mockup.

    • Main Content (10): The app must have an area near its center that displays a collection of twenty (20) artwork images. The initial set of images are all the same defult image ("file:resources/default.png"), but users can update the images by clicking the "Get Images" button. Additional details are provided in the mockup.

      • Images are gathered by querying the iTunes Search API. We have included information here on how to programmatically perform such a query. A query response may contain multiple results, each with its own artwork URI (named artworkUrl100) that you can use to download the images.

    • Status Bar (10) The app must have an area near the botton that contains a functional progress bar and a message indicating that images are provided by the iTunes Search API. Additional details are provided in the mockup.

      • Progress Bar (10 points): The application needs to have a progress bar that indicates the progress of downloading all the images once a distinct set of image URIs is determined for a query response. Please note that this progress bar is not merely aesthetic. It should actually show the progress of downloading the individual images.

    • Random Replacement (10): The app must allow users to enter into a "play" mode after images are successfully gathered. While in play mode, the app reandomly replaces one of the displayed images with an already downloded image. Users should be able to turn off "play" mode once they start it, either by clicking "Pause" (changes to button to "Play" and stops the replacements) or by clicking the "Update Images" button. Whenever the play/pause button displays "Play" and is enabled, a user should be able to click the play/pause button to enter "play" mode. Additional details are provided in the mockup.

Non-Functional Requirements

A non-functional requirement is subtracted from your point total if not satisfied. In order to emphasize the importance of these requirements, non-compliance results in the full point amount being subtracted from your point total. That is, they are all or nothing.

  • (0 points) [RECOMMENDED] No Static Variables: Use of static variables is not appropriate for this assignment. However, static constants and static utility and/or test methods are perfectly fine.

  • (10 points) User-Friendly Experience: The windows of your application should not exceed a pixel dimension of 1280 (width) by 720 (height). Except for reasonable delays resulting X forwarding, your application should not hang/freeze or crash during execution. If a grader encounters lag, then they will try to run your application locally using the same version of Java/JavaFX that's used on Odin.

  • (20 points) Code Style Guidelines: You should be consistent with the style aspect of your code in order to promote readability. Every .java file that you include as part of your submission for this project must be in valid style as defined in the CS1302 Code Style Guide. All of the individual code style guidelines listed in that document are part of this single non-functional requirement. Like the other non-functional requirements, this requirement is all or nothing.

    NOTE: The CS1302 Code Style Guide includes instructions on how to use the check1302 program to check your code for compliance on Odin.

  • In-line Documentation (10 points): Code blocks should be adequately documented using in-line comments. This is especially necessary when a block of code is not immediately understood by a reader (e.g., yourself or the grader).

Absolute Requirements

An absolute requirement is similar to a non-functional requirement, except that violating it will result in an immediate zero for the assignment. In many cases, a violation will prevent the graders from evaluating your functional requirements. No attempts will be made to modify your submission to evaluate other requirements.

  • Project Structure: The location of the default package for the source code should be a direct subdirectory called src/main/java. When the project is compiled using Maven, the the default package for compiled code should be target/classes. The classes in the starter code are in the cs1302.gallery package. Any additional classes that you create should be located in or under the cs1302.gallery package. The main application class should be cs1302.gallery.GalleryApp, and the driver class should be cs1302.gallery.GalleryDriver.

    Executable scripts are provided with the starter code to help you execute the various Maven commands with corrrect command-line arguments. Assuming you are in the top-level project directory, use the following commands to run Maven:

    • Clean and Compile:

      $ ./compile.sh

    • Clean, Compile, and Run:

      $ ./run.sh

    We encourage you to view the scripts, but you should not modify them. The graders will use the versions of these scripts provided with the starter code to compile and run your program.

  • Development Environment: This project must must compile and run correctly on Odin using the specific version of Java that is enabled by the CSCI 1302 shell profile. For this requirement, the term compile should be interpreted as compile with no errors or warnings.

    If you decide to introduce additional .java files into your project, then they are expected to fulfill all non-functional and absolute requirements, even if the main parts of the project do not use them. This includes, but is not limited to the code style requirements. You may assume graders will compile your source code using Maven so that dependencies are handled automatically. You should remove any .java files that you do not need before submission.

  • No FXML or use of Scene Builder: FXML and SceneBuilder are advanced tools that are not currently covered in this course. Use of either for this project is prohibited. Please note that the project is not easier with these tools. In most cases, they actually make the project harder, especially since those topics have not been covered.

  • No use of JsonArray, JsonElement, JsonObject, and JsonParser: You may not use the following classes provided by Gson:

    • com.google.gson.JsonArray
    • com.google.gson.JsonElement
    • com.google.gson.JsonObject
    • com.google.gson.JsonParser

    To parse a JSON-formatted string, use a Gson object's fromJson method to parse the string directly into instances of classes that represent the data. Classes for an iTunes Search response and result are provided with the starter code. Instructions for parsing JSON-formatted strings using fromJson is described in the JSON reading.

  • No use of the openStream() method in URL: You may not use the openStream() method provided by the java.net.URL class. If you need to access web content, then use an HTTP client as described in the HTTP reading.

Grading

The graders will compile and run your code on Odin using Maven. They will test each of the functional and non-functional requirements and total up the points earned. This project is worth 100 points. Students have an opportunity to earn up to an additional 20 points via extra credit.

How to Download the Project

On Odin, execute the following terminal command in order to download the project files into sub-directory within your present working directory:

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/cs1302uga/cs1302-gallery.git

This should create a directory called cs1302-gallery in your present working directory that contains the project files.

If any updates to the project files are announced by your instructor, you can merge those changes into your copy by changing into your project's directory on Odin and issuing the following terminal command:

$ git pull

If you have any problems with any of these procedures, then please contact your instructor.

Submission Instructions

You will be submitting your project via Odin before the deadline indicated near the top of this document. Make sure your project files are on odin.cs.uga.edu. Change into the parent directory of your project directory. If you've followed the instructions provided in this document, then the name of your project directory is likely cs1302-gallery. While in your project's parent directory, execute the following command:

$ check1302 cs1302-gallery

If there are style guide violations, then fix them and retest your code! Once you have no style guide violations, you can submit using the following command:

$ submit cs1302-gallery csci-1302

If you have any problems submitting your project then please send a private post to your instructor via the course Piazza as soon as possible. However, creating a post about something like this the day or night the project is due is probably not the best idea.

Appendix - Useful Links

Important Readings

Third Party APIs and Libraries

Other

Appendix - FAQ

Below are some frequently asked questions related to this project.

  1. How do I query the iTunes Search API?

    In order query the iTunes Search API, you need to access the iTunes Search API service via a carefully contructed URI. Here is a an example of a query URI that searches for all Jack Johnson audio and video content (movies, podcasts, music, music videos, audiobooks, short films, and tv shows):

    https://itunes.apple.com/search?term=jack+johnson&limit=200&media=music

    Here is a breakdown of the URI:

    URL Component Meaning
    https://itunes.apple.com/search Endpoint URI for the Search API
    ? Denotes the start of the query string
    term=jack+johnson Parameter key=value pair
    & Denotes that an additional parameter is to follow
    limit=200 Parameter key=value pair
    & Denotes that an additional parameter is to follow
    media=music Parameter key=value pair

    In this example, the parameters term, limit, and media are passed to the iTunes Search API along with their URL-encoded values (e.g., the user might enter the term "jack johnson" into the query text field, but the URL-encoded version "jack+johnson" is what is used in the URI string).

    If you want to read more about each parameter in the query URI, then refer to their entries in the iTunes Search API documentation.

    The body of the response, i.e., the content of a request to the iTunes Search API, is simply a string that is formatted using JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). You could perform string manipulation to retrieve pieces of information from this JSON-formatted string, however, in this project, you should parse it using a Gson object's fromJson method as described in the JSON reading. A complete example that illustrates how to download and parse the JSON-formatted string for a query to the iTunes Search API is also provided in the HTTP reading (see cs1302.web/cs1302.web.Example3 under "Complete Examples").

    See the String: You can see the giant JSON-formatted string by visiting one of your carefully constructed URLs for an iTunes Search API query. Some web browsers may display the string directly, while others may attempt to download it. You can see it on Odin using wget and cat (or use less if you want scrolling):

    $ wget -qO- "https://itunes.apple.com/search?term=jack+johnson&limit=200&media=music" | cat

    If you want to see formatted JSON output (i.e., properly tabbled, newlines added, etc.), then you might pipe the output of wget into jq instead:

    $ wget -qO- "https://itunes.apple.com/search?term=jack+johnson&limit=200&media=music" | jq "."

    URL-Encoding: You may have noticed that we said jack+johnson is the URL-encoded value for "jack johnson". When constructing a URI query string (i.e., anything after the ? in a URL or URI) in Java, take special care that any values (e.g., the value of the term parameter) are URL-encoded.

    URL-encoding is easily accomplished for you using the static encode method in URLEncoder. You should use the non-deprecated overload of this method, supplying StandardCharsets.UTF_8 for the character encoding as seen in the HTTP reading. Here is an example that URL-encodes "jack johnson" into something that can be used in a URI query string:

    URLEncoder.encode("jack johnson", StandardCharsets.UTF_8); // returns "jack+johnson"

    IMPORTANT: To be clear, you do NOT need to URL-encode the entire URI string; you only need to URL-encode the parameter values.

  2. How do I download and parse the JSON-formatted response body for a query?

    Instructions that describe how to download content from a URI into a string are provided in the HTTP reading. That reading includes a complete example that illustrates how to download and parse the JSON-formatted string for a query to the iTunes Search API (see cs1302.web/cs1302.web.Example3 under "Complete Examples"). Classes to model the search response and results are already provided with this project's starter code:

    If you call GSON.fromJson inside your GalleryApp.java file, then use ItunesResponse.class for the second argument.

  3. How can I use Google Gson in my project?

    We have already added the Gson library to your project by adding its Maven dependency to your pom.xml file. At the time of this writing, version 2.9.0 is the version we are using and is considered a stable release.

    The HTML Javadoc documentation for the Google Gson API can be found here.

  4. What does "local variables referenced from a lambda expression must be final or effectively final" and how do I fix it?

    Like local and anonymous classes, a lambda expression can only access local variables of the enclosing block that are final or effectively final. That is, a variable local to method can only be involved in the body of a lambda expression if it is either explicitly declared as final or if its value does not change after initialization over the entire body of the method. A variable is local to a method (i.e., it's a local variable) if it's declared inside of the method or if it's a parameter to the method. Please note that this restriction applies to the variables themselves and presents an interesting scenario in the case of local reference variables. A local reference variable may remain effectively final even if the internal state of the object being referenced is changed so long as the variable itself (i.e., the reference value) does not change.

    This problem can be usually be fixed by effectively making use of instance variables and/or writing methods that return an instance of the interface being implemented via the lambda. For example, consider the following scenario that results in the compile-time error message "local variables referenced from a lambda expression must be final or effectively final":

    void someMethod() {
    for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
        EventHandler<ActionEvent> handler = e -> {
            // something involving i
            System.out.println(i);
        };
    } // for
} // someMethod

    The variable i is local to someMethod and neither final nor effectively final because its value changes after each iteration of the for-loop. In this scenario, an instance variable is unlikely to be appropriate as the value of i itself does not need to be accessible to the rest of the methods in the class. A suggested way to fix this is to create a method that returns an object of the interface being implemented by the lambda expression, ensuring that i is effectively final in that method. Then, we can call that method in someMethod instead of creating the lambda there directly. For example:

    EventHandler<ActionEvent> createHandler(int i) {
    EventHandler<ActionEvent> handler = e -> {
        // something involving i
        System.out.println(i);
    };
    return handler;
} // createHandler
    void someMethod() {
    for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
        EventHandler<ActionEvent> handler = createHandler(i);
    } // for
} // someMethod

    In this new scenario, the variable i is an effectively final local variable in the block enclosing the lambda expression in createHandler, thus avoiding the problem described by the compiler.

    Why is this an issue? Well, the big reason is that the language does not support it. Why doesn't the language support it? I speculate that the reason has to do with how local variables are managed internally in memory. As methods get called and return they occupy and free up a region of memory called the program stack. It is very likely that the region of memory used by the method that created the lambda is freed up before the object created by the lambda is used. If the body of the lambda expression attempts to change the value of the variable, then what does that mean if the variable is not longer there!?

  5. How do I make my application not freeze/hang when executing long running event handlers?

    For the most part, your GUI application is just like any other Java application you have ever written. If a line of code takes a long time to execute, then there is a delay before the next line of code is executed. This can be problematic in GUI applications since the underlying GUI framework, essentially, pauses what it is doing in order to do what you ask it to do. This can cause your GUI to hang/freeze (i.e., become unresponsive) when you have code blocks that take more than a few milliseconds.

    The way to solve this problem is through a basic use of threads. The term thread refers to a single thread of execution, in which code is executed in sequential order. When you start a Java program, you usually start with one thread that starts executing the main method. This thread is usually called the "main" thread. When you launch your JavaFX application using the Application.launch method, part of the application life-cycle is the creation of a thread for your GUI called the "JavaFX Application Thread". By default, any code executed by or in response to your GUI components (e.g., the code for an event handler) takes place in the JavaFX Application Thread. If you do not want your program to hang, then you will need to create a separate thread for your problematic code snippets. This works because a Java program can have multiple threads executing concurrently.

    Although we have been using "problematic code" to describe the code snippet causing the problem, such a code snippet really represents some "task" that you want your application to perform without hanging. Therefore, I will try to use "task" throughout the remainder of this response.

    To create a new thread, you need to instatiate a Thread object with a Runnable implementation for your task. Since Runnable is a functional interface, this process is simplified using a lambda expression or method reference. Here is an example idiom of how to create and start a new thread for a task:

    Runnable task = () -> {
    /* task code here */
};
Thread taskThread = new Thread(task);
taskThread.setDaemon(true);
taskThread.start();

    The call to taskThread.setDaemon(true) prevents this newly created thread from delaying program termination in the case where either the main thread or the JavaFX Application Thread terminate first. After the call to taskThread.start(), both the JavaFX Application Thread and the newly created thread are executing concurrently. You cannot assume that statements in either thread execute in any predetermined order.

    Note: Using a daemon thread may not be desirable when writing data to a file or database as the JVM may terminate the thread before it's finished.

    From the Reading: You are free to use the runNow method from the Brief Introduction to Java Threads reading (please attribute the reading in your Javadoc comment). This method wraps the lines above into a single method so that you can write the following instead:

    runNow(() -> {
    /* task
     * code
     * here
     */
 });

    Or, if you have written a method for your task, then it looks even nicer:

    runNow(() -> myTaskMethod());

  6. What does "Not on FX application thread" mean and how do I fix it?

    Usually an IllegalStateException with the message "Not on FX application thread" means that you are trying to access or modify some node (i.e., a component or container) in the scene graph from a code snippet that is not executing in the JavaFX Application Thread (see Q7 in this FAQ). If you want to fix this, then the code snippet that interacts with the scene graph needs to be wrapped in a Runnable implementation and passed to the static runLater method in Platform. Since Runnable is a functional interface, this process is simplified using a lambda expression or method reference. Here is a basic example:

    Runnable sceneTask = () -> {
    /* place code interacting with scene graph here */
};
Platform.runLater(sceneTask);

    The runLater method ensures that the code in your Runnable implementation executes in the JavaFX Application Thread.

    While it might be tempting to place all of your task code in the Runnable implementation provided to runLater, that is not a good idea because it will be executed on the JavaFX Application Thread. If you already writing code for another thread, it was likely to avoid having it run on the JavaFX Application Thread. Multiple calls to the runLater method can be used, as needed, to ensure only the code that interacts with the scene graph is executed in the JavaFX Application Thread.

    PROTIP: If the lambda expression that you pass into Platform.runLater uses a local variable, then we strongly suggest you refactor the call into its own method in order to guarantee that the local variable is final or effectively final when used in the lambda expression. Here is an example snippet that might be problematic:

    Platform.runLater(() -> progressBar.setProgress(0));
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
    // some task
    // code here
    Platform.runLater(() -> progressBar.setProgress(1.0 * i / n)); // OH NO!
} // for
Platform.runLater(() -> progressBar.setProgress(1));

    An earlier FAQ question dealt with why the code above is an issue for the compiler. While the suggested solution there will also work here, this simplified approach may be more approachable for students. Simply create a method that performs the desired Platform.runLater:

    private void setProgress(final double progress) {
    Platform.runLater(() -> progressBar.setProgress(progress));
} // setProgress

    With that method present, we can simplify the original snippet:

    setProgress(0);
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
    // some task
    // code here
    setProgress(1.0 * i / n); // NICE!
} // for
setProgress(1);

  7. How do I make a code snippet execute repeatedly with a delay between executions?

    For this particular task, creating a thread and attempting to make it wait is not the way to go. Instead, the easiest way to accomplish this in a JavaFX application is using the Timeline and KeyFrame classes. Here is an example that prints the current time (using LocalTime) to standard output every two (2) seconds (specified using Duration, indefinitely:

    EventHandler<ActionEvent> handler = event -> System.out.println(LocalTime.now());
KeyFrame keyFrame = new KeyFrame(Duration.seconds(2), handler);
Timeline timeline = new Timeline();
timeline.setCycleCount(Timeline.INDEFINITE);
timeline.getKeyFrames().add(keyFrame);
timeline.play();

    The Timeline object also hase a pause method to pause the execution of the timeline. Remember, JavaFX event handlers are executed on the JavaFX Application Thread.

  8. How do I pass around objects effectively?

    From time to time, you may need to access one part of your app from another part of your app. You used a good design (e.g., classes and inheritance), but you find that you're passing a lot of reference variales around, perhaps through constructors. If it were one or two variables, then it would not be a big deal. However, you are likely reading this question because you are passing a lot of variables around. Your first thought might be to make those variables static, but that is not good for a couple different reasons--recall what it means for a variable to be static as well as the non-functional requirements for this project. Using static variables as a "go to" solution is an example of an anti-pattern, i.e., a common response to a recurring problem that is usually ineffective and risks being highly counterproductive.

    The reccommended strategy is to add all those variables to your Application subclass as instance variables, then create getters / setters and higher level methods that interact with groups of variables in a controlled way. This will make the application object easier to work with, promote encapsulation, and help enforce self-governance of the object. When employing this strategy, you can then pass a reference to your application object around as needed. This way, you are only passing around one variable instead of many! In the other parts of your app (e.g., in custom components), simply call on the application object's methods to access and change the things you were previously passing around.

    Remember, if you are currently in your application class's start method, then you can pass a reference to the current application object into a method using the this reference variable.

  9. How do I access a local, non-downloaded resource (e.g., an image file)?

    You should place local files under resources in your project directory (you may need to create the resources directory). URIs or URLs prefixed with file: should be relative to your project directory.

    Example:

    Resource URI/URL
    resources/icon.png "file:resources/icon.png"
    resources/foo/img.png "file:resources/foo/img.png"

Have a question? Please post it on the course Piazza.

License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Copyright © Michael E. Cotterell and the University of Georgia. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License to students and the public. The content and opinions expressed on this Web page do not necessarily reflect the views of nor are they endorsed by the University of Georgia or the University System of Georgia.

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