Subject: MN: Re: MCMapper

From: "Snow" <snowl@s...>
Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 21:51:04 -0000

Dunx said:
> Now all we need is something to use that information to parse game state
> documents and draw the current positions onto a map.

That shouldn't be too difficult, but XMLifying the Ruleset and writing my XML/XSLT web site
preprocessor take precedence.

> > You will need a Java 1.1 VM to run it. I've tried it on MS JView v5 and
> > Sun JRE v1.1.6 which worked
> > fine and Sun JDK v1.2 which didn't.
>
> Oo er... how does it fail? I don't have a 1.2 JVM to hand at the mo, although
> I do need to get hold of one. Hmm.

It throws an exception when I try to use the XML parser. I don't know what the exception is or
exactly where it's thrown because it goes off the top of the screen.

> I'm also not fussed about the data structures - as long as what you're using
> works, and is general enough to cover other maps, I'm not bothered.

Sorry, I should have asked first really. I should also have asked whoever wrote the JavaScript
calculator now I'm thinking about it.

I removed some information about quadrants and zones because I figured they could be worked out
automatically (in theory). I made it a little more flexable by allowing multiple lines on a line
segment for co-situated stations (the bit that didn't transform well). And missed out the line
orientation because I thought it would be too difficult to implement. It should work equally well on
other maps.

> The only book I've read on the subject is "Object-oriented Modeling and
> Design" by James Rumbaugh (and four others) which is considered a classic.
> The notation used is similar to (indeed was the prototype for) parts of the
> UML standard, but it can be rather heavy going.

I might look at that.

> A book I've seen consistently recommended is "Thinking In Java" by Bruce
> Eckel. I mention it because it apparently does a very good job of explaining
> how objects work in Java, so it might be a good bet here.

I read that, it's an excellent book to learn Java from, but not really about design.

> An XML ruleset, eh?
> Want a hand?

Unless you happen to know how to write an XSLT word wrapper it's just a matter of plodding through
the Ruleset standardising the format, so the convertion can be automated. Not something I'd want to
inflict on someone else really. I was actually doing this before I was distracted by TheVoteMachine
and MCMapper, so it's not going to happen quickly.

Snow
-Standardising the Ruleset.