Department of Electronic Engineering
Assessments 2019/20
ELE00041I
Java Programming
The assessment for this module comprises the following two components:
Project Code contributes 65% of the assessment for this module.
Individual Report contributes 35% of the assessment for this module.
Clearly indicate your Exam Number on every separate piece of work submitted.
Unless the assessment specifies a group submission, you should assume all submissions are
individual and therefore should be your own work.
All assessment submissions are subject to the Department’s policy on plagiarism and, wherever
possible, will be checked by the Department using Turnitin software.
Submission is via VLE and is due by 12:00 on 7 May 2020 (Summer Term, Week 4,
Thursday). Please try and submit early as any late submissions will be penalised.
Please remember that if this is your first year of study, you need to complete the mandatory
Academic Integrity Tutorial http://www.york.ac.uk/integrity/
Java Programming Assignment
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Java Programming
Assignment 2019/20
Dr Stuart J Porter
1 Task: Flocking Simulation
You are to design and implement a flocking simulation in Java using object-oriented programming
techniques and Java libraries that have been introduced in lectures and labs. You must use directly
the canvas and geometry classes developed in your “drawing” and “geometry” packages from the
laboratories – failure to use these will result in an overall mark of zero for the “Project Code”
component of the assignment; you may add to these classes as appropriate. You should also make
use of the classes/code developed in the “turtle” package – you should modify these as appropriate
for the new task.
Figure 1: Flocking birds: the flock seems to be an entity in and of itself but is really a collection of
individuals, each following a set of simple rules.
Your application must simulate flocking behaviour in a two-dimensional world displayed graphically
on the computer screen. Each individual in the flock should be able to move around and interact with
others by following a set of simple rules that result in emergent flocking behaviour.
Your program must allow for the number of individuals and flocking parameters to be set and/or
varied by the user through interacting directly with your application.
There is a circular obstacle of radius 75 pixels centred at (350,250) on the canvas. This is impervious
to any individuals – they cannot move into it or through it. You must implement this obstacle as part
of the base specification.
To achieve high marks, the project should demonstrate good object-oriented design
practices, such as inheritance and polymorphism, along with modular well-written code with good
documentation and a well written and well-structured report.
To achieve high marks the program should be extended to include other complexities, such
as control over simulation speed, obstacles, collision detection or other types of individuals for the
flock to interact with (perhaps add predators into the simulation from which prey flee). However, a
simple program that works is better than an unfinished, overly ambitious attempt that does not
compile or execute correctly.
Java Programming Assignment
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2 Academic Misconduct
This is an individual assignment – you MUST work on the program and report on your own. You are
welcome to consult any sources of information you can find if you provide appropriate reference and
attribution to the authors. If you use code written by anybody else (including your lecturers) you must
make it clear which part is yours and which has been written by the other person. You should make
this clear both in your report and in the code, itself.
Wholesale copying or reworking of large code chunks or a complete program written by someone
else is not acceptable.
If the rules on what constitutes correct academic conduct are not clear, please consult the University
guide on Academic Misconduct here:
https://www.york.ac.uk/students/studying/assessment-and-examination/academic-misconduct/
3 Submission
You are to write your program in standard Java and it must compile and execute correctly on the
departmental laboratory computers using the Java command line tools or Eclipse.
Submission will be via the VLE in two parts:
1. Individual Report: a PDF report (no more than eight A4 pages in length)
2. Project Code: A zip file containing:
The Java source code for your program (fully commented and properly indented).
A simple text file named README.txt that explains which source files should be compiled
and the entry point used to run your final program.
PLEASE NOTE: Anonymised marking - use your exam number only
Marking will be done anonymously so DO NOT put your name on or in any of the submission parts.
Instead, your report, code comments and filenames should identify you using your exam number
only.
Java Programming Assignment
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4 Marking Guidelines
The marks are broken down into the categories below (all marks in percentages). The Project Code
will be marked under “Object-Oriented Design” and “Program Implementation”, the Individual
Report will be marked under “Report”.
Appropriate Object-Oriented Design Practices (30)
Use of multiple classes 6
Use of composition within your classes 4
Use of inheritance within your class structure 4
Use of polymorphism when referring to your objects 4
Use of interfaces within your class structure 4
Use of inner and/or anonymous classes 4
Use of public, private and protected 4
Program Implementation (35)
Compiles, executes and runs without error 5
Execution (how well does the actual program work) 6
Completeness (how complete is the submitted program, how functional) 4
Modular, non-duplicated code (short, reusable, single-purpose methods) 4
Program documentation (commenting, formatting, suitable names of variables, etc) 4
Clarity and simplicity of program (good program structure, logical flow) 4
Extended functionality (going beyond the basic specification) 8
Report (35)
Explanation of the flocking algorithm you used 5
Explanation of design 12
Explanation of program implementation 12
Readability and formatting 6