Java Programming
2003-2004 Assignment 1

Pong is a simple computer game based on table tennis (ping/pong). The objective of 
this assignment is for you to produce an Applet to simulate the game for a single user. 

In the ‘full’ game of Pong two players compete against each other. Each player has 
control of a paddle, one located on the right hand side of the screen the other on the 
left. In the single player game of Pong a single paddle is used to return the ball into a 
three sided playing area. The paddle can be controlled by the mouse or the ??key (up) 
and?? key (down). 

This assignment covers elements of learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 6 on the module 
descriptor http://www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/destech/tech/moddes/EL2405.pdf

More specifically it will demonstrate your ability to write a graphical applet using 
threads and listeners to control an animation. The following notes give an outline of 
the assignment, they then outline a structure for the code (and marking scheme).



The action of the ball will be implemented as an autonomous Thread. It will move 
over the canvas in diagonal paths. It will be deflected by the walls and, in the case of 
a hit, the paddle. Initially the ball will be positioned in the centre of the playing area. 
However its initial direction will be random (1 of four eg. Northwest, Northeast, 
Southwest, Southeast). In the event of a miss by the paddle a beep will be emitted and 
the ball will be repositioned at the start position, once again the initial direction will 
be random.


You must produce the following classes:-

i)	class Ball extends Canvas implements Runnable
This will move the ball over the surface of the Canvas. It will detect 
whether or not a wall has been hit and use an instance of the Monitor 
class to detect whether or not the paddle has been hit. Whenever 
necessary it will reset the position of the ball to the centre of the 
playing area.

ii)	class Paddle extends Canvas
This will contain a KeyListener to reposition the paddle in response to 
presses of the up/down keys. It will inform an instance of the monitor 
of any change in the paddle position.

iii)	class Monitor
This will record the position of the paddle. It will contain a 
synchronised method to ensure mutual exclusion of access to the 
paddle position

iv)	interface Configuration
This will contain global configuration data (e.g. ball size, canvas size 
etc). 

v)	The applet itself. This will instantiate instances of the above classes, 
initialise the game and start any threads.


Assessment

This will be based largely on the quality (readability and reliability) of your code. 
More specifically marks will be awarded for demonstrating an understanding of:-

1)	Java Applets
2)	Java Classes
3)	Java Interfaces
4)	Java Threads
5)	The Canvas class

Recommendations on the overall class structure (e.g. see above) and instructions on 
aspects of the language not so far covered will be given during lectures and laboratory 
sessions as appropriate.