CSPP 51090 & CMSC 22001: Software Construction Assignment 6: Players

Due: November 9, 2004 @ 5pm

Design and implement the following strategies as automatic players:

  • MoveFirstPawn [4pts]: This player tries to move the frontmost pawn with each die roll. If the frontmost pawn cannot move, this player considers the one behind it, etc.

  • MoveLastPawn [4pts]: This player tries to move the rearmost pawn with each die roll. If the rearmost pawn cannot move, this player considers the one in front of it, etc. (Note that once the rearmost pawn moves, it may no longer be the rearmost pawn.)

You will be expected to show your player test suites during the code walk for this assignment.


Some hints on testing:
  • Separate out pieces of the player's functionality as library routines and test these individually.
  • Build your tests as you build your players. That is, find some small piece of the player that you can implement. Implement and test that one piece (or, if you prefer, write test cases and then implement them) before moving on to the next one. Of course, that means that you have to have some idea of the overall shape before you begin.
  • Keep in mind that you are only testing your player -- if you find mistakes in your board or move checking logic, add a test case there.
  • To build a test case, construct a board and a die roll that you know should make the player behave in a certain manner. Then, call the players doMove method and see if the moves produced matched what it should have done in that situation.
  • Build many such test cases, starting with very simple ones and building up to more and more complex ones, with the goal of covering every different logical aspect of the player’s behavior.
  • Automatically test if the player fails. Only use printouts for debugging -- remove them when the tests pass! (In general, don't leave junk like commented out code or printouts in your code; that does not make it easier to read.)

Run a tournament to find out how these strategies perform. Which one is better? [2pts]



CSPP 51090 & CMSC 22001: Software Construction