What simple GUI programs are there?

[LazyPrinzez]

Hello! I've just learned Java for about a month and a half. It's our focus for this semester. Now my teacher said that for our project, we are to make useful programs with GUI. She said that games would be okay. The thing is, I don't have any idea what I'm supposed to make in this project. Our deadline for passing program proposal is the end of January, but I still don't know what to make! >.<

I have thought of making a memo-calendar that would be like Google Gadgets but I guess that is just too much. I was thinking of making a maze but (heck) I don't know how heavy this project will be with GUI. T_T I was thinking of making a Chess game but, I'm not a chess player (I suck at chess, I know a THE rules but I suck at chess, logic for possibilities will be very hard). So now, I'm back to zero ideas.

Can anyone suggest?

My teacher requires GUI for our project but I haven't done any programs with GUI (she didn't teach us GUI just yet too!) still she insisted that we pass a project proposal before January ends. Help me, I'm panicking... ='(

PS ->> If my experiences matter, then I've done a few basics but NO GUI (not yet, because we didn't touch that topic just YET). I know what the parameters in a method name means, I know what modifiers (like public and private) mean and I know what static and non-static methods are. I also know what a constructor is, and I know about wrapper classes and overloading. Not much about inheritance and interface (just yet) but I'm reading ahead of our curriculum. So yeah, it's not much (I repeat, I'm just a beginner), but I hope this bit of information helps you for making a suggestion... ^_^

[ThatThatGuy]

since your is almost on the deadline .....

I suggest you should not try to build heavy gui applications....like games...
And so you're new to programming..

What i can say here is GUI programs are no simple... its complicated especially when one moves from Console.... So it takes a bit of a time for GUI programming.... and in java it a mess... i suggest you should stick o some basic application such as a Notepad.... A notepad would be a good way to start and Explore GUI Programming in any Language

[LazyPrinzez]

Yeah, like I don't wanna do GUI yet because we weren't taught that lesson yet. If I could just do that. T_T

But the thing is, my teacher wanted us to make a GUI program. If I were to be asked, I'd prefer to learn GUI first. My big problem is, I can't decide what to program since I don't how good my GUI programming will be in the future (when our teacher would finish the discussion) and how I would be able to apply it on my project.

I would really think a light GUI programming would be good. I don't want to look forward to finishing something what my skills can't do. I'd prefer doing what I can do as much as possible but since I don't know how far my GUI skills could go (and since we're kind of forced to propose something we don't know how to do yet), I think a light GUI would be the best choice.

But GUI is just a factor, a program suggestion is what matters, right? So logic factor first, then the weight of GUI to be applied (but this is a must factor though, how light of an application it may be).

Can you help me with a suggestion? Will tic-tac-toe be a nice one? So weak right? Okay, a slightly heavier one...any suggestions? Just suggestions, anyway...no codes will be okay...just ideas.... ^_^

Thank you in advance!!!

[LazyPrinzez]

Okay, now that I think of it, will a scrib-age like program be bad? (Scrib-age or bookworm like.)

Will this be a heavy program?

Okay, perhaps a word-list would make it too large. Same might go for the randomization of letter-combinations. Hmmm...what do you think?

By the way, ThatThatGuy, the deadline I mentioned beforehand was the deadline for passing the project program proposal, not the program itself. We're just in the planning stage...but I'm panicking though...February is fast approaching... O.O

[ThatThatGuy]

Oh !! a Tic Tac Toe would be a easy and will be built in a less amount of time... go ahead....

But your teacher should understand... that a learning student or a novice is not capable of grabbing things before being taught on their own....

bye the way are u in school or something.....

[LazyPrinzez]

Yeah, haha... I'm taking up Computer Science (even though most people think that you don't need a course for programming).

I was thinking of this game I tried in my friend's phone. It has a string of numbers scrolling across the screen for a short time then it asks questions like "What is the nth number?" or "How many odd/even digits were there?" or "Or how many 3's were there?" and on...

Will this be a difficult program? Okay, so maybe randomization of things will be difficult so how about taking off the randomization? Sort of scripted-like, will this be a difficult one? I guess this one would need minimal GUI. Plus it's a unique/not-so-popular-game so there wouldn't have any other competitors for this proposal. Haha! ^_^

By the way, another person got ahead of me and proposed tic-tac-toe, so I can't do that. The project program must be unique for everyone. T_T

[ThatThatGuy]

A game like that is pretty easy to build.... even logic required for a tic tac toe...
is not mere easy... requires fine logic....

You string game is fine and simple..... but look and consult your teacher as buildling such a simple application may cost you less marks

[LazyPrinzez]

Thanks ThatThatGuy!!! Okay, tomorrow I will consult her. If logic is all I would need for greater marks, then how about I randomize everything?

I was planning for an easy-average-difficult type of game. In each of the three levels, I would make the time interval for the string's marquee-like action become even less, and also, I might like to add questions like, "What are the 5th and 9th numbers?"

Then I randomize all of the strings to be shown and the answers would depend on the string chosen. I think that would require much logic (MUCH, on my part, that is).

If that's not enough then how about adding a scoring process and a username monitoring. There's also an optional Hall-of-Fame function. Obviously, I would need a database for this and data-managing/monitoring is quite a heavy load of logic (from my experience on VB6.0, which was my previous language [last year during my senior year in high school]). Yes, that was VB6, and that was a difficult one, how much more if I use JAVA? T_T (* I might die during the making of this project.*)

So those options might solve the lightness of the project's logic system, but I'd probably die (sorry for the exaggeration, but you get the point) if I include all of these. Like you said, I should consult my teacher on this, and so, I will.

Thanks!!! ^_^

[ThatThatGuy]

For this game you should have the whole logic of the game either in a database.... or in a text file or in the code itself...

you should have a step-by-step process like....

if you display this number to the user
545446515151
and ask the user that what's the 5th number....
then if the user entered 4 then loop through each number or convert the number
to a string and then check for the number or char in that location....

so store a couple of numbers inside the code or generate random sequence of numbers and show them to the user.... no need to use databases...

also you can randomize the question.... sometimes it will ask for 4th number 7th number etc.... also this will be your game's strong point.... and you can present the user with new numbers ... as the numbers are note repeated once the user has finished playing the game

[LazyPrinzez]

Thanks thatthatguy! I was thinking of making separate methods that could call these questions randomly as well as methods that provide an answer. A Binary Searching Algorithm could be of use or since we plan to generate a maximum of fifteen characters, I guess a simple linear searching method would do the trick. (Like you said, looping will be necessary, as well as the "charAt()" method from the String class.)

Now the problem should only be about randomization.... I guess I might be able to reconstruct a JAVA code out of a randomizing function I stumbled upon my study of the C programming language. One for randomizing the numbers on the string, another for randomizing the question/method.

So yeah... That was basically all I thought... Whew, I feel hopeless in this thing... T_T

But I wouldn't back down on an interesting challenge that may improve me! >.< If a programmer gives up, not even a program may exist! Haha... XD

And yeah, also for my grades...my grades... T_T

[LazyPrinzez]

They might call this resurrecting a zombie, but I just want to put one last post.

I thought I need database for player profiles...so I dumped that. I was able to make a scoring process (I even made a "reward" system to increase the "life" of the players, like casual Mario).

My team mates helped with the audio-visual and I did the internal logic thingy. We did the project, passed it on time and we luckily got a 93%. =D

Even though it's a late, I would like to say: Thank you so much for your help, ThatThatGuy!!! ^_^