600.107: Introduction to Programming

Summer Session 2006: May 30, 2006 - June 30, 2006

Assignment 0: Warmup

Out on: May 31, 2006
Due by: June 2, 2006 before noon (hard deadline)
Collaboration: None

Overview

Assignment Zero is mostly a warmup exercise that forces you to choose a development environment and to play with it a little before a real assignment comes along.

Problem 0: Development Environments

Note that you need Version 5.0 (also called Version 1.5 sometimes, very confusing) of Java for this course, earlier versions will not do!

Your first task is to pick and install a Java development environment for the course. I briefly mentioned a few options in lecture, but here's a reminder:

If you are comfortable with the command line, you can just go for an editor of your choice and the Java Development Kit from Sun.
If you want to follow the text book you should install jGRASP after installing the Java Development Kit from Sun.
If you want to "live on the edge" and use the most advanced open development environment out there you should install Eclipse after installing the Java Development Kit from Sun.

If you want to install all of these and play with them for a while before deciding, be my guest. What you need to do for this problem is write up which environment you chose and why you think that's a good choice. If you switched from one to another during the course of this assignment, let us know why as well.

Problem 1: Weird Expressions

Your second task is to find a few "weird" Java expressions. You should hand in a short program called Weird.java that shows these expressions "in action" i.e. we want to be able to compile and run your program and see those expressions do their thing. Here's what we're looking for:

We deal with an integer expression of the form bla > bla + 1. Find a value to put instead of the placeholder bla for which this expression evaluates to true.
A float or double expression that doesn't result in a "regular" number but something like Infinity or NaN (the latter stands for "not a number").
An integer expression that results in an error message when you run the program (but not when you compile the program).

Include a comment for each expression in your Java program that explains what is going on here and cites relevant documentation if necessary.

Problem 2: Notscape

You can download the source code for a very simple web browser written in Java here. Your first job is to compile that thing and play with it for a while (i.e. run it and check out some websites). Write up a short analysis of the problems this browser seems to have.

Your second task is to study the source code for the web browser in detail. There will be lots of stuff you don't know about yet. Don't panic, just try to get the overall idea of what this program does and how you think it works.

Make sure that you look up the documentation for all the classes the program uses to help you understand things a little better. Write up a short description of how you think the program works and why; include a short description of what you think each class it uses does.

Deliverables

Submit your solutions by email to the submission address listed on the course website. Please make sure that you answer written questions in the text of the email. Please make sure that you attach programming questions as separate somename.java files. Note that you'll get a confusing automatic reply that I will explain later.