ConnectN (MP3)

java.lang.Object
- ConnectN

```
public class ConnectN
extends java.lang.Object
```
A class that implements a Connect4-like game.
ConnectN is a tile-based game played on a grid. Like Connect4, players try to get a run of tiles of a given length (N). However, unlike Connect4 ConnectN does not check diagonal runs, although you can add this feature if you like.
This ConnectN class is also not responsible for tracking players turns. That could be done by a separate class, allowing for game variations in which players can sometimes take more than one turn in a row. Other variations allow more than two players. In any case, the ConnectN class only monitors game play to determine when the game has ended and returns the winning player.

See Also:

MP3 Documentation

Field Summary

Fields
Modifier and Type	Field	Description
`static int`	`MAX_HEIGHT`	Maximum board height is 16.
`static int`	`MAX_WIDTH`	Maximum board width is 16.
`static int`	`MIN_HEIGHT`	Minimum board height is 6.
`static int`	`MIN_N`	Minimum board N value is 4.
`static int`	`MIN_WIDTH`	Minimum board width is 6.
`java.lang.String`	`title`	Public game title.

Constructor Summary

Constructors
Constructor	Description
`ConnectN()`	Create a new ConnectN board with uninitialized width, height, and N value.
`ConnectN(int setWidth, int setHeight)`	Create a new ConnectN board with given width and height and uninitialized N value.
`ConnectN(int setWidth, int setHeight, int setN)`	Creates a new ConnectN board with a given width, height, and N value.
`ConnectN(ConnectN otherBoard)`	Create a new ConnectN board with dimensions and N value copied from another board.

Method Summary

All Methods Static Methods Instance Methods Concrete Methods
Modifier and Type	Method	Description
`static boolean`	`compareBoards(ConnectN... boards)`	Compare any number of ConnectN boards.
`static boolean`	`compareBoards(ConnectN firstBoard, ConnectN secondBoard)`	Compare two ConnectN boards.
`static ConnectN`	`create(int width, int height, int n)`	Class method to create a new ConnectN board.
`static ConnectN[]`	`createMany(int number, int width, int height, int n)`	Creates multiple new ConnectN instances.
`boolean`	`equals(java.lang.Object obj)`	Define equality for the ConnectN class.
`Player[][]`	`getBoard()`	Return a copy of the board.
`Player`	`getBoardAt(int getX, int getY)`	Get the player at a specific board position.
`int`	`getHeight()`	Get the current board height.
`int`	`getID()`	Get the current board's id.
`int`	`getN()`	Get the current board N value.
`static int`	`getTotalGames()`	Return the total number of games that have been created.
`int`	`getWidth()`	Get the current board width.
`Player`	`getWinner()`	Return the winner of the game, or null if the game has not ended.
`int`	`hashCode()`	Define the hash code for the ConnectN class.
`boolean`	`setBoardAt(Player player, int setX)`	Drop a tile in a particular column.
`boolean`	`setBoardAt(Player player, int setX, int setY)`	Set the board at a specific position.
`boolean`	`setHeight(int setHeight)`	Attempt to set the board height.
`boolean`	`setN(int newN)`	Attempt to set the current board N value.
`boolean`	`setWidth(int setWidth)`	Attempt to set the board width.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

- Field Detail
  - MIN_WIDTH
```
public static final int MIN_WIDTH
```
    Minimum board width is 6.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - MAX_WIDTH
```
public static final int MAX_WIDTH
```
    Maximum board width is 16.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - MIN_HEIGHT
```
public static final int MIN_HEIGHT
```
    Minimum board height is 6.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - MAX_HEIGHT
```
public static final int MAX_HEIGHT
```
    Maximum board height is 16.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - MIN_N
```
public static final int MIN_N
```
    Minimum board N value is 4.
    
    See Also:
    
    Constant Field Values
  - title
```
public java.lang.String title
```
    Public game title. Could be used by toString().
- Constructor Detail
  - ConnectN
```
public ConnectN(int setWidth,
                int setHeight,
                int setN)
```
    Creates a new ConnectN board with a given width, height, and N value.
    Note that this method should not reject invalid values. Constructors must return a new object, or throw an exception, so there is no way for you to reject bad parameters yet. Instead, attempts to set the width, height, or N value to invalid value should lead to them being uninitialized.
    For example, new ConnectN(1, 10, 4) should return a ConnectN game with width=0, height=10, and N=0, since 1 is an invalid width (too small) and N cannot be set until the width is defined.
    Each call to any ConnectN constructor should also track the total number of games that have been created, which can be retrieved by getTotalGames(). Each board should also receive a unique ID equal to the number of games minus 1. So the first board gets 0, etc. This should be returned by getID().
    
    Parameters:
    
    setWidth - the width for the new ConnectN board
    
    setHeight - the height for the new ConnectN board
    
    setN - the N value for the new ConnectN board
  - ConnectN
```
public ConnectN()
```
    Create a new ConnectN board with uninitialized width, height, and N value.
  - ConnectN
```
public ConnectN(int setWidth,
                int setHeight)
```
    Create a new ConnectN board with given width and height and uninitialized N value.
    See the notes for the width, height, N ConnectN constructor.
    
    Parameters:
    
    setWidth - the width for the new ConnectN board
    
    setHeight - the height for the new ConnectN board
  - ConnectN
```
public ConnectN(ConnectN otherBoard)
```
    Create a new ConnectN board with dimensions and N value copied from another board.
    This is a so-called copy constructor. It takes another object of the same type (in this case, a ConnectN board) and initializes a new object using values from the existing object. In this case, you should use the width, height, and N value from the passed board. You should not copy any other features of the other board: it's title, it's board state, etc. You should also not copy the board ID. This creates a copy, not the same board.
    
    Parameters:
    
    otherBoard - the ConnectN board to copy width, height, and N from
- Method Detail
  - getTotalGames
```
public static int getTotalGames()
```
    Return the total number of games that have been created.
    
    Returns:
    
    the total number of games that have been created.
  - getWidth
```
public int getWidth()
```
    Get the current board width.
    
    Returns:
    
    the current board width
  - setWidth
```
public boolean setWidth(int setWidth)
```
    Attempt to set the board width.
    Fails if the width is invalid, or if the game has already started. If the new width would cause the current N value to become invalid, setWidth should reset the current N value to zero.
    
    Parameters:
    
    setWidth - the new width to set
    
    Returns:
    
    true if the width was set successfully, false on error
  - getHeight
```
public int getHeight()
```
    Get the current board height.
    
    Returns:
    
    the current board height
  - setHeight
```
public boolean setHeight(int setHeight)
```
    Attempt to set the board height.
    Fails if the height is invalid, or if the game has already started. If the new height would cause the current N value to become invalid, setHeight should reset the current N value to zero.
    
    Parameters:
    
    setHeight - the new height to set
    
    Returns:
    
    true if the height was set successfully, false on error
  - getN
```
public int getN()
```
    Get the current board N value.
    
    Returns:
    
    the current board N value
  - setN
```
public boolean setN(int newN)
```
    Attempt to set the current board N value.
    Note that:
    - N cannot be set after the game has started
    - N cannot be set before the width or the height
    - N cannot be less than 4
    - N can be at most 1 less than the maximum of the width and height
    Games with large N values relative to their dimension are fairly uninteresting, since it is trivial for a player to block their opponent and cause a draw. But you should only enforce the constraint that the N value is at most 1 less than the maximum of the width and height. So on a 6x10 board, the minimum N value is 4 and the maximum is 9. On a 10x8 board, the minimum is 4 and the maximum is 9.
    Setting N should never affect the width or the height.
    Parameters:
    
    newN - the new N
    
    Returns:
    
    true, if successful
  - getID
```
public int getID()
```
    Get the current board's id.
    
    Returns:
    
    the current board's id
  - setBoardAt
```
public boolean setBoardAt(Player player,
                          int setX,
                          int setY)
```
    Set the board at a specific position.
    Allows a player to attempt to place a tile at a specific location on the board. If the move is successful, the board should track that this player has played at this location so that it can determine a winner and prevent future invalid moves.
    A move should fail and return false if:
    - any board parameters remain uninitialized, including width, height, and N
    - the player is invalid
    - the position is invalid for this board
    - the game has already ended
    This function also needs to enforce the rules of ConnectN. A tile cannot be played at a particular location if there are empty squares below it. Put another way, a tile can only be placed on top of a stack of existing tiles. If the requested location is invalid, you should return false and no tile should be added to the board.
    If a given play results in the game ending, future plays should fail and getWinner() should return the player that won.
    Note that the first successful call to setBoardAt represents the start of game.
    Parameters:
    
    player - the player attempting the move
    
    setX - the X coordinate that they are trying to place a tile at
    
    setY - the Y coordinate that they are trying to place a tile at
    
    Returns:
    
    true if the move succeeds, false on error
  - setBoardAt
```
public boolean setBoardAt(Player player,
                          int setX)
```
    Drop a tile in a particular column.
    This method is similar to setBoardAt(player, x, y), but it does not specify a Y coordinate. Instead, it allows a player to try to drop a tile on the stack with the given X value.
    This method should fail for the same reasons as setBoardAt(player, x, y). It should also fail if this stack is full and cannot accept any additional tiles. It should also ensure that getWinner() returns the correct value after every play.
    Note that the first successful call to setBoardAt represents the start of game.
    
    Parameters:
    
    player - the player attempting the move
    
    setX - the X coordinate for the stack that they are trying to drop a tile in
    
    Returns:
    
    true if the move succeeds, false on error
  - getBoardAt
```
public Player getBoardAt(int getX,
                         int getY)
```
    Get the player at a specific board position.
    Should return null if the board position is invalid, if the game has not started, or if nobody has played yet at that position. Otherwise returns the player whose tile is at that position.
    
    Parameters:
    
    getX - the X coordinate to get the player at
    
    getY - the Y coordinate to get the player at
    
    Returns:
    
    the player whose tile is at that position, or null or error or if nobody has played at that position
  - getBoard
```
public Player[][] getBoard()
```
    Return a copy of the board.
    Once the width and height are set, this function should not return null. Until then, it should return null.
    Note that this function should not expose the private board instance variable. Any changes to the board or players returned should not affect the state maintained by the class.
    
    Returns:
    
    a copy of the current board
  - getWinner
```
public Player getWinner()
```
    Return the winner of the game, or null if the game has not ended.
    
    Returns:
    
    the winner of the game, or null if the game has not ended
  - create
```
public static ConnectN create(int width,
                              int height,
                              int n)
```
    Class method to create a new ConnectN board.
    Unlike the class constructor, static methods can return null on failure. Sometimes these methods are referred to as static factory methods.
    This method should return null if its arguments are invalid. Otherwise, it should return a new ConnectN instance.
    
    Parameters:
    
    width - the width of the new ConnectN instance to create
    
    height - the height of the new ConnectN instance to create
    
    n - the n value of the new ConnectN instance to create
    
    Returns:
    
    the new ConnectN instance, or null if the parameters are invalid
  - createMany
```
public static ConnectN[] createMany(int number,
                                    int width,
                                    int height,
                                    int n)
```
    Creates multiple new ConnectN instances.
    Like create(), createMany should return null if the parameters are invalid. Otherwise, it should return an array of newly-created ConnectN instances.
    
    Parameters:
    
    number - the number of new ConnectN instances to create
    
    width - the width of the new ConnectN instance to create
    
    height - the height of the new ConnectN instance to create
    
    n - the n value of the new ConnectN instance to create
    
    Returns:
    
    an array of new ConnectN instances, or null if the parameters are invalid
  - compareBoards
```
public static boolean compareBoards(ConnectN firstBoard,
                                    ConnectN secondBoard)
```
    Compare two ConnectN boards.
    This method should compare two ConnectN boards. Two boards are equal if:
    - they have the same dimensions
    - they have the same n value
    - they have tiles by the same players in the same position
    Note that this is different from the {# link equals(Object) equals} method for the ConnectN class, which should test for the same ID. You can also use the Player.equals method to compare two players.
    Parameters:
    
    firstBoard - the first ConnectN board to compare
    
    secondBoard - the second ConnectN board to compare
    
    Returns:
    
    true if the boards are the same, false otherwise
  - compareBoards
```
public static boolean compareBoards(ConnectN... boards)
```
    Compare any number of ConnectN boards.
    This methods takes a variadic number of arguments. It should return true if all the boards are the same. See the notes on compareBoards(first, second) for a definition of board equality.
    
    Parameters:
    
    boards - the array of ConnectN boards to compare
    
    Returns:
    
    true if all passed boards are the same, false otherwise
  - hashCode
```
public final int hashCode()
```
    Define the hash code for the ConnectN class.
    This method should only use the id field of the instance. Note that Eclipse can auto-generate this and equals.
    
    Overrides:
    
    hashCode in class java.lang.Object
    
    See Also:
    
    Object.hashCode()
  - equals
```
public boolean equals(java.lang.Object obj)
```
    Define equality for the ConnectN class.
    This method should only use the id field of the instance. Note that Eclipse can auto-generate this and hashCode().
    
    Overrides:
    
    equals in class java.lang.Object
    
    See Also:
    
    Object.equals(java.lang.Object)

Class ConnectN

Field Summary

Constructor Summary

Method Summary

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

Field Detail

MIN_WIDTH

MAX_WIDTH

MIN_HEIGHT

MAX_HEIGHT

MIN_N

title

Constructor Detail

ConnectN

ConnectN

ConnectN

ConnectN

Method Detail

getTotalGames

getWidth

setWidth

getHeight

setHeight

getN

setN

getID

setBoardAt

setBoardAt

getBoardAt

getBoard

getWinner

create

createMany

compareBoards

compareBoards

hashCode

equals