Goals

To build an interactive 2-dimensional graphics program.

To implement selection and 2-dimensional transformations (including translation, scaling, rotation) of graphics objects.

To write about your software by creating a Functional Specification document in the planning stages of your project and a User Manual to go with the finished project.

Assignment

• Drawing Program: The user can create lines, rectangles, ovals, select objects already created, change their colors, move them around, scale and rotate them.
• Game: Objects should move around, rotate, grow or shrink, be selectable (or shootable).
• Pattern Manipulator: E.g. a Tangrams game, a jigsaw puzzle, a flow chart design tools. The objects may not change size but they should be able to rotate and move.

A functional spec should tell what your project will look like and how it will work. It should describe how a user will interact with it, not the inner working of the program. It should be four to six pages long and look like a user manual for your proposed project. Include some drawings of what the screen will look like and explain the proposed user interaction. Your spec must include well-written English text, not just pictures. If you are creating a game, you might want to start with a story that sets the scene. As a guideline, you ought to have 1000 to 3000 words in your descriptions.

For further explanation of what a functional spec is and some samples, try these links.

• Writing a Functional Specification by Steve Brownlee
• WhatTimeIsIt.com - Sample Functional Specification by Joel Spolsky
• Painless Functional Specifications by Joel Spolsky

What to turn in

Grading

• 25 points are for the functional specification.
  This is a serious part of the project. This course counts toward your in-major writing requirement.
• 75 points are for the working project.
  I will consider the features, the code (including organization and inline comments), the user manual, and the general niftyness when grading the project.