Freelancer Path Generator

Is anyone else finding a problem plotting from one system to another as Op describes?

As for source code, you can have a look at it if you like - but I will warn it’s neither pretty nor probably well coded. Never learnt specifically whether what I’ve done is right or wrong, some of it is (in my opinion) abusing features… but enables me to make it do what I want it to do (so using observer pattern to not only alert the GUI something has changed, but pass back different strings etc to display different messages etc). I can’t remember if I made a message object with an enumerated type to define what the message is, as well as a string for the message itself… or whether I just did it via strings, or a combination of the two

Some of it was designed, and other bits were cobbled onto it in a hurry… and are therefore not well done at all.

So with a long list of bad habits and poor style, yeah - if you would wish to see source code then I’ll upload it - just be warned that when it started I tried to do it right… and then abandoned that part in order to just do it.

Back to troubleshooting.

If it’s generated the paths between the two systems (a question I asked) then the path should plot.
If it hasn’t generated the path correctly, then we can track down what is wrong with it - including whether it’s managed to read (for example) the solararch.ini file correctly.

It’s 8pm at the moment, got back from work a short while ago - I got to bed in about two hours, got some work to do as well as work upon my CV - which is why things are kinda slow at the moment Up at 6.30am tomorrow, out by 7.30am and back at 7.30-8pm

Yep - fixed it, re-uploaded the fixed version finally (he says… praying)

However, it was checked with that path - time is a lil short at the minute so I didn’t go overboard with checking them all which is poor form, but logically speaking the bug causing the issue is fixed so they should all work fine (typical famous last words there)

@FriendlyFire:

@Chips: You know, I’ve always thought… “Better to make a program that works than a strict program that doesn’t.” Doesn’t really matter whichever way you do it, it doesn’t need to be in realtime and it does what it’s been programmed for. What else would you ask?

True, but there’s a certain amount of pride to be had in a well constructed and maintained program It started out with what I think was a good starter, but since I’m no pro at algorithms and data structures per say, I’ve done the best that I could think of. Undoubtedly there may be optimisations or more suitable collections to do the job - that I’ll accept as being something I can’t realistically solve without help from more experienced or knowledgeable people So that’s fine.

However, as time progressed, to fix certain issues and make things work - I got sloppy and just “did what it needed” with quick fixes - which kinda breaks my own personal pride factor in trying to make it the best it could be… but I was limited by time and willpower

For instance I read system files twice… Why? Because it was the quick and easy fix. Read the files, get all the nicknames - then read the files and check that the jumps “goto=” line is actual referencing an existing jump object in the target system. I could parse the files just once instead - it required altering the jump objects to hold target object instead of just a link to the system. Then it’d be a simple matter of iterating through the collection of jump objects after reading all the files and checking that referenced target object is contained within the collection of jump objects.

The reason I read it twice? I point out the line number of the file containing the mistake, couldn’t be arsed to start altering objects - how the reader originally read it and amending etc. Just re-reading the files again (loop already existed) and checking the reference exists was a much quicker solution and allowed the ability to highlight the line number easily too so that error reports could pinpoint the location. It could still all be done in one single reading of files, but to save a second or two and make it more “correct” I couldn’t be bothered

There are other similar lazy short cuts that are what I consider poor programming. There will be far more style or structure issues I’m sure

ah now I understand what you mean, i’ll try that again in a bit and see what I can get.

Here’s the source-code - the src folder with all the packages and the classes.

I use netbeans as my ide of choice, so the “form” files within the gui package are from netbeans as I hate making GUI’s due to layout issues within Java being hard work (gridbags), so used the guibuilder to do the leg work.

It means the GUI code is NOT pretty. I could have used some fairly standard layouts, but it was easy to use a gui builder.
Fraid the comments are NOT as full as they should be, far from it and typically I never filled in method headers (stupid oversight, but right now I’m not inclined to go through it due to personal issues).

I’ll clear the code up at some point in the next day or two, comment methods, remove excessive rubbish etc.

The main class is FLScanner inside the GUI package, or should I say the “view” anyway.
However, the controller is the Main.java class inside the pathscanner package and therein you find the amalgamated mess of code which does everything (kinda). The lockedgateparser, solararchparser,systemparser and uniparser do what their name implies (uni for universe.ini, system for all systems files).

Tis free for anyone to look at, fiddle, critique, comment etc (please if you critique, make it constructive by telling me what it should be!) or amend (likewise, if you amend/alter something - please let me know what you’ve done/why - or just fire me a changed version over).

Erm, guess you could say it’s open source under gpl (can’t be arsed to look up which one is preferential at the mo) or whatever it is. Basically do what you want with it, but NO commercial gain may be made from it’s use or inclusion into anything etc - and don’t pass it off as own work either.

@StarTrader:

Hi Chips.

I have had no further problems with this utility, it’s great.

Have you had any other negative feedback?

Has Op fixed his problems?

Never had any negative feedback

Had bug reports, but they’re not negative - they’re a good thing

I’ll take another look to see if I can find that issue, bit busy at the mo

Could get arrested for that :-X

Oh wait, you mean my application… not my, erm, yeah.

I’ve not experienced it, but to be fair, I’ve not given it a fair chance since his last post about it either, things kinda get side-tracked at current.

Right now I’m supposed to be writing a paper. I visit websites as a stall method basically ::)