ICS1 Project - SJarel Interpreter

You will write an interpreter for "SJarel", a simple programming language very similar to a small subset of Java.

News

The project is over. We hope that everyone had fun and learned something during the project. Good look for your next semesters!
[27.02.2004, 111:05] It would be nice if you'd bring a printout of your class hierachy to the attestation. More information on how to produce it, is on the attestation page.
[26.02.2004, 16:36] We have fixed an attestation procedure.
[19.02.2004, 16:30] Both test cases for level 3 made references to later levels (use of "true", "int declaration"). These test cases have been corrected to comply to level 3 and one of the original ones was added to the set of level 4 tests. Version 1.8 of the material is now available for download.
[18.02.2004, 16:30] Another minor mistake was found in the grammar description, new versions (including zip and pdf are now online). See the board for further details.
[18.02.2004, 11:00] Check the bulletin board (Thread: Programming Project; Topic: Update to project material) for any updates to the project material. We had to make a minor addition to grammar levels 2-4.
[17.02.2004] If you haven't been able to participate in the introductory lecture on Monday and you are not assigned to a team yet (which happenend on Monday after the lecture). Please send us an email immediately! If you are not in a team and you're not registered (which means, your team handed in a registration sheet after the lecture on Monday or on Tuesday) you are not able to pass the attestation!

Organizational Information

Online registration was possible till February 10th. Groups of four students have to combine at least two nationalities.

The project starts on Tuesday, February 17th. Final attestation will be on Friday, February 27th.

At half time each team has to consult with a tutor on Thursday 19th or Friday 20th to make sure that the group is making progress.

As the computer science department is currently moving to another building, the Wilhelminenstraße-pools won't be accessible during the project. However, the lower pool (S1|13 116) at Alexanderstraße has been reserved for the project. Starting from February 23rd, when the German project period starts as well, the pools have to be shared. The German students will use them in the morning till 13:00. From 13:00 to 19:00 the pools are fully available for the ICS1 project. The pools will close at 20:00. All pools are closed at the weekend.

An additional pool (which is not reservered for the project and where you don't get any tutor support) is available in building S1|15 (after the entrace to the right). In addition to some unix machines there are tables for laptops. Power is provided, networking is possible using WLAN. If you don't have a WLAN-Card it is possible to rent one from the RBG department.

For both weeks, from 13:00-17:00, three tutors will be in the reserved pool room (S1|13 116) to help you with any difficulties.

If your team is able to program on your own computers you are encouraged to do so. Towards the end of the project period, however, transfer your solution to the pool so that it can be tested there. Minor adjustment may be required to port a say Windows version to a Unix version.

The Task

Using some predefined material you are going to implement an interpreter for "SJarel", a simple programming language very similar to a small subset of Java. The "S" in "SJarel" stands for "simple". "Jarel" is a combination of "Java" and "Karel". "Karel the Robot", initially published in 1981 is a project to use a small robot world for teaching object-oriented concepts.

SJarel defines basically Java syntax where the main method is labeled "task" and an additional "loop" construct exists. There is just one non-primitive "Robot" type, used to create robot instances, which then can act in their little robot world.

Anything you need to know can be found in the detailed task description.

Where to get help

If you are stuck, try the following

discuss the problem with your team members
consult the FAQ and the framework documentation
ask one of tutors (available from 13:00-17:00)
place a question at the bulletin board (no more password protection; just register with the board if you haven't done so already)

Attestation

On Friday 27th, all groups have to demonstrate their interpreter to a tutor.
In the attestation process, your interpreter will be tested using public tests and some further private tests. In a subsequent interview, each member of the team has to be able to answer some questions regarding the developed code, especially about the part the member contributed.

Suggestions for further development

If you are done and still hungry for some more programming, here are some suggestions what to do:

implement the "toHtml()" method, yielding a nice, web-viewable version of SJarel source code (with colored keywords, indention, etc.)
implement the "typeCheck()" method, checking static well-formedness before actual execution (type errors, missing declarations, etc.)
extend the grammar to support more classes, inheritance, polymorphism and multiple (parallel) tasks

With any non-standard extension you make, however, make sure that the standard tests still work or have a plain interpreter version for attestation only ready.

$Revision: 1.14 $