The aim of this assignment is to allow you to demonstrate your ability to read and comprehend code. You will be presented with a number of pieces of Java code, out of which you are to select approximately 50-100 lines to which you will add comments explaining what the code is aiming to do. You should select a complete section of code (i.e. a whole method or two), rather than scattering comments over 100 random lines.
Note that some files may be open when you look at the code, but you should look in all directories and read over the code before selecting which section you wish to work on. When you are happy with your comments, feel free to delete the others to help the tutor find your work (you can always get it back if necessary).
The code you will see is not overly complicated, but is, in places, more advanced that what we see in this subject. Being able to deal with new classes and libraries, however, is very important – we can’t expect others to only use what we know! It may also be incomplete, relying on libraries you do not have access to.
You should note that to achieve high marks, you have to move from simply describing the code you see in front of you to interpreting what you think the programmer was trying to achieve – you may want to ask yourself questions like “what is the problem the programmer is trying to solve?”, “what conditions might this have been written under?”, “what were the design goals of the program?” and so on. You may not be able to work out the answers, but considering what answers might be possible is a useful exercise.
