Lab 8

Graphical User Interfaces
Create a desktop Java application with a graphical user interface that allows a user to create a maze manually or automatically.
The maze must be represented as a rectangular grid of cells. Each cell should store at least its row and column and whether each wall exists: top, right, bottom, left.
You may use either Swing+Java2D or JavaFX.

The main specifications of the application are:

Compulsory (1p)

Create the following components:

• The main frame of the application.
• A configuration panel for introducing parameters - such as maze dimensions, and a button to draw the cells of the maze (with all the walls in place) . It must contain at least one label, one input component and one button.
• A canvas (drawing panel) for drawing the maze. Each cell should be drawn as a square (choose your color). Walls should be drawn as lines around the square. This panel must be placed in the center part of the frame.
• A control panel for managing the state of the maze. This panel will contain the buttons: Create, Reset and Exit, etc. and it will be placed at the bottom part of the frame. The Create button will randomly remove walls of the cells.

Homework (2p)

• The user must be able to manually edit the maze by clicking a cell wall to toggle it on/off.
• Add a button to validate whether the maze is traversable from a start cell to an end cell.
• Export the image of the maze into a PNG file.
• Use object serialization in order to save and restore the current status of the maze.

Bonus (2p)

• Implement an algorithm to generate a maze automatically. The generated maze should contain exactly one connected component, have no isolated areas, have a unique path between any two cells.
  You may use Recursive Backtracking to build a perfect maze, by performing a depth-first traversal of the grid, or any other algorithm (Prim, Kruskal, Recursive Division, etc.) Prove that the generated maze is valid.
• The algorithm should dynamically update the GUI during execution, providing an animated generation process with adjustable speed control.

Resources

• Creating a GUI With JFC/Swing
• The Java Tutorials: 2D Graphics
• Getting Started with JavaFX
• JavaFX Scene Builder

Objectives

• Get familiar with the basic elements of design involved in creating a GUI.
• Understand the concepts of component, container, layout manager.
• Get acquainted with various libraries for creating a GUI application, such as AWT, Swing, SWT, Java FX.
• Write event listeners to handle events.
• Understand how Swing components are painted.
• Create custom components using Java2D that coexist with standard Swing components.
• Understand the concept of graphic context.
• Get familiar with Java2D basic geometric primitives, use colors, fonts, images
• Get acquainted with JavaFX technology and understand the differences between Swing and JavaFX.