Computer Science 4
Java for Video Games

Exam 1
Sample Questions

• Introduction (1st day)
• In relation to what we've studied in class, define:
• Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
• compile source code
• execute byte code
• modify source code
• web browser
• HTML
• web authoring tool
• What is your web page address?
• What directory is your web page locted in?
• What file gets loaded when a web page contains a directory name?
• What is a link?
  
• What is an absolute link?
• What is a relative link?
  
• Anatomy of a class
• Sample questions include being able to define and/or identify terminology from Anatomy.4
• For practice, take a program from Big Java and see if you can use the terminology to describe all parts of the program.
  
• Data Types and Operations
• Define
• primitive type
• reference type (object)
  
• double
• int
• boolean
• char
• String
• Describe the naming convention for primitive types.
• Describe the naming convention for reference types (class names).
• For the following operators, describe what they do and give an example of their use in an expression and include the results of the expression.  For example, - finds the difference, for example, 5-3 evaluates to 2.
• + (for numbers)
• + (for Strings)
• / (for integers)
• / (for floating points such as doubles)
• *
• %
• =
• ==
  
• Video Game Package
• What is a sprite?
• What is a tracker?
• What are the basic steps in making your own custom sprite?
  
• Graphics
• What does the monitor resolution describe (i.e. what does 640x480 mean as a monitor resolution)?
• What is a typical monitor refresh rate in Hz (frames per second)?
• For each coordinate system describe the components, possible values for the components, and what each component describes.  The first one is done for you.
  
• Cartesian
• The components are x, y.  x is real valued and indicates the horizontal direction to move (right for positive, left for negative), y is real valued and indicates the vertical direction to move (up for positive, down for negative).
• Polar
• Screen
• Graphics2D
• When is it a bad idea to represent your graphics using only Screen coordinates?  Give an example of when using Screen coordinates would cause problems that would not occur using Graphics2D coordinates.
• What is Constructive Area Geometry?  Give an example of when CAG could be useful.
• Applets and Video Games
• What is an Applet?
• List 3 basic differences between applets and applications.
• What are the basic steps a web browser takes from visiting a website to getting an applet on that website running?
• Show the html for loading the applet named MyApplet from the jar file myapplet.jar (note: width and height can be anything).
• What does jar stand for?
• What do jar files contain?
• In relation to the simulation model described in class,
  
• What is the Monitor Frame Rate?
• What is the Model Frame Rate?
• What is the User Interaction Rate?
• Which is higher, the Monitor Frame Rate or the Model Frame Rate?  Why?
• What happens if the Monitor Frame Rate and Model Frame Rate are too high?
  
• Video games can be described as simulations.  Why are discrete time approximations often used to describe continous time events?
• Decisions
• more to come