SE 3M04 T1 2002
Assignment 2b - Final Version (Thu. Oct 3)

• Due: Tuesday October 15, 20:00 through WebCT
• Goals:
  1. Learn more about modularization
• Consider the following situation. You are given the long-term project of writing a fully interactive circuit simulation program based on SPICE3. You are given the following high-level, informal requirements:
  • The program must implement all the functionality of Spice3.
  • All functionality must be available through a fully interactive graphical interface; this includes both creating circuits and doing various circuit analyses.
  • All functionality must be also be available in batch mode (ie without any user-interaction at all, driven solely from a Spice file).
  • Note that some circuit analyses can result in some textual output, whereas other might result in some graphical output, and a combination thereof, interactively or in batch.
  • Circuit file import and export functionality must be provided in the interactive interface.
  • The interactive interface must also allow a series of analyses to be performed from importing a (spice) file containing appropriate commands
• You are given your own code for assignment2a as a starting point.
• Deliverables:
  1. A critique of the modularization of the code in assignment2a with respect to the requirements given to you. Is it suitable? What parts are suitable, and what parts are not? Is there functionality implemented that is superfluous? Is the current modularization easily extensible to handle all the new requirements?
  2. A module guide for this hypothetical program. You are expected to provide one module for user-interactivity but not divide that one into further sub-modules. The following responsibilities all need to be clearly provided by some module (or sub-module, sub-sub-module, etc as appropriate): circuits, (generic and specific) components, (generic and specific) analyses, spice file (reading, writing), circuit (import, export), analysis commands (import, export), sub-circuits, models, graphical output.
  3. electronic copy of log
• Notes:
  1. You are not expected to break things down to the level of every single type of component or analysis. You are expected to group components (and analyses) into meaningful categories of like components [for example grouping resistors and capacitors, voltage and current sources, etc]. "like components" is defined by their implementation similarities, not their phyiscal or operational properties, and to break down the modules to this level.
  2. Remember that a module listing includes (only) name, secret(s) and service(s), where the latter 2 are to be describe using (informal) english.
  3. Module guide, module listing and module breakdown are all synonymous.
  4. I suggest that you first write a draft critique, then do the module guide, then rewrite your draft critique with all the information you have learned by writing the module guide.
• Bonus:
  • You can get a total of 25 marks (10 + 15 bonus) for this assignment. If the final total of all marks for all your assignments is greater than the total possible marks, the overflow will count towards your final course mark.
  • Instead of writing the module guide using some word processor, use Java declarations and javadoc to produce it. This will have to include class overviews as well method(s) to provide all the public services of each module (class).
  • This bonus assignment is considerably harder (150% harder in fact) than the assignment itself. As such, any student who wishes to undertake this should first contact me; a different (later) deadline will be set for this harder assignment. Do not undertake this lightly, as it is quite possible to get a lower mark by taking this route if you are not serious about it.
  • Only a few students will be allowed to undertake this.
  • Academic dishonesty on the bonus assignment will be treated with the full force of all the rules and regulations of McMaster University
  • For extra keen students, there are possibilities for even more bonus marks out of this. Come and talk to me about this.