Laboratory in Software Engineering
Fall 2003
Final Project: Antichess: TextUI spec
Due: See Schedule

Handout F4.1

Contents:

main
Commands
Timing

main

You should create a class antichess.TextUI that contains a main method. main is an interactive loop between a human and a computer. The TextUI should wait for user input. Valid user input is in the form of commands. Outputs as a result of a command should be terminated with a newline. If multiple lines are output, the last line should also be terminated with a new line.

Main must be executed with zero command-line arguments, like this:

java antichess.TextUI

The behavior of the TextUI is unspecified when main is run with one or more command-line arguments.

Commands

Each command must be one of the following. Parameters to commands are enclosed in square brackets.

Init [ruleSet] [initTimeSeconds] This must be the first command to the TextUI. The parameters are:
1. ruleSet: This argument is the rule set for this game. For now, behavior is undefined if the rule set is not "6170-fall-2003".
2. initTimeSeconds: This is a string representation of an integer, which is the number of seconds on the clock for each player at the beginning of the game.
If any other command is issued first, the system outputs Must init first on its own line and exits. If Init is called twice, the system outputs Cannot init twice, and does nothing.
Setup [setup-command] : If this command is called before any call to StartNewGame or LoadGame, it has the same effect as [setup-command] would in the "setup" section of a Save Game file. If the [setup-command] is not a valid setup command, the system outputs Invalid setup command on its own line and does nothing. If Setup is called after StartNewGame or LoadGame, the system outputs Cannot setup after game starts on its own line and does nothing.
StartNewGame [player] [player]: Each player is denoted as "human" or "computer." The first player is white and the second player is black. For example, StartNewGame computer human should start a new game with the computer playing as white and the human playing as black. The system should output New game started on its own line.
SaveGame [filename]: The system should save the game to the given filename and report Game saved on its own line.
LoadGame [filename]: The system should load the game from the given filename. Once the files is loaded, print Game loaded on its own line. You should report Corrupt file if the file does not have a correct format. We will not require you to determine if the board is legal. If no game is currently in progress from a previously executed StartNewGame or LoadGame command, then assume a human-human game. If a game is currently in progress, then the players currently playing use the same colors in the new game.
MakeNextMove: If it is a computer player's turn, the system performs the move that it believes to be the best. The system prints this move on its own line, in the format described by the move-desc grammar. If it is a human player's turn, the system should print Please specify human move on its own line.
MakeMove [move]: Perform the move specified by the String move, in the format described by the move-desc grammar. This command should only be used by a Human Player. If it is used during a computer player's turn, nothing will happen to the game state. Do not give feedback. If the move is not legal, the system should print, on its own line, Illegal move and not perform the move. If the move is legal, the system should perform the move and print the move back, in proper format, on its own line.
PrintBoard: System should print the current "state" of the game to the screen using the same format as if it were being saved to a file. Include a newline at the end of the output also.
IsLegalMove [move]: System should print, on its own line, either "legal" or "illegal" to specify if the move is a legal next move.
PrintAllMoves: System should, in alphanumeric order, print all legal moves for the next player. Each move should each appear on its own line.
QuitGame: Prints (on its own line) Exiting game and terminates the present game and application. QuitGame cannot be the first command.

For each command except MakeNextMove, the specified behavior completes within 10 seconds.

If the user input does not match one of these commands, output Input error alone on one line.

When a player has won the game, output on its own line: [Player color] Player has won. For example, if the black player has won, output: Black Player has won. At this point, you can assume that the Antichess program has just been started and therefore, you only need to support a subset of commands.

Timing

In the TextUI, time must be kept against the human and computer players, just as it is in the GUI.

In a human-human game, the clock switches between players as soon as the MakeMove command is processed.
In a human-computer game, the computer is charged only for the time it takes to respond to the MakeNextMove command. All other time is charged to the human.
In a computer-computer game, each player is charged only for the time it takes to respond to the MakeNextMove command. All other time is charged to no one.

If the clock runs out on a human player, the player can be informed that they have lost after the next TextUI command is entered--it is not necessary to interrupt the player. If the clock runs out on a computer player, the system must immediately report that the other player has won.

All commands except MakeNextMove must complete within 10 seconds. MakeNextMove can take as long as the computer player wishes, subject to the constraints of the game clock.