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Introduction

This chapter illustrates program structure via two examples: the first uses a modular model; the second, an object model.

The first application provides a set of parametric modules for two player games. A functor implements the minimax-ab algorithm for the evaluation of a search tree. A second functor allows modifying the human/machine interface for the game. These parametric modules are then applied to two games: a vertical tic-tac-toe game, and another involving the construction of mystic ley-lines.

The second application constructs a world where robots evolve. The world and robots are structured as classes. The different behaviors of robots are obtained by inheritance from a common abstract class. It is then easy to define new behaviors. There, too, the human/machine interface may be modified.

Each of the applications, in its structure, contains reusable components. It is easy to construct a new two player game with different rules that uses the same base classes. Similarly, the general mechanism for the motion of robots in a world may be applied to new types of robots.




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