Section 16.6 - A Larger Ada Applet

When a "mouseDown" occurs we'll need to remember where on the screen it occurred. When a "mouseDrag" occurs we'll need to draw a line from the last screen position to the current one. That would be enough to permit scribbling, but if the doodling area was scrolled away or a window were placed on top we'd lose the scribbles. So, let's save the starting and ending points of the lines so we can redraw it later in the "paint" method. We can store the list of starting and ending points in a Java type called a "Vector". To set up these Vectors we'll use the "init" method on the Applet. We'll also use another Java type called a Point, which simply stores a combined x and y location.

Many Java library classes have special methods called "Constructors". A Constructor creates a new instance of an object. In the Java language, any method with exactly the same method name as the class it's in is a constructor. These constructors can be called by Ada; their Ada function names are simply "new_" followed by the name of the class. For example, class Vector has a method named Vector that takes two integer parameters. Since the class and method name are identical, this must be a constructor for creating new Vectors. To use that constructor from Ada, call "new_Vector" with those two parameters. In this example, the parameters are (1) how many points the Vector should initially hold, and (2) the amount of points to increase by every time the Vector runs out of space. I've set the Vectors so they'll store 100 points, and will add space for another 100 points each time the current limit is exceeded. Unlike other non-static methods, do not add an extra parameter in front of the list - a constructor creates a new object, so there'd be nothing to pass!

Here's the source code for Doodle. You needn't study it carefully unless you plan to develop Java programs, but skim it at least to see how things are done:

-- "Doodle" by David A. Wheeler

with java.applet.Applet; use java.applet.Applet;
with java.awt.Graphics; use java.awt.Graphics;
with java.awt.Event; use java.awt.Event;
with java.util.Vector; use java.util.Vector;

package Doodle is
  type Doodle_Obj is new Applet_Obj with private;
  type Doodle_Ptr is access all Doodle_Obj'Class;

  procedure init(Obj : access Doodle_Obj);
  function  mouseDown(Obj : access Doodle_Obj; e : Event_Ptr;
                      x : Integer ; y : Integer) return Boolean;
  function  mouseDrag(Obj : access Doodle_Obj; evt : Event_Ptr;
                      x : Integer ; y : Integer) return Boolean;
  procedure paint(Obj : access Doodle_Obj; g : Graphics_Ptr);

private
  type Doodle_Obj is new Applet_Obj with record
     -- Last position drawn:
     Last_X, Last_Y  : Integer := 0;
     -- Store all lines drawn so they can be redrawn:
     Starting_Points, Ending_Points : Vector_Ptr := null;
  end record;
end Doodle;



with interfaces.Java;  use interfaces.Java; -- for "+" on strings
with java.awt.Point; use java.awt.Point;
with java.lang; use java.lang;  -- Defines "Object"

package body Doodle is

  procedure init(Obj : access Doodle_Obj) is
  begin
    -- Initialize applet by setting up vector of start and end points.
    Obj.Starting_Points := new_Vector(100, 100); -- Constructor.
    Obj.Ending_Points   := new_Vector(100, 100);
  end init;

  function mouseDown(Obj : access Doodle_Obj; e : Event_Ptr;
                     x : Integer ; y : Integer) return Boolean is
    -- Memorize where the button was pressed for later use.
  begin
    Obj.Last_X := X;
    Obj.Last_Y := Y;
    return True;  -- "true" means we've handled mouseDown.
  end mouseDown;

  function mouseDrag(Obj : access Doodle_Obj; evt : Event_Ptr;
                     x : Integer ; y : Integer) return Boolean is
    Graphic_Image      : Graphics_Ptr := getGraphics(Obj);
    Starting_Point : Point_Ptr := new_Point(Obj.Last_X, Obj.Last_Y);
    Ending_Point   : Point_Ptr := new_Point(x, y);
    -- Draw a line from last to current point, then store information.
  begin
    drawLine(Graphic_Image, Obj.Last_X, Obj.Last_Y, x, y);
    -- Store the ending position in case the dragging continues.
    Obj.Last_X := x;
    Obj.Last_Y := y;
    -- Store the line drawn so it can be repainted.
    addElement(Obj.Starting_Points, Object_Ptr(Starting_Point));
    addElement(Obj.Ending_Points,   Object_Ptr(Ending_Point));
    return True;  -- "true" means we've handled mouseDrag.
  end mouseDrag;

  procedure paint(Obj : access Doodle_Obj; g : Graphics_Ptr) is
    Starting_Point, Ending_Point : Point_Ptr := null;
      -- Redraw the doodling.
  begin
    for I in 0 .. size(Obj.Starting_Points) - 1 loop
      Starting_Point := Point_Ptr(elementAt(Obj.Starting_Points, I));
      Ending_Point   := Point_Ptr(elementAt(Obj.Ending_Points, I));
      drawLine(g, Starting_Point.x, Starting_Point.y,
                  Ending_Point.x, Ending_Point.y);
    end loop;
  end paint;

end Doodle;

If you're interested and have a Java-capable browser, you can try out the Doodle applet.

Quiz:

In Java package "java.awt" there is a class named "Color". The documentation for it says that one of its methods is also named "Color" and is defined as follows in the Java language:

  public Color(int r, int g, int b);

How could you call this method in Ada?

1. Color(0, 255, 64)
2. Color(C, 0, 255, 64) where C is something of type Color.
3. new_Color(0, 255, 64)

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