wcg.games

Class GameBot

java.lang.Object

java.lang.Thread

wcg.games.GameBot

All Implemented Interfaces:

java.lang.Runnable, GameObserver, Player

public class GameBot
extends java.lang.Thread
implements Player

An automatic card game player - a robot - to plays all kinds of card games.

This class has the generic features of a bot. It relies on the Strategy design pattern to shift between different ways to pick the cards to play. Although a default strategy may be provided by this class, each game should have a least one strategy and may select among several different ones for its bots.

GameBot implements the Player interface, hence it must provide a nick and handle events. Nicks of bots are picked from a list, making sure the it is not already being used in the game where bot will be added. As GameBot implements the GameObserver interface, it can receive events sent by its GameMaster.

GameBot extends Thread and uses the run() method to process process events. This way, event processing is decoupled from event propagation. Threads in Java follow the template method design pattern.

Author:

José Paulo Leal jpleal@fc.up.pt

Nested Class Summary

Nested Classes

Modifier and Type	Class and Description
(package private) class	GameBot.PlayerCards

Nested classes/interfaces inherited from class java.lang.Thread

java.lang.Thread.State, java.lang.Thread.UncaughtExceptionHandler

Field Summary

Fields

Modifier and Type	Field and Description
(package private) boolean	hasEventToProcess
(package private) boolean	hasToPlay

Fields inherited from class java.lang.Thread

MAX_PRIORITY, MIN_PRIORITY, NORM_PRIORITY

Constructor Summary

Constructors

Constructor and Description
GameBot(GameMaster gameMaster) A GameBot instance for a particular GameMaster instance.

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
boolean	gameEnded() Has this game ended? This information is notified by the GameEndEvent.
protected java.lang.String	generateNick(GameMaster gameMaster) Pick a name from a list of bot names, different from any of the nicks already in game.
CardCollection	getAllCardsOnTable() Convenience method to retrieve all cards on the table.
CardComparator	getCardComparator() Card comparator for this game
Card	getCardOnTable(java.lang.String nick) Convenience method to retrieve the card on table from player with given nick.
CardCollection	getHand() The collection of cards this player holds in her hand.
java.lang.String	getMode() Mode in which the game currently is.
java.lang.String	getNick() Players nick, it will used as an ID.
java.lang.String	getNickWithTurn() Nick of player currently with turn.
CardCollection	getPlayedCards() All cards already played in this game.
java.util.Map<java.lang.String,java.lang.Integer>	getPoints() Points received by each player in the game.
int	getRoundsCompleted() Number of rounds completed in this game.
GamePlayingStrategy	getStrategy() Current strategy for picking cards
CardSuit	getSuitToFollow() Convenience method to retrieve the trump suite .
java.lang.String	getWinner() Nick of the player that won the game: null if the game was not ended yet or ended in a tie.
boolean	noCardsOnTable() Convenience method to check if there are no card is on the table.
void	notify(GameEndEvent event) Notify the observer that the game has ended.
void	notify(RoundConclusionEvent event) Notify the observer of the round conclusion.
void	notify(RoundUpdateEvent event) Notify the observer of updates in a round.
void	notify(SendCardsEvent event) Notify the observer and send her/him/it a list of cards.
(package private) void	notifyEventArrived() Method invoked when a new event in received by this bot.
void	run() The active part of the thread is responsible for processing events.
void	setHand(CardCollection hand) Change the cards this player holds in her hand for testing purposes only.
void	setMode(java.lang.String mode) Change the mode the mode is currently testing purposes only.
void	setStrategy(GamePlayingStrategy strategy) Set the card picking strategy the the given one.
(package private) void	waitForEventToProcess() Make this thread wait for the arrival of event to process.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Thread

activeCount, checkAccess, clone, countStackFrames, currentThread, destroy, dumpStack, enumerate, getAllStackTraces, getContextClassLoader, getDefaultUncaughtExceptionHandler, getId, getName, getPriority, getStackTrace, getState, getThreadGroup, getUncaughtExceptionHandler, holdsLock, interrupt, interrupted, isAlive, isDaemon, isInterrupted, join, join, join, resume, setContextClassLoader, setDaemon, setDefaultUncaughtExceptionHandler, setName, setPriority, setUncaughtExceptionHandler, sleep, sleep, start, stop, stop, suspend, toString, yield

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

Field Detail

hasEventToProcess

boolean hasEventToProcess

hasToPlay

boolean hasToPlay

Constructor Detail

GameBot

public GameBot(GameMaster gameMaster)

A GameBot instance for a particular GameMaster instance. The latter instance influences the initialization of some fields. The nick must be different from those already in the game instance. The strategy must be given by GameMaster to ensure its adequacy.

Parameters:

gameMaster - here bot will be added.

Method Detail

run

public void run()

The active part of the thread is responsible for processing events. This method is invoked when the bot is instantiated and must run until the game end, when the GameEndEvent is received. It uses the waitForEventToProcess() to passively wait for a notification of an event to process. It must play (a) card(s) on its GameMaster when required, or terminate the thread when the game ends. This method invokes a GamePlayingStrategy to pick the cards to play.

Specified by:

run in interface java.lang.Runnable

Overrides:

run in class java.lang.Thread

waitForEventToProcess

void waitForEventToProcess()

Make this thread wait for the arrival of event to process. This method is meant to be called from run(). It does not block if there is an event pending to be processed; otherwise, it blocks on Object.wait() until the notifyEventArrived() is executed.

Implementation Note:

This method is part of the guarded block idiom used in thread coordination.

notifyEventArrived

void notifyEventArrived()

Method invoked when a new event in received by this bot. It notifies the threads blocked on Object.wait() for an event to process using Object.notifyAll().

Implementation Note:

This method is part of the guarded block idiom used in thread coordination.

getStrategy

public GamePlayingStrategy getStrategy()

Current strategy for picking cards

Returns:

strategy.

setStrategy

public void setStrategy(GamePlayingStrategy strategy)

Set the card picking strategy the the given one.

Parameters:

strategy - to set

getNick

public java.lang.String getNick()

Description copied from interface: Player

Players nick, it will used as an ID.

Specified by:

getNick in interface Player

Returns:

nick of player,

getRoundsCompleted

public int getRoundsCompleted()

Number of rounds completed in this game. Its 0 when the game starts.

Returns:

rounds

Implementation Note:

This value is receive by RoundUpdateEvent

getPoints

public java.util.Map<java.lang.String,java.lang.Integer> getPoints()

Points received by each player in the game.

Returns:

points map.

notify

public void notify(SendCardsEvent event)

Description copied from interface: GameObserver

Notify the observer and send her/him/it a list of cards. This event is typically the first one received by a player in a particular game instance. In some games this method may be invoked several times during a game instance. The method is meant to be invoked in a single observer/player and not to be broadcast.

Specified by:

notify in interface GameObserver

Parameters:

event - to send.

notify

public void notify(RoundUpdateEvent event)

Description copied from interface: GameObserver

Notify the observer of updates in a round. This event trigger the player to play her/his/it cards. These updates are sent when a player plays and are broadcast to provide the same information to all players simultaneously.

Specified by:

notify in interface GameObserver

Parameters:

event - to send.

notify

public void notify(RoundConclusionEvent event)

Description copied from interface: GameObserver

Notify the observer of the round conclusion. The event provides information on the round status. These notifications are broadcast to provide the same information to all players simultaneously.

Specified by:

notify in interface GameObserver

Parameters:

event - to send.

notify

public void notify(GameEndEvent event)

Description copied from interface: GameObserver

Notify the observer that the game has ended. The event provides information on the final game status. This event is the last in a game instance and is broadcast to all players.

Specified by:

notify in interface GameObserver

Parameters:

event - to send.

gameEnded

public boolean gameEnded()

Has this game ended? This information is notified by the GameEndEvent.

Returns:

true if game has ended; false otherwise.

getWinner

public java.lang.String getWinner()

Nick of the player that won the game: null if the game was not ended yet or ended in a tie.

Returns:

nick or null

getHand

public CardCollection getHand()

The collection of cards this player holds in her hand. These cards are normally received by events.

Returns:

cards

setHand

public void setHand(CardCollection hand)

Change the cards this player holds in her hand for testing purposes only.

Parameters:

hand - to set.

getCardComparator

public CardComparator getCardComparator()

Card comparator for this game

Returns:

comparator

getNickWithTurn

public java.lang.String getNickWithTurn()

Nick of player currently with turn. This is the next player to play. May be null in games where players don't play in turns.

Returns:

nick or null

noCardsOnTable

public boolean noCardsOnTable()

Convenience method to check if there are no card is on the table. Player with turn is the first to play in this round.

Returns:

true if no cards are on the table; false otherwise.

getCardOnTable

public Card getCardOnTable(java.lang.String nick)

Convenience method to retrieve the card on table from player with given nick. Assumes that in this games players play a single card per turn. May return null if no card is on the table.

Parameters:

nick - of player

Returns:

card or null

getAllCardsOnTable

public CardCollection getAllCardsOnTable()

Convenience method to retrieve all cards on the table. Assumes each player played a single card, although some players may have not played yet in this turn.

Returns:

cards on table

getPlayedCards

public CardCollection getPlayedCards()

All cards already played in this game.

Returns:

collection of played cards.

getMode

public java.lang.String getMode()

Mode in which the game currently is. This information is sent by the game master using update events. It will be null if undefined.

Returns:

mode or null

setMode

public void setMode(java.lang.String mode)

Change the mode the mode is currently testing purposes only. This information is normally sent by the game master using update events. It will be null if undefined.

Parameters:

mode - to set

getSuitToFollow

public CardSuit getSuitToFollow()

Convenience method to retrieve the trump suite . That is, the suit of the card player by the eldest hand (the first player in this turn).

Returns:

suit.

generateNick

protected java.lang.String generateNick(GameMaster gameMaster)

Pick a name from a list of bot names, different from any of the nicks already in game.

Parameters:

gameMaster - where nick will be used.

Returns:

nick.

Implementation Note:

No imagination? Google "robot names generator"