CSC 305 Laboratory Activity
Checkstyle Lab

Part 1

1. Login to your account on a CSL workstation.
2. If you haven't setup your account to run BlueJ, then make a launcher for BlueJ.
3. Download the  Checkstyle extension for BlueJ that contains the custom checks for our class coding standard.
   The extension is installed by placing the extension jar file into an extensions directory.  <USER_HOME>/.bluej/extensions
   (Note, if the extensions folder doesn't exist, you'll have to create it.)
   Restart BlueJ.
4. From the Tools menu, select Preferences. The preferences dialog appears. Click on the Extensions tab. Locate the Checkstyle panel. For Configuration File enter the location of the class configuration XML file: /home/graderjd/bin/bluej/lib/extensions/103style.xml
5. From the "Project" menu select "New Project". (You may name it "Lab1".)
6. Click the "New Class" button to create a new Java class named MinMaxTime.
7. Right-click on the newly created MinMaxTime class in the diagram and select "Open Editor". Observe that BlueJ creates the skeleton code for a class. You may select all (Ctrl-A) and delete the skeleton code.
8. Copy and paste the source code for MinMaxTime.java into the editor window.
9. Click the "Compile" button. In the status window you should see the message "Class compiled - no syntax errors."

Part 2

1. From the main window (not the editor) open the Tools menu and select Checkstyle. In the window that appears, click on "MinMaxTime" in the left-hand panel. A list of checkstyle violations appears along with the corresponding line number.
2. Your assignment is to learn about the class coding standard by correcting the errors that Checkstyle has identified. Leave both the Checkstyle window and the editor window open. When you make a a change in the editor and click "Compile" the Checkstyle window will automatically refresh itself. The following strategy is suggested:
1. Look for errors whose message is immediately obvious. For example, on line 57, "'{' should be on a new line" needs no further explanation.
2. Consult the coding standard checklist or coding standard definition if you aren't sure how to fix the error or what the correct standard requires.
3. Read an explanation for a few of the most common errors.
4. If the error message doesn't make sense to you, consult the Checkstyle documentation for an explanation of the error message.
5. As a last resort, consult the instructor.
3. Write meaningful comments for the class header, method headers, and logic comments.  This will require that you spend a little time studying the code to comprehend what it does.
   
4. Review the coding standard checklist and study the MinMaxTime code to see if there are any violations of our class standard that Checkstyle does not catch. (Checkstyle is not perfect).  Correct any violations you discover.
   

Part 3

1. Make sure the program compiles correctly.
2. Add a javadoc @author tag in the class header for each student.
3. Each student submits a copy of your finished .java source code file to PolyLearn.
4. Both partners should configure their CSL account with the BlueJ launcher.
   

Summary