I recently got back into
Java (Beginner, very much so) and I was trying to think of a program I could write, but I am not sure how to go about it, since I don't understand how the logic works in labeling.
My initial thought was, what if I start at a point, say, 0, then travel east, north, south, west no more than 3000 steps. Why 3000? No reason, it just popped into my head, so I am going with it. Well, since Java is object oriented, let's just make it squares (say, a chessboard). So, you have Block 0, then you can travel four directions. But how do you label them? My ultimate goal would be to progress the program so that it tells a user to choose a block, then program tells user how many blocks away from 0 it is, not just horizontal-then-vertical, but also diagonal. Then, to make it even more complicated, eventually add a two-point input, then tell the number of blocks away from those, including diagonal distance.
This is where I do not understand the logic. I understand the numbering X, Y, but what about a jump 64 east, then 64 north? Do I label each block the coordinate, or is there some weird math/logic involved in naming it? And aside from the names, what if I do use the coordinates, how would I tell the program what fits the bill for "shortest route"? I can set up the logic to left x-number, down y-number, but will that always be the shortest route? Diagonal will not always be a straight shot, it will likely be three west, one south, three west, one south, until the final point. But even if it keeps that
pattern, what if in the last stretch to hit the square, it only needs one south to hit it? Sheesh, who'da thunk finding the shortest distance between two points would be so hard. Seeing it on a graph it seems simple, but once I draw the blocks and see the patterns go all wonky at times, I start to wonder if I can really screw this up and not do it right.
I was trying to think of a good example, but all I can think of is Minecraft. Looking here at the pocket edition I can see that the map has coordinates for where you are in-world... but how does the labeling of the blocks work? I am not interested in the depth; I can mess around with that much, much later when I get better at this. Is this a complicated process or am I just getting overwhelmed due to my lack of sleep?
I am going to bed, so no rush on the advice. I am very curious how the logic works and feel this would be a good exercise to
test what I have learned the past few days, so maybe I can pull this off and learn something else while I do. Sleep well, friends. Goodnight.
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