Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics
Introduction to Programming in C
(ELEC129)
Assignment 3
Introduction to Programming in C (ELEC129) Assignment 3
Objectives
To design, implement and document more complex modular programs that use functions, loops, arrays and pointers.
Assessment
This assignment is an assessed component and the mark for this work will contribute towards the overall module mark. The weight of Assignment 3 is 27%. The marking criteria can be found in the Exam Resources section of ELEC129 in VITAL.
This assignment is composed of a number of exercises. The relative weight of each exercise on the overall assignment mark is indicated between brackets.
Instructions
Students are required to do all exercises and submit a single Word file in the Assessment section of ELEC129 in VITAL (https://vital.liv.ac.uk) by Monday 18/02/2019 at 17:00 (5pm) UK local time (week 4 of semester 2). Delay penalties apply. Please double check your report and make sure your work is in its final form before submission as the online application will not allow resubmissions. Email submissions and/or resubmissions will not be accepted.
Submissions must be a single Word file containing the work done by the student (student name and student ID should be clearly stated in the first page). The file must contain two parts for each exercise proposed in this assignment as detailed below.
Part I: The first part must contain the source code. Please use font Courier New with a size of 8 points, use indentation to make the code readable, and observe the following requirements:
The source code must be the result of your own original and individual work.
The source code must be entirely written in the C programming language. Source code
written in any other programming languages (e.g., C++) will receive a mark of zero.
The use of global variables is (in general) not needed in ELEC129 assignments and its use is not allowed unless otherwise stated. All variables should be local to a function (i.e., declared within the body of a function). The use of global variables will be
penalised. If you are in doubt, ask a lab demonstrator to check your source code.
All exercises can be solved based on concepts explained in previous lectures. Students are allowed to use concepts from other (future) chapters but this is not expected. Feel
free to discuss your approach to solving the exercises with a lab demonstrator.
Part II: The second part must contain a detailed explanation of the software development process followed by the student (i.e., the first five steps of the software development method):
1. Problem specification: Formulation of the problem and its objectives.
2. Analysis: Identification of: i) inputs, ii) outputs, and iii) other relevant aspects,
requirements or constraints (e.g., relevant formulas, etc.).
3. Design: Formulation of the algorithm (list of steps) needed to solve the problem. At
this stage, the problem should be divided into a number of sub-problems that can be solved using functions.
Dept. Electrical Eng. & Electronics Page 2 / 5 University of Liverpool
Introduction to Programming in C (ELEC129) Assignment 3
4. Implementation: List of functions used in the program (function names), indicating for each function which step(s) of the algorithm is/are implemented by the function.
5. Testing and verification: Explanation of how the program was tested and verified. Snapshots of the programs output window can be obtained by using [Alt] + [PrtScr(or PrintScreen)] and pasting into the report.
Please indicate clearly if in your opinion the program works correctly. If you do not think the program works correctly or does not compile, indicate what the problems are. You will then be able to get points for that programming task. If in the testing section of your design document you have indicated that the program works correctly but it turns out that your code does not even compile (because of syntax errors, for example) you will not receive adequate points.
Academic integrity
Students should familiarise themselves with Section 6 of the Universitys Code of Practice on Assessment, which provides important information regarding the submission of assessed coursework (link: http://www.liv.ac.uk/tqsd/code-of-practice-on-assessment).
Students should also familiarise themselves with Section 9 (Academic Integrity) and Appendix L (Academic Integrity Policy) of the Universitys Code of Practice on Assessment which provide the definitions of academic malpractice and the policies and procedures that apply to the investigation of alleged incidents (including collusion, plagiarism, fabrication of data, etc.).
Students found to have committed academic malpractice are liable to receive a mark of zero for the assessment or the module concerned. Unfair and dishonest academic practice will attract more severe penalties, including possible suspension or termination of studies.
By electronically submitting this coursework you confirm that:
You have read and understood the Universitys Academic Integrity Policy.
You have acted honestly, ethically and professionally in conduct leading to assessment
for the programme of study.
You have not copied material from another source nor committed plagiarism nor
fabricated data when completing the attached piece of work.
You have not previously presented the work or part thereof for assessment for
another University of Liverpool module.
You have not copied material from another source, nor colluded with any other
student in the preparation and production of this work.
You have not incorporated into this assignment material that has been submitted by
you or any other person in support of a successful application for a degree of this or any other University or degree awarding body.
Students are encouraged to contact the module instructor if any clarifications are needed.
Dept. Electrical Eng. & Electronics Page 3 / 5 University of Liverpool
Introduction to Programming in C (ELEC129) Assignment 3
Exercise 1 (100% of assignment mark)
The objective of this assignment is to implement the tic-tac-toe game with a C program.
The game is played by two players on a board defined as a 55 grid (array). Each board position can contain one of two possible markers, either X or O. The first player plays with X while the second player plays with O. Players place their markers in an empty position of the board in turns. The objective is to place 5 consecutive markers of the same type in a line (a line can be any row, any column or any diagonal). The first player who manages to place 5 markers in a line wins. The game is played until one of the players wins or until the board is full with no player having 5 markers in a line (i.e., the result of the game is a draw).
Your program should do the following:
1) Ask at the beginning if the game is going to be played by two human players (i.e., human player vs. human player) or by one human player and the computer (i.e., human player vs. computer). In the latter case (i.e., human player vs. computer) there must be an option that allows the player to choose the first to play (either the computer or himself/herself).
2) Players will play in turns (i.e., the first player will place an X on the board, then the second player will place an O in the next move, and so on).
a. When it is a human players turn, the selected board position must be introduced by the user by indicating the corresponding row and column numbers. Your program should display numbers around the board, as shown in the example below, in order to assist the player:
12345 ++++++ ||||||
1|||||| |||||| ++++++ ||||||
2|||||| |||||| ++++++ ||||||
3|||||| |||||| ++++++ ||||||
4|||||| |||||| ++++++ ||||||
5|||||| |||||| ++++++
b. When it is the computers turn (in human vs. computer mode), the computer should choose a valid empty position. A possible tactic to choose the position is suggested in point 6 (see below).
Dept. Electrical Eng. & Electronics Page 4 / 5 University of Liverpool
Introduction to Programming in C (ELEC129) Assignment 3
3) If a human player choses an illegal position (out of bounds or already taken) then a message should be displayed. The program should keep asking the player to introduce the position for his/her move until a valid position is chosen by the player.
4) After each move, the entire board containing all previous moves should be reprinted. The following is an example of how the board could appear on the screen:
12345 ++++++ ||||||
1|X||X||| |||||| ++++++ ||||||
2|X|O|||| |||||| ++++++ ||||||
3|X||O||| |||||| ++++++ ||||||
4|X|X|X|O| | |||||| ++++++ ||||||
5|O|O| | |O| |||||| ++++++
5) When there are 5 consecutive markers (either X or O) in line anywhere in the board (i.e., any row, column or diagonal) the game should finish and the program should display a message indicating who has won the game. The game should also finish when the board is full with no player having 5 markers in a line; in this case the program should display a message indicating that the final result of the game is a draw.
6) When the user chooses to play in human vs. computer mode, the following computer tactic may be employed in every computers turn:
a. The computer first checks all possible valid moves and if there is any move that allows the computer to win immediately, that move is selected.
b. If (a) is not possible, then the computer checks if the human player is about to win in the next move. If this is the case, then the computer blocks that move.
c. If cases (a) and (b) are not relevant, then the computer can choose a random empty position. This can be done with the rand() function, which is declared in the C standard header file stdlib.h. The following statements:
int x = rand() % 5;
int y = rand() % 5;
store in x and y random integer numbers between 0 and 4. This can be used to generate the row and column numbers until an empty position is found.
Dept. Electrical Eng. & Electronics Page 5 / 5 University of Liverpool
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