Homework 2: Getting to Know Our Embroidery Library

In this part, you will familiarize yourself with the C++ Turtle class. You’ll use this class in later steps to visualize a data set of your choosing with embroidery.

The Turtle class is a CS 70-specific wrapper to libembroidery, a C library that generates embroidery pattern files. This class provides an interface very similar to the Python Turtle that you may have seen previously (e.g., in CS 5).

Any file that uses the Turtle class needs you to add the line

#include <cs70/turtle.hpp>

to the top of the file so that the C++ compiler gets all the declarations it needs.

The functions you write this week will work with a Turtle object. You can declare and initialize a (default) Turtle in a variable t by writing:

Turtle t;

You can call a function on a Turtle using the familiar dot notation:

t.penup();

The full set of member functions available for your Turtle object are outlined in the Turtle Class Specification.

Your Task

In this assignment, you'll make a program that creates embroidery patches.

Required Files for this Assignment

Your code for this week will be split into three files:

• embroidery.hpp will declare all of the functions that you write.
  • You will need to create this file; be sure to add #include guards!
• embroidery.cpp will define all of the functions that you write.
  • You will need to create this file. Be sure to include embroidery.hpp at the top of this file. Since embroidery.hpp is a file that you are writing, you will #include it with quotes instead of < and >; that is, as #include "embroidery.hpp".
• homework2.cpp will define the main function that uses the functions you write in embroidery.cpp.
  • We’ve provided homework2.cpp for you, but you will need to edit it to uncomment calls to each of the functions as you finish writing them.

Implementation Steps

Create “stub” files

Before you do anything else, create embroidery.hpp and embroidery.cpp files with placeholders for writing all of your functions. At the top of both of these files, put

#include <cs70/turtle.hpp>

Header Files

Your header file should declare all of the functions that you are going to write this week:

void rect(Turtle& t, float width, float height);

void meetTurtle();

void plotExampleData();

void plotStudentData();

Since this is your first header file of the semester, please make sure you read the commenting expectations.

Implementation Files

Your implementation file should define all of the functions you are going to write this week. For now, your implementations can be blank placeholders.

void rect(Turtle& /* t */, float /* width */, float /* height */) {
    // ^-- variable names commented out to prevent "unused variable" warnings
    //     in this stub.
    // FIXME: Uncomment variable names when stub is implemented.
    throw std::logic_error("Not implemented (yet!)");  // FIXME: Implement it!
}

void meetTurtle() {
    throw std::logic_error("Not implemented (yet!)");  // FIXME: Implement it!
}

void plotExampleData() {
    throw std::logic_error("Not implemented (yet!)");  // FIXME: Implement it!
}

void plotStudentData() {
    throw std::logic_error("Not implemented (yet!)");  // FIXME: Implement it!
}

The & after Turtle in the two code snippets above is very important! (You'll learn about what the symbol means and does in Week 3, Lesson 2. For now, just know that it's necessary!) The part with throw generates a C++ exception if these unimplemented functions are called, crashing the program.

Your embroidery.cpp file will need to include the following additional headers:

#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
#include <string>
#include <stdexcept>
#include <cstddef>

You should add them now so that you don’t run into problems later.

Namespaces

A useful concept in C++ is that of a namespace, which is a way to help the compiler avoid conflicts between variable and function names. For now, we will use the standard (std) namespace of C++ which includes many useful functions. If you do not tell C++ that you want to use the std namespace, you will have to write code that explicitly specifies the std namespace; for example, std::cout and std::endl.

But if you add

using namespace std;

after your include statements, you will be able to type just cout and endl, and save your fingers a little bit of typing. (More on this topic later.)

Compiling

At this point, your program doesn't really do anything, but it should still be possible to compile and link it all. Go ahead and try!

Note that you will also need to tell the linker that you are using functions from the turtle, point, and libembroidery libraries:

clang++ -gdwarf-4 -c -std=c++17 -Wall -Wextra -pedantic embroidery.cpp
clang++ -gdwarf-4 -c -std=c++17 -Wall -Wextra -pedantic homework2.cpp
clang++ -lembroidery -lturtle -lpoint homework2.o embroidery.o -o homework2

Your First Turtle Functions

In embroidery.cpp, write a function called rect that takes three arguments: a Turtle, a width (as a float), and a height (as a float). The rect function should use the Turtle to draw a rectangle.

In order to write your rect function, you will need to consult the Turtle Class Specification to decide which functions are useful for this task. For instance, to tell a Turtle t to put the pen down, you would call t.pendown(). Some notes for drawing the rectangle:

• Assume that the turtle starts at the bottom-left corner of the rectangle it will be drawing and is facing in the direction of the desired horizontal base of the rectangle.
• The position with coordinates (x+100, y+50) is 100 units to the right and 50 units up from (x,y).
• Depending on which functions you use to move the Turtle, you may not need to set direction or turn the Turtle.

In embroidery.cpp, write a function meetTurtle(). Your function should start by declaring some constants:

constexpr float PATCH_WIDTH = 50;
constexpr float PATCH_HEIGHT = 40;
constexpr int EDGE_STEP = 2;
constexpr int TEXT_STEP = 1;
constexpr float FONT_SCALE = 1.0;
constexpr float SATIN_DELTA = 0.3;

It should then do the following:

• Create a Turtle object
• Draw a satin-stitched rectangle that is PATCH_WIDTH wide, PATCH_HEIGHT tall, and has a step size of EDGE_STEP. Be sure to use your rect function!
• Add three lines of satin-stitched text inside the rectangle that have a size of TEXT_STEP and a text scale FONT_SCALE:
  • The initials of partner one in your group
  • A team name (choose something relatively short, so it will fit on your patch!)
  • The initials of partner two in your group
• Call the Turtle’s end() function to finish the embroidery pattern
• Save the results to a file called meet_turtle.dst

Don't forget to uncomment the function call in main, before you compile and run!

Running your code

You can run your executable by typing

./homework2

Converting file formats

The file format that our Turtle will create is a .dst file, which is readable by the department’s embroidery machines. To make it easier to test your code as you work, the server includes a tool called convert that will turn .dst files into .svg image files.

To use convert, give the name of your embroidery file and the name of the output image file:

convert meet_turtle.dst meet_turtle.svg

The resulting file, meet_turtle.svg, should be downloadable (in VSCode, right click the file and select Download) and then viewable in your web browser. It's not a perfect replication of what your image will look like as an embroidery project, but it's close enough to be helpful.

As you add to each of your functions this week, you should regularly write out your Turtle’s output to a .dst file, convert it to a .svg file, download it, and view it in your browser.

If everything works as expected, your meet_turtle.svg file should end up looking something like

…although the color on your image may be different than ours, as .dst files don’t store color information.

(When logged in, completion status appears here.)