The second test will be given in class on Wednesday, April 7. You can expect a format similar to the first test, including both essay-type questions, questions that ask you to write code, and questions that ask you to understand code.
The test will cover material that we have done since the first test. This includes threads and multiprocessing (Sections 8.5.1, 8.5.2, and 8.5.3; material on blocking queues), some basic facts about BufferedImages and networking (Sections 12.1.1 and 10.4.1), generic programming and the Java Collection Framework (Sections 10.1 through 10.4, omitting 10.2.4 and 10.3.2), and streams and files (Section 11.1 except for 11.1.4 and 11.1.6, Section 11.2, and Section 11.3).
Here are some terms and ideas that you should be familiar with:
multi-processor computers and why parallel processing is necessary
threads
the Thread class
writing subclasses of Thread
the run() method in a thread
starting a thread, running a thread in parallel with other threads
race conditions; what can happen when two threads both use a shared resource
why access to shared resources needs to be controlled with synchronization
synchronized methods
what it means for a thread to block
why threads are often used in network programming
ArrayBlockingQueue<T> and LinkedBlockingQueue<T>
the put() and take() methods in a BlockingQueue (and why they can block)
BufferedImages
the method image.getGraphics(), where image is a BufferedImage
how to draw to a BufferedImage
using a buffered image as an "off-screen-canvas"
drawing a buffered image with g.drawImage(image,x,y,null)
drawing a buffered image with g.drawImage(image,x,y,width,height,null)
generic programming
what problem does generic programming try to solve?
parameterized types; for example, ArrayList<T>
wrapper classes; Integer, Double, Character, etc.
using wrapper classes with parameterized types; for example, ArrayList<Integer>
methods in class Object: toString(), equals(x), hashCode()
iterators
"for-each" loops; for example: for ( String str : strList )...
using a for-each loop to traverse a collection
the Comparable interface and the compareTo(x) method
the JCF (Java Collection Framework)
collections, lists, and sets
run-time performance of various operations on lists and sets
ArrayLists versus LinkedLists [differences; when to use]
HashSets versus TreeSets [differences; when to use]
maps
keys and values in maps
HashMaps versus TreeMaps [differences; when to use]
using the keySet() from a map to traverse the map
uses of lists, sets, and maps
hash tables and their implementation as arrays of linked lists
how a hash code is used in a hash table
Generic interfaces and classes in the Java Collection Framework:
Collection<T>; methods: add(x), remove(x), size(), clear(), isEmpty()
List<T>; methods: get(index), set(index,x), remove(index)
ArrayList<T>
LinkedList<T>
Set<T>
HashSet<T>
TreeSet<T>
Map<K,V>; methods: put(k,v), get(k), containsKey(k), keySet()
HashMap<K,V>
TreeMap<K,V>
streams for input and output
files
how streams and files are abstractions and why that is important
binary streams versus character streams
Unicode
InputStream and OutputStream
Reader and Writer
IOExceptions
Scanner
PrintStream
files, directories, and file paths
the File class; the exists() method
FileInputStream and FileOutputStream
using a Scanner to read from a file
using a PrintWriter to write to a file
saving data in a file
choosing a format for a data file
why use human readable (character) files?
the basic idea of XML and why it might be used