Cat-Simulation

Overview

Cat-Simulation is a Java-based simulation program where a cat navigates a 40x40 grid world filled with obstacles, seas, and food. The program visualizes the cat's movement and tracks how much food it consumes over a specified number of steps. The world is represented as a matrix loaded from a text file, and the simulation employs the StdDraw library for graphical representation.

Figure 1. Left: A cat in a world, right: cat ate some of the foods

Features

• World Representation:

  • A 40x40 grid loaded from a world.txt file.
  • Cells represent different terrains:
    • Empty spaces (0): Traversable by the cat.
    • Walls (1): Impassable terrain.
    • Sea (2): Impassable terrain.
    • Food (3): Consumable by the cat.

• Cat Simulation:

  • A cat starts at a predefined position and moves randomly.
  • Consumes food if encountered and clears the cell.
  • Avoids walls and seas during movement.

• Graphical Visualization:

  • Grid and terrains are visually represented using colors:
    • Walls: Light gray.
    • Sea: Light blue.
    • Food: Magenta.
  • Cat's movement is animated, leaving a trail behind.

• Customizable Steps:

  • The number of simulation steps can be adjusted to observe the cat's behavior over time.

• Output:

  • Saves a snapshot of the simulation as an image (output_figure.png).

Implementation Details

Classes

Cat

• Represents the cat's position, color, and food consumption count.
• Key methods:
  • draw(String direction): Moves and redraws the cat based on the specified direction.
  • getX(), getY(): Get the cat's current coordinates.
  • setFoodCount(int foodCount): Updates the food consumption count.

Figure 2. UML diagram for the Cat class

Main

• Handles:
  • Loading the world matrix from world.txt.
  • Visualizing the world using StdDraw.
  • Managing the cat's movement and interaction with the world.

World File (world.txt)

• The world.txt file represents the 40x40 grid as a matrix with values separated by semicolons (;).
• Example:

  0;0;0;1;1;2;3;0;0;0;...
  0;1;0;1;2;3;0;0;0;1;...
  ...
  

  

Movement Logic

• The cat moves randomly in one of four directions:
  • Up, Down, Left, or Right.
• Movement conditions:
  • The cat avoids walls and seas.
  • The cat eats food when encountered, increments its food counter, and clears the cell.

Visualization

• The grid and terrains are drawn using StdDraw:
  • Each cell is represented as a square.
  • The cat is drawn as a circle in orange.
  • Movement is animated with color updates for the trail.

Prerequisites

• Java Development Kit (JDK): Version 8 or higher.
• StdDraw Library: Ensure the StdDraw graphics library is included in the project. You can download it from Princeton StdDraw Library.

Getting Started

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/elifpulukcu/Cat-Simulation.git

2. Navigate to the Project Directory:

   cd Cat-Simulation

3. Compile the Java Files:

   javac *.java

4. Run the Application:

   java Main

5. Output:

   • A graphical simulation window will appear showing the cat's movement in the grid world.
   • The program generates an output image file: output_figure.png.

Customization

• Number of Steps:

  • Change the stepCount variable in the Main class to adjust the simulation duration.
  • Example:

    int stepCount = 10000; // Simulates 10,000 steps

• World File:

  • Modify the world.txt file to customize the grid's layout and initial content.
  • Ensure the file adheres to the 40x40 matrix format with values separated by semicolons.

• Cat's Initial Position:

  • Modify the cat's starting coordinates in the Main class:

    Cat cat = new Cat(30, 20, StdDraw.ORANGE); // Change (30, 20) to desired coordinates

Limitations

• The simulation is restricted to a 40x40 grid.
• Movement decisions are entirely random and do not consider optimization or pathfinding.
• The cat cannot revisit cells where food has already been consumed.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Developed by Elif Pulukçu.