Learning

The ABC project started in December 1997, at that time, we only had two persons in charge of this project with only half a year of programming experience and confined to MS-DOS based Quick Basic while we wanted to program a board game for Windows 95, so we went through a crash course training on Microsoft Visual Basic. Due to the simplicity of Visual Basic 5, we quickly got familiar with the concept of GUI interface, propeties, methods, events under Visual Basic. But it did not seem enough if we want to program a powerful enough system that consisted of a board game and a chat client. Finally, we learn about the Data Structure and Algorithms in Visual Basic (is it possible for a toy language to implement data structure?)
In order to learn about Data Structures we had to learn about ARRAYs in Visual Basic. William only taught us a few concepts dealing with ARRAYs in Data Structure, and then assigned us a couple of projects that dealt with arrays:

(1) statistic, find the mean, median and mode from a series number given and

(2) matrix addition and multiplication.

Eventually, we learned some other concepts in Data Structure :

List -- using Dynamic Arrays to simulate it. We used this concept to keep user lists and channel lists in the server while keeping a list of channels joined in client.
Queue -- Keep message in or out in client and server.
Stack -- At the moment did not apply in ABC project.

We also learn about recursive methods, searching and sorting algorithms :

Recursive --
Sequential Search --
Binary Search --
Bubble Sort -
Selection Sort -
Insertion Sort -
Quick Sort -

File manipulation is necessary for the client as well as the server since there is information needs to be stored permenantly. For example, the client needs to keep the user id, user e-mail address and the server IP address. While learning these concepts we produced three small programs:

Profile access module - we have used sequential file access method to implement a module that can read and write any type of windows .ini file, but finally we still go back to use Windows API to do the job, more faster and safer.
Hacker Paradise - Don't believe we can write a program that crack computer game? It is facts, click here to visit the page. The program interface is much like Infinity Machine, but the different is that this program worked only in file, not memory. Hacker Paradise provided you two methods to crack the game, at the moment, we only had a game sample that proved our successful of the hacker paradise. Whatever implicit or explicit value can be cracked at a glimpse.
A & B board game map file - the file format of A & B game is stored in the server, while client is connecting to the server, then the server sends the format to client.

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學習過程

ABC 系統於一九九七年十二月開始設計, 當時只有我們兩位同學負責撰寫. 可是我們的程式設計經驗只有半年而已, 且僅限於 DOS 的 Quick Basic 罷了. 於是當務之急便是重新接受另一種嚴格的程式設計訓練, 在 William 老師的引導下, 我們很快掌握到了 Visual Basic 的程式設計技巧, 包括什麼是 properties, methods, events.. 但是只懂這些似乎不能解決問題. 於是我們再惡補程式設計的更高境界: 資料結構和演算法 (data structure and algorithm).

一開始我們覺得學 data structure 似乎與 ABC 沒有關係, 但是老師強調這些非常重要, 所以只好勉為其難去學囉. 學這些東東真得很悶... 但是後來我們才發現 data structure 真得很有幫助.

資料結構方面知道的有:

Lists: 利用 dynamic array 來模擬, 但是當空間越大時搬動速度會越慢.
Stack: 目前仍然不知學了來幹啥, 只知 call sub 時及 recursive 時會用到.
Queue: 這個尤為重要, 因為 chat server 需要把一大堆的 message 做 spooling.
Recursive: 目前仍然不知學了來幹啥.

演算法方面知道的有:

Sequential Search: 最簡單的 search 方法, 在 ABC 中常常用到.
Binary Search: 在 ordered array 中尋找某一資料所用的方法. 最快的搜尋方法, 可在 log₂N 的時間下找到資料 (或找不到).
Bubble Sort: 目前仍然不知學了來幹啥, 但是非常有趣.
Selection Sort: 目前仍然不知學了來幹啥, 但是非常有趣.
Insertion Sort: 目前仍然不知學了來幹啥, 但是非常有趣.
Quick Sort: 仍然不太清楚裡面的詳細過程, 只知它是世界上最快的 sorting method, 經過我們的 benchmark 測試, 速度快的驚人.

在檔案處理方面, 我們可以說是到了爐火純青的境界, 我們一共實作了三套很有意思的程式:

profile reading/writing: 可以直接讀取及修改 .ini 的內容, 但是後來還是使用 Windows API 比較安全可靠.
games modify tools: 以著名的台灣 RPG 遊戲仙劍奇俠傳為試驗, 結果成功完成. 此程式提供兩種模式修改遊戲中的任何數值, 包括躲得很隱密的李逍遙的攻擊力資料也可修改, 嘿嘿...相信這套工具問世的話, 必定很受歡迎, 可能會造成洛陽 disk 貴哦... 修改後的李逍遙只需兩招即可 "做低" 壞人頭頭, 實在太爽了 (也太無聊了). (我們正在研究是否要放這個程式在網上, 以 activeX 的形式來進行仙劍 cracking 工作...)
A&B map : ABC 最大的特色是大家可以一面在網路上聊天一面玩鬥獸棋, 鬥獸棋遊戲的地形以檔案的形式存於伺服器 (server), 當 client 進入 channel 時, 則 server 會寄送地形圖的格式 (format) 於 client.

Graphics 方面:

Object-Oriented Programming 方面:
OOP 是另一種程式設計的方法, 以 class 的形式包裝 program code, 在 class 裏面所定義的 properties 可以 hide 或 export 出去, 不需要重新 compile 便可直接在 Visual Basic 的 IDE 中使用.

Windows Socket 方面:
要我們兩位高中生寫自己的 windows socket API 簡直是天方夜譚, 所以我們還是依靠 Microsoft 的 winsock activeX control 來完成. 不過那只做到了通訊的低階服務, 資料要怎麼包裝還是要看我們的程式邏輯.

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written by junior programmers, 1998

Learning

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學習過程