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NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 02:19:16 -0500
From: leif.roar@invalid.com (Leif Roar Moldskred)
Subject: Re: Help with paper, rock, scissors game
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scottwd01@gmail.com wrote:
> 
>
> I feel like it's correct and I got it down to just one error
>  (reached end of file while parsing).  I think that means that it
>  needs an extra } at the end, but if I add one I go from one to 17
>  errors.  I'm thinking maybe there is something wrong with my while
>  loop or how I created a new function (or method in java, I had a
>  class in python last semester so I'm not 100% sure I got the
>  functions in java down yet).  What makes sense to me and how I
>  understand it is, the function itself must be created outside of
>  main, but actually called in main?  Also, are all of the functions
>  going to be in the class RPS_Game?  We haven't really learned
>  classes yet this is just my second week.


The overall gist of your program is right, but you have a number
of syntax errors so that you get 17 errors when you add the missing
close bracket is not unexpected.

One tip, particularly when you start out, is to label your close
bracket -- like this:

public class Example {
  public static void main( String[] args ) {
    if( 1 > 2 ) {

    } // end if -- mathematical impossibility
    else {

    } // end else -- mathematical certainity: always happens
  } // end main()
} // end class Example


I've not got a java compiler at hand, so I might overlook
a few errors, but here's what I've eyeballed of errors:

>     char r = R;
>     char p = P;
>     char s = S;

This bit is wrong. Just R, P and S without any quotation marks around
them would be a reference to _variables_ namend R, P and S, and as
these don't exist the program will complainq. When you mean the
_character_ R, you need to enclose it in single quotes like this:

  char r = 'R';

Of course, as you don't use the variables r, p or s anywhere in the
program, you don't actually need these three lines at all.

> 
>  //Start of while loop that asks p1 and p2 for R,P or S.    
>     while (playCount < 3);

This bit is wrong -- the semicolon marks an end of the while loop,
and the following open bracket then starts a block of code that has
nothing to do with the while. basically, you've written this:

  while( playCount < 3 ) {
    /* Do nothing */
  }
 
  {
     System.out.print("Player 1: Please enter either (R)ock, (P)aper, or (S)cissors: ");
     player1 = scan.nextLine() .toUpperCase() .charAt(0);
     ...
  }

As playCount is never incremented inside the while loop, the loop
will never exit but run forever.
 
> //Defining the winningPlayer function that decides which player wins or if there is a tie.    
> public static int winningPlayer(char player1, char player2)
> {
> 
>     if (player1 == "P") {
>         if (player2 == "P")
>             return 0;
>         else if (player2 == "R")
>             return 1;
>         else 
>             return 2 ;
>     } 

Here you have used the wrong quotation marks. In some languages, both single and double
quotation marks can be used to enclose strings -- in Java there's a difference. Double
quotation marks enclose strings, and single quotation marks enclose chars. Since player1
and player2 are variables of type char, you need to use single quotation marks here:

 if( player1 == 'P' ) {
   ...
 } 

>     else if (player1 == "R") {
>         if (player2 == "R")
>             return 0;
>         else if (player2 == "S")
>             return 1;
>         else 
>             return 2;            
>     } 
>     else if (player1 == "S") {
>         if (player2 == "S")
>             return 0;
>         else if (player2 == "P")
>             return 1;
>         else 
>             return 2 ;
>   } // [1]    
> } // [2]

Now, the close bracket I've annotated with [1] closes the last "else if" and the
one I've annotated with [2] closes the method, so you need one more to close the
class.

Additionaly, as written, the scoring method has a problem in that it doesn't
return a value for every possibile case, so that won't compile. If player1
enters something besides 'P', 'R' or 'S' you'll "skip over" the if, the
first else if and the second else if, and hit the end of the method where 
there's no return statement.

You'll want to either throw an exception or return an error value at that
point. (If you choose to return an error value you should check for that
value in the main method.)

Hope this helps.


P.S. You might get some posters here who will complain about the style
of your code (how it's formatted and how it looks rather than what it
does.) Don't worry about that -- right now you should focus on getting
the code to do what you want it to do. Programming style is important
later, but right now it'll just be one more thing to confuse you.