Todays meting with Luke we were trying to gain a better understanding of what direction we should be aim for and to go in. From the previous meetings we were mainly talking about how best to represent knots and just what a knot consists of. After clarify this we now need to start some simple samples to see just how feasible they will be.

The idea of using bones like they do in animation is a real possibility as it has the appropriate attributes we need for what we are trying to do. However Phil showed an example from the Bepu physics library that is also along the lines of what we are aiming for. Now its just a matter of using these two ideas and seeing which is more appropriate. We will have to test and scrutinies each of them.

The other agenda for the meeting was just clarify what is need for the user manual. So far we are on the right track we just need a little more information in certain sections of the user manual. Overall as a group we feel like we are on track and doing our best considering each of us have other assignments dues.

Firdays meeting

With firdays meeting there wasnt much to be said. Our focus is firmly on the first thing thats is due which is the user manual. Everyone is doing their bit to get this out the way, however its hard when some members of the group have several other assignments for other subjects due around the same time.

After some discussion about how the user manual is coming along, what is needed and assigning certain parts to group members the next thing on the agenda was mainly how to represent a 3D rope.
This raised some serious discussion as alot of the feasibility need to be thought of before we start any form of implementation. Phil was very good at acting like a devils advocate by criticising  many of the ideas were raised. This was needed because there is no point progressing any further without thinking about all of the possible areas that may cause problems latter done the track.

From all of this it was agreed on that Phill and Jun would as look into other ways to represent a 3D rope. Hopefully trying to find one that is easier to implement then the one in mind at the moment.
Jun will also create some rough screen shots of the program for the user manual. Allen and Tim will spend most of their time trying to finish up the user manual and make it acceptable for when it is due.

Allen and Phil were also encouraged to post some diary posts as they have been very slack in this regard.

Monday meeting with Luke

Todays meeting was mainly about where we are at and what we have done or looked at in the past week.

We informed Luke that as a group Phil had shown us the Beepo physics library and some examples with it. This is a possible solution we can use to monitor the collisions when a know it formed. Discussion then began about possible ways to use this within our program. If this is possible it can make some of the program slighlty easier to do. Phil said he will look further into it and let the group know about his findings for the next meeting.

From here Jun informed Luke on a possible algorithm he had thought of to make several lines in our program behave more like string. This algorithm involves give parts of the string different weights so when a joining part is moved the movement of that part is affect by its weight. This will then give the illusion that the lines or more like one piece of string.

Allen put forward the idea of having the program run as client server. Allowing users to login and then upload knots they have created and the possibility of comparing knots they have created with other users. Question were raised as to where the computation of the comparing of knots would take places, client or server side. This is something we will look at in more detail latter if there is time. For now we will aim at having knots stored on the clients computer and computer the knots locally.

Tim was more focussed on the user manual as its the firs thing due for the project. He had been looking at possible templates and appropriate headings to have things under. Luke also showed him some previous user manuals from past projects which he has borrowed and will look at in more detail.

CSCI 321 - weekly meeting

From when we had last meet (monday) each of us went our sperate ways and looked further into certain areas. Today was mainly about seeing how everyone went, see if they got stuck and if anyone had any ideas to help them out.

The items that were presented were:

Allen - a rough class diagram that no doubtly will change over time

Jun - Looked into a better algorithm to represent string. This algorithm involes giving certain areas a weighted number depending on where they are located on the string. This weight then affects how that part of the string will move in tandom with the rest of the string when a part is selected.

Phil - looked at a few rough possible GUI's for the program and the website.
From these everyone gain an understanding of what we are trying to achieve with our final product and everyone put forwar ideas of how to improve these rough skecthes to make them more pleasing for the user.

Tim - started looking at ways to do the user manual which is the first thing due for the project. He had looked at possible templates and read the lecture slides to gain an idea of what should be done.

Other things discussed was the ability to handle collisions. Phil gave a examples of the physics library Beebo. This also gave ideas as to how we could handle collisions within our application.

The last thing discussed in todays meeting was possible names for the program. There were several good suggestions such as Knotpedia or What the Knot, however the program name is gonna be called Knot a problem.

From todays meeting, each group memeber was assigned an area of the user manual they are to work on so we can start our documentation. Everyone was also encouraged to try and post a few more individual diaries up as there is only one at the moment.

CSCI - Group meeting with Luke

With todays meeting, we meet with Luke and told him what he had done since we had last met.

Jun looked into the possibility of creating curvers , the algorithm he was using was the Bezir curve algorithm. This allows for there to be three points and create a curve using those three points. This is important for our project because without the possibilities to draw curves the program cannot move forward. This curve works, however Jun will also look into to see if their are other algorithms out there that are possibly better and more efficient.

Next we discussed possible ways of how the store a completed knot. If the knot is stored in steps this then allows for other functions to be used within our program. With the knot stored as steps a user can then undo their previous move and be back to the correct step. It also gives the possibility to add the function of giving a user a tied knot and then trying to work out the process of untying the knot.

Other points raised were how the final product may look. Phil raised the idea of having four viewports to give different perspectives of what the user is doing. One viewport would be a 3D perspective while other would be set perspective of certain angles/sides.

The menu and possible user shortcut keys were discussed for better user accessibility and manipulation. This menu could possibly contain a load and save function.

For our next meeting each of us will look into these areas:
Jun - continue looking into the curves and possible user interface
Allen - will look into the website and the data base
Phil - is looking at ways of representing the knots within some type of database
Tim - will gain a better understanding of C# and try and start the user manual format

Group Meeting - the first few

This is the start of the group diary for CSCI321 group project.
I know this is several days late but as a group we only recently decided that this would be the easiest way.
So far as a group we have meet several times and I will discuss in more detail what happened on those dates.


First group meeting 2/8/2010
For our first group meeting we all gathered and introduced ourselves, everyone was excited to start project and also very happy with the group overall. As three of us had just done CSCI222 together we knew we could count on each other for group work and no letting anyone done. The new member (Phil) was also excited to join the group because he helped round out having each person doing a different major which can help the group in the long run.
From there we all went through the list of available projects, some sounding more interesting then others. Instead of chossing a project straight from the list we though we should try and brain storm other ideas and try and push that as a potential project. After trying to find a need for a software application, the idea to try and create a mobile based UOW student helper arose. Everyone was keen on this idea and looking forward to trying to undertake this as our project. However due to leaving it a little late and not knowing the right procedure to get a project proposal confirmed as a group we had to just face the fact that we needed to chose one straight from the list.
In the end we chose the Knot program - a graphical and mathematical representation of knots. Everyone is happy and willing to do this project. It will be challenging but rewarding experience for everyone.

Second meeting 9/8/10
This was a first formal meeting with our supervisor Luke McAven. Below is the meeting minutes.

Date	9/8/10
Absent	No one
Agendas raised	·         What do we want the final product to be like? Will it be educational? Will it be a puzzle solving game? Or could it be used as research software? ·         How will different types of knots be stored within the system? Will there be a database of knots to compare with? How will these knots be stored within the database? ·         How will these knots be displayed within the program? ·         How will the knots be manipulated?
Things to look into further	·         How to represent these knots ·         Simple types of knots including line, circle, loop. ·         Will the user be able to join or cut a string
What should be done by next meeting	·         As a group have a better understanding of what knots are ·         A better understanding of C# and XNA source code for the group member who haven’t used such resources before
Task assigned to individual members	None
Task completed	-
Summary	As the first group meeting with our co-ordinator today was more about everyone gaining a better understanding of what is required for the project. Luke raised many good points as to which direction as a group we want the project to take. Other points raised where how things could be done to help represent the system such as representing the knots either in 2D or 3D and the manipulation of the knots. Overall for a first group meeting everyone walked away with a better concept on what this project will require and what will be needed.

Third Meeting 12/8/2010


Absent: Allen ( work)


Agendas rasied: How will we do our individual and group diaries? a possible blog
To see if anyone knows how to setup an SVN
Maybe some mook pictures so people can get an understading of what we want the final product to look like, a common goal.
To see if it is going to be possible to model rope or string and allow the user to manipulate it.
Get group members who dont know much about XNA and C# to look into it.
Also a possible group name.


Things to look further into:
Different types of knots. Help demonstrate to other group members what types of knots there and show the how to tie such a knot so they can gain a better understanding.


Task assigned to individual members:
Tim : Mook pictures and gain and understanding of C# and XNA
Jun: to see if the modeling of curves and loops is possible
Phil: try to setup an SVN for the group or look into it


Tasks Completed:


Summary:
This was only a short but brief meeting so everyone knows where to go from here and what to do. Hopefully by the next time we see our supervisor we have something to show him. He will probably also recommend other ideas.