match-maker program assignment

(Latest Revision: 03/10/2006)

Using A List of Structures: Computer Matching Service

THE ASSIGNMENT:

Your assignment is to write a simple version of a program for a computer dating service. Each client will give his or her name, phone number, and a list of interests. It will be the job of your program to maintain lists of men and women using the service and to match up "compatible" couples.

DATA STRUCTURES:

The problem requires you to maintain two separate lists of clients, one for men and one for women. You are not required to keep the lists in any particular order. New clients may be added to the end of the appropriate list.

Each list element must include all the following information for one client:

last name (string)
first name (string)
phone number (string)
number of interests (int -- maximum number is 10)
list of interest strings
the list position of this client's current match (int -- set to zero if the client has no match)

You must adapt the list class given in chapter 3 of our text for use as the lists of clients in this program. Source code for the list class is included in the assignment directory (ListA.h and ListA.cpp). I "customized" the code a little to help you get started. Also I provided code that you can use as the data type for the list elements (clientRec.h).

The list of interests (item 4 above) may be implemented simply as an array of strings. (It may seem logical to use the chapter 3 list class to implement lists of clients and lists of strings. Fundamentally that is true and it is possible. However it entails a "technical problem" - so probably you should talk to me if you want to do that.)

INPUT:

All input for the program must come from two text files, called clients and datecoms.

(Note that these names (clients and datecoms) do not have extensions. You must write the program to use precisely those names for the input files. Even adding an extension -- for example "clients.txt" will interfere with my plans for testing your program.)

The clients input file must contains data about current clients (both male and female). The data must be in the following format:

1. Number of current clients
2. For each current client, the following information:


Gender  ......................  1 character, M or F
Last Name ....................  string 
First Name ...................  string 
Phone Number .................  string 
Number of interests ..........  integer in the range [3-10]
List of interests ............  3-10 strings, no embedded white space,
                                all lower case
List position of match .......  non-negative integer

Each item must be on a line by itself in the clients file. Here is a very simple example of a clients input file:


2

M
Twain
Mark
667-1234
4
bait_fishing
rafting
restaurants
writing_novels
0

F
Millay
Edna
566-8821
3
french_restaurants
mythology
poetry
0

(The 2 at the beginning of the file denotes the fact that this particular file contains information about two clients.)

When the program starts up, it must open and read the clients input file. It must use the information there to build initial versions of the two client lists - the list of women and the list of men.

The second input file datecoms contains commands that the program is required to execute. Each command begins with a command keyword, on a new line of input.

INFORMATION ON EACH COMMAND:

THE NEWCLIENT COMMAND:

NEWCLIENT Command Format:
NEWCLIENT <gender> <last name> <first name> <phone #> <# of interests> <interests>

Example Call To NEWCLIENT:
NEWCLIENT F Jones Jennifer 223-3321 4 walks cats movies dancing

What The NEWCLIENT Command Does:

One effect of the NEWCLIENT command must be to add the new client to the appropriate list by inserting a new list item containing the gender, names, and other information from the command arguments.

Don't forget that each list item has a "current match" field, which is required to have a value. The NEWCLIENT command tries to to find a match for the new client. It does this by attempting to select a previously-unmatched client of the opposite sex having three or more interests in common with the interests of the new client. (In other words if three of the interest strings of one person are equal to three of the interest strings of a person of the opposite sex, the program may match those two people.)

The NEWCLIENT command looks for just one match for the new client. If it is successful it appropriately sets the "current match" field in both list elements: the man's and the woman's. If no match is found then the new client's "current match" field should be set to zero.

After taking care of the tasks indicated above the NEWCLIENT command must print some output. The output will be different depending on whether a match was found for the new client. For the exact specification of what must be printed, see the sample program output given in file SampleRun/cout.out.html. Your program output must exactly match the format of the sample.

THE UNMATCH COMMAND:

UNMATCH Command Format:
UNMATCH <last name> <first name>

Example Call To UNMATCH:
UNMATCH Newman Paul

What The UNMATCH Command Does:
The UNMATCH command reverses the effect of a matching of two persons. The command requires two string arguments: the last and first names of one of the persons. The UNMATCH command locates the records of both the indicated person and his or her "current match". UNMATCH sets both "current match" fields to zero.

THE PRINTMATCH COMMAND:

PRINTMATCH Command Format:
PRINTMATCH

Example Call To PRINTMATCH:
PRINTMATCH

What The PRINTMATCH Command Does:
This command prints a list of all matched pairs, giving full names and phone numbers of each person. See the sample program output given in file SampleRun/cout.out.html.

THE PRINTFREE COMMAND:

PRINTFREE Command Format:
PRINTFREE

Example Call To PRINTFREE:
PRINTFREE

What The PRINTFREE Command Does:
This command prints the full names and phone numbers of clients who are not currently matched. See the sample program output given in file SampleRun/cout.out.html.

THE QUIT COMMAND:

QUIT Command Format:
QUIT

Example Call To QUIT:
QUIT

What The QUIT Command Does:
The effect of this command is to make the program write some output and then discontinue reading commands from the clients file. This command must appear as the last line of the datecoms file. See the sample program output given in file SampleRun/cout.out.html.

OUTPUT:

The program must send the output corresponding to the commands above to standard output.

It must do appropriate labelling and delimiting: the response to each command must be contained in a clearly marked separate section of output, with labels printed to make clear the meaning of each piece of output.

The program must echo the command itself at the beginning of each section of output. (When a program echos input to the screen as you enter it from the keyboard, you should see two copies of each input - because system software also normally echos your input from the keyboard to the screen. If the program is getting input from a file, you will see only the echo done by your program.)

Your program output must exactly match the format of the sample program output given in file SampleRun/cout.out.html.

After receiving the QUIT command and before terminating execution, the program must write the contents of the two client lists to a file called clients.out in a format suitable for later use as a clients (input) file.

(You must write the program to use precisely that name: clients.out)

WHAT TO TURN IN:

You will be turning in three hardcopy versions of your program and you will be sending me three e-mail messages.

With regard to the e-mail please follow these rules:

Always send me e-mail as plain text in the main message body. Never send me attachments.
Always use the exact subject line I specify for each message. (I often get hundreds of e-mail messages in a week. The subject line allows me to find, filter and sort messages.) You will lose a significant number of points on the assignment if you use the wrong subject line.
Be very careful when typing the command to send e-mail. You may use the instructions in your Hello World! lab excercise for guidance. Of course, you will need to make the obvious changes to those directions -- you have to use the correct subject line and filename.
Always send yourself a copy of each e-mail message you send to me, and check immediately to see if you receive the message intact. You are responsible for sending e-mail correctly.

Here is the list of things you have to turn in:

At the start of class on first due date, turn in a hardcopy of a level two version of the source code. I want hardcopy of all the program source code you wrote, but I don't want hardcopy of source code I gave you to incorporate into your program.
Send the following items to me by e-mail before midnight on the first due date:

A level two version of the source code and a script showing your test runs. Send all the source files (*.h files and *.cpp files) that are required to compile the program into an executable image -- everything I need so that I can compile and test your program. Combine all the source files and the script into one shell archive file and e-mail me the archive file with the subject line:

CS2500,prog3.2
At the start of class on the second due date, turn in hardcopy of source code that is finished down to level two everywhere, and also finished to the final level in the "buildList" and "dumpList" areas. (Refer to the structure chart for the program.) However, do not give me hardcopy of code I gave you to incorporate into your program.
Send the following items to me by e-mail before midnight on the second due date:
- All the source code you turned in on hardcopy, plus all the rest of the source code needed to compile and test the program - including any code that I gave you that you have incorporated
- A script showing your test runs
Combine all the source files and the script into one shell archive file and e-mail me the archive file with the subject line:

CS2500,prog3.3
At the start of class on the third due date, turn in a hardcopy of a final level version of the source code. I want hardcopy of all the program source code you wrote, but I don't want hardcopy of source code I gave you to incorporate into your program.
Send the following items to me by e-mail before midnight on the third due date:

A final version of the source code and a script showing your test runs. In the e-mail include all the source files (*.h files and *.cpp files) that are required to compile the program into an executable image -- everything I need so that I can compile and test your program. Combine all the source files and the script into one shell archive file and e-mail me the archive file with the subject line:

CS2500,prog3.f

Note that there are no spaces in the subject lines given. It is important that you do not insert any spaces. My e-mail address is: john@ishi.csustan.edu.

DUE DATES:

For the due dates, see the class schedule.