Adding Illusions to the Collection

• Introduction
• Implementing the demonstration applet
• Writing the description
• Integration with the remainder of the suite

Introduction

There are generally three steps in the process of adding a new illusion to the collection.

1. Implement the demo applet (optional but encouraged).
2. Write an HTML formatted description of the illusion.
3. Integrate the new applet and HTML page into the main page for the illusion suite.

The following sections discuss each of these steps in turn and point to supplementary documentation where possible.

Applet Implementation

A new demo applet can often be produced with only simple modifications to an existing demo applet or one of the applet templates provided. Nevertheless, you must have at least a passing familiarity with both the Java programming language and parts of its support environment (most importantly the Abstract Windowing Toolkit, or AWT).

There are many good tutorial and reference sources for Java, so no attempt will be made to replicate one here. If you are looking for a place to get started you should visit the JavaSoft documentation archive. In particular, you should skim through the Java tutorial, reading sections that appear relevant. You will also need to have ready access to the API documentation. At the time this was written, all of the illusion demo applets are written using version 1.0.2 of the Java Development Kit (JDK). Its API documentation is available from the JavaSoft site.

Setting up your applet

The best way to get started is to copy the source code of an existing applet to a file whose name reflects the illusion it is to demonstrate. You may want to choose an applet that is similar to the one you want to add so as to minimize the number of modifications or additions that are needed. This section, however, assumes that you will be starting with one of two applet templates and filling in the gaps.

Applet Documentation

Another big long section.

Integration with Illusion Suite

A smaller section. Please.