The current version of the software does not include documentation, except the source code and this page! I've tested the software with the 1.4.2 version of the SUN jdk under linux. It should work on any system that supports java 1.4. It will not work with straight 1.3 java (or earlier) as it uses a XML parser.
The current version (0.0) is very basic and contains a lot of bugs. As any GPL program, it comes with no warranty.
To use the program, you need of course to download the jar file, but also
terrain description files. As any jar file, the program is started with the
-jar option, that is you have to use the command java -jar
pathfinding.jar.
The first thing to do after the application is started is to load a terrain
from the File menu with the Open entry. You have to
load an XML file that contain a terrain description. Example files are
available through the downloading section.
When a terrain is loaded, it is displayed by the main window. You can interact
with this display. You can for instance zoom in with the + key
(and zoom out with the - key). You can turn on/off a grid that
represents tiles with the g. You can move around the terrain (if
it is too big to be displayed completely into the window) thanks to the
direction keys.
The main purpose of the application is to calculate optimal path. To trigger such calculation, you just have to click on the terrain to specify the starting point and then to click again for the ending point. The optimal path calculation is automatically started. After completion, the optimal path is drawn on the terrain. The status line gives information about the path:
Most of the interface is dedicated to modification of the algorithm, of the underlying data structures and of the terrain model:
Terrain menu contains a Neighborhood entry
that allows to choose the movement model:
Path finder menu allows to choose the algorithm (between
Dijkstra and A*) as well as the implementation of underlying data structures
(for the Open and Closed lists). The Heuristic entry allows to
choose the heuristic used by the A* algorithm. In order to ease comparison,
the last path can be recalculated thanks to the Recalculate
Path. Display menu allows to tune the display. The
Animated check box corresponds to an animated representation of
the Open and Closed lists.After a path has been calculated, it is displayed on the terrain. Final
status of the Open and Closed lists is also displayed. A blue circle means
that the corresponding tile is in the Open list. Green circles corresponds to
tiles in the Closed list. This display can be controlled with the
o key (to turn on/off Open display), the c key (to
turn on/off Closed display), the f key (to have full circles) and
the e (to turn back to the circle display).