In the image above, you can watch as I search for the reference “array.” The tool allows the user to try out different example codes in a new editor by pressing on the corresponding number buttons at the bottom of the frame. If needed, the user can utilize the Search All function, to look for other references that may contain “array” in their examples and descriptions, such as “comma.”

One of the most crucial time-saving methods was utilizing regular expressions, or “regex.” Regular expressions are patterns that can be used to match certain sentences in a string. With my mentor Elie’s help, I was able to get the necessary information from the main app’s HTML files to generate the tool’s own HTML documents (reference files), instead of doing all of them manually. Using regex will be particularly useful for any future main app reference updates because it will allow most of the tool to auto-generate.

In the future, I wish the tool could completely auto-generate itself, but in order to do so, it would have to be able to figure out how to structure the references from an existing source. To my current knowledge, I don’t think such source exists offline yet. I had also wanted to implement syntax highlighting for the example codes but I believe it was too complicated of a task for the time that I had.

What I Learned

When I started, one of the most surprisingly difficult things was visualizing the layout of the tool to be user friendly. It was difficult to make what I had in mind come to life, and I knew very little of Java Graphical User (Swing) Interface. Now, with a bit of confidence, I can say that I may not know everything about Java GUI but I can still build something that works! During the summer, I have not only improved in programming in Java but also learned other invaluable lessons along the way. Case in point, there were times when I felt doubtful about my abilities to move forward or fix a bug, but I now know that if there’s a will, there’s a way! A combination of sleep, taking breaks, and persistence is key. Thank you to GSoC, Processing, and Elie for giving me the opportunity to build up my confidence as a developer!