IT 251 Colorado Technical University Abstract Classes and Interfaces Java Project

Students will be expected to post their first initial discussion board posting by Friday of each week. Discussion posts will be graded and late submissions will be assigned a late penalty in accordance with the late penalty policy found in the syllabus. NOTE: All submission posting times are based on midnight Central Time.

Students are expected to post their responses to peers by Tuesday. NOTE: All submission posting times are based on midnight Central Time.

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 400–600 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

• In your own words, explain the principle of programming to an interface.
  • This explanation is meant to help develop your peers’ understanding and should be written in as simple terms as possible.
• How does programming to an interface differ from programming to an implementation?
• How can programming to an interface help create applications that are easy to maintain and extensible?
• Share an example that you found through research that illustrates this principle. Be sure to cite the source of your example.
  • Explain the example you found in 1 of the following 3 ways:
    • Document the example you found with comments to explain how programming to an interface was used. Include screenshots or the source with your comments.
    • Run the application, using the debugger. Use breakpoints and step through the code to capture use of this principle. Include, in your essay, screenshots with captions that explain how the principle of programming to an interface was used.
    • Provide your own example of how you could apply the principle of programming to an interface, using one of the interfaces provided by the Java API. Thoroughly explain your example using UML diagrams, screenshots and comments. You do not have to code your example. A thorough design is appropriate.

Responses to Other Students: Respond to at least 2 of your fellow classmates with a reply of at least 100 words about their primary task response regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. To help you with your discussion, please consider the following questions:

• What did you learn from your classmate’s posting?
• What additional questions do you have after reading the posting?
• What clarification do you need regarding the posting?