serenahathi/box-creator

A command-line application that draws a box based on a given height and width

Box Creator

Summary | Quickstart | Running Tests | Sample Output | Approach

Summary

A command-line application that draws a box using ASCII characters based on a given width and height.

Example output:

Quickstart

• Ensure you have Ruby and Bundler installed and then clone the repository by running the following command:

$ git clone https://github.com/serenahathi/box-creator.git

• Navigate to the root of the project directory and install dependencies by running the following command in the terminal:

$ bundle install

• Open irb:

$ irb

• Require the file:

$ require './lib/box.rb'

• Create a new instance of the Box class and assign it to a variable. For example:

$ box = Box.new

• Call the draw method on the variable, passing in a width and height. For example:

$ box.draw(3,3)

Running Tests

• Tests are run using RSpec. To run the entire test suite, run the following command in the root of the project directory:

$ rspec

• Coverage summary:

Sample Output

2.4.1 :001 > box = Box.new
 => #<Box:0x007ff52013c5a0>

2.4.1 :002 > box.draw(4,4)
┌ ╶  ╶ ┐
╷      ╷
╷      ╷
└ ╶  ╶ ┘
 => nil

2.4.1 :003 > box.draw(3,5)
┌ ╶ ┐
╷   ╷
╷   ╷
╷   ╷
└ ╶ ┘
 => nil

2.4.1 :004 > box.draw(5,8)
┌ ╶  ╶  ╶ ┐
╷         ╷
╷         ╷
╷         ╷
╷         ╷
╷         ╷
╷         ╷
└ ╶  ╶  ╶ ┘
 => nil

2.4.1 :005 > box.draw(1,1)
RuntimeError: Please enter dimensions that are greater than or equal to 2x2

Approach

• I began by breaking down the task into smaller component parts and identified four key milestones:

  • Being able draw a 2x2 box with no user input
  • Being able to draw a box of any given width with a fixed height of 2
  • Being able to draw a box of any given width and a fixed height of 3
  • Being able to draw a box of any given width and height

• Taking an iterative approach, I worked through each part one at a time building upon the functionality implemented in the previous step.

• I followed the TDD cycle of writing a failing test, making it pass and then refactoring. After each test had passed, I manually tested the functionality using IRB.

• I then focused on defending against edge cases such as the user entering a non-integer or entering box dimensions less than 2x2.

• Once the main logic was implemented, I refactored further by:

  • Abstracting the methods used to build the box
  • Abstracting the methods used to defend against edge cases
  • Amending areas of duplication such as the creation of the horizontal edges that make up the top and bottom rows of a box to adhere to DRY principles