Author: Gift Christian
Course: CS 1 - Introduction to Programming and Computation-02
Institution: Dartmouth College
Professor: Professor Balkcom
Term: Fall 2025
This repository contains a collection of programming projects, assignments, and labs completed during my CS 1 course at Dartmouth College. The projects demonstrate fundamental programming concepts including graphics programming, object-oriented design, algorithms, data structures, and interactive applications.
- Language: Python 3
- Graphics Library: cs1lib (Dartmouth's custom graphics library)
- Concepts Covered:
- Graphics and animation
- Object-oriented programming (classes, objects, inheritance)
- Event-driven programming (keyboard/mouse input)
- Algorithms (BFS, binary search)
- Data structures (lists, dictionaries, graphs)
- Physics simulation
- Game development
| Assignment | Project Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SA01 | Emoji Logo | ASCII art logo using emojis |
| SA02 | Android Drawing | Graphics-based Android mascot drawing |
| SA03 | Portia Simulation | Wealth distribution simulation |
| SA04 | String Art | Animated mathematical string art |
| SA05 | Chalkboard | Interactive drawing application |
| SA06 | N-Queens | Chess N-Queens validation problem |
| SA07 | Timer & Counter | OOP-based timer and counter classes |
| SA08 | Card & Deck | Playing card simulation |
| SA09 | Binary Search | Recursive binary search implementation |
| SA10 | Interactive Story | Text-based adventure game with graph traversal |
| Lab | Project Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Lab 01 | Pong Game | Classic Pong arcade game implementation |
| Lab 02 | Solar System | Physics-based solar system simulation |
| Lab 04 | Campus Map Navigation | BFS pathfinding on Dartmouth campus map |
| Type | Project Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Recitation 3 | Face Drawing | OOP-based face with eye tracking |
| Exam | Sprite Manipulation | 2D sprite transformation functions |
File: sa01/logo.py
Date: September 15, 2025
Creates a creative logo using emoji characters and print statements to display my name in a visually appealing ASCII art format.
Skills: Basic I/O, string formatting, creative output design
File: sa02/drawing.py
Date: September 22, 2025
A graphics program that draws the Android mascot using cs1lib. The program demonstrates modular design with separate functions for each body part (head, eyes, arms, legs, antennas).
Skills: Graphics programming, functions, color manipulation, coordinate systems
Features:
- Modular function design
- Custom color palette (green Android theme)
- Layered drawing with proper z-ordering
File: sa03/portia.py, sa03/how_rich.py
Date: September 2025
A simulation exploring wealth distribution and probability.
Skills: Simulation, probability, data analysis
File: sa04/string_art.py
Date: October 2, 2025
An animated string art generator that creates mathematical patterns by connecting points around the window boundary, simulating physical thumbtack and string art.
Skills: Animation, loops, mathematical patterns, coordinate mapping
Features:
- Frame-by-frame animation at 7.5 FPS
- Dynamic point and line drawing
- Mathematical coordinate transformations
File: sa05/chalkboard.py
Date: October 4, 2025
An interactive drawing application that allows users to draw on a digital canvas using mouse input, with keyboard controls for color selection.
Skills: Event handling, mouse/keyboard input, state management, UI design
Features:
- Mouse-based drawing with continuous strokes
- Color selection via keyboard (R=Red, G=Green, B=Blue, W=White, Y=Yellow)
- Random color generation for other keys
- Clear canvas functionality (C key)
- 800x800 canvas size
Controls:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| R | Red color |
| G | Green color |
| B | Blue color |
| W | White color |
| Y | Yellow color |
| C | Clear canvas |
| Other | Random color |
File: sa06/chess.py
Date: October 17, 2025 (Originally October 2023, updated 2024-2025)
An interactive N-Queens problem visualization and validation program. Users can place queens on a chessboard, and the program validates whether the placement is valid (no two queens attacking each other).
Skills: 2D arrays, algorithmic thinking, game logic, diagonal checking
Features:
- Interactive queen placement via mouse clicks
- Real-time validation checking
- Row, column, and diagonal conflict detection
- Visual feedback for invalid placements
Validation Checkers:
- Row checker: No two queens in same row
- Column checker: No two queens in same column
- Diagonal checkers: No two queens on same diagonal (forward and backslash)
Files: sa07/timer.py, sa07/counter.py
Date: October 20, 2025
Object-oriented implementation of a countdown timer using a modular counter system. Demonstrates class composition with Timer containing multiple Counter objects.
Skills: OOP, class composition, encapsulation
Features:
- Counter class with wrap-around functionality
- Timer class using hours/minutes/seconds counters
- Tick mechanism for countdown
- String representation in HH:MM:SS format
Files: sa08/card.py, sa08/deck.py
Date: October 27, 2025
A playing card simulation implementing Card and Deck classes, demonstrating object-oriented programming principles.
Skills: OOP, enumeration-like patterns, string representation
Features:
- Card class with rank (1-13) and suit (1-4)
- Face card name conversion (Jack, Queen, King)
- Suit name mapping (clubs, spades, diamonds, hearts)
- Clean string representation ("Queen of hearts")
File: sa09/binary_search.py
Date: November 5, 2025
A recursive implementation of the binary search algorithm with an interactive driver program for testing.
Skills: Recursion, algorithm implementation, divide-and-conquer
Features:
- Recursive binary search implementation
- Default parameter handling
- Interactive testing interface
- Handles edge cases (empty list, element not found)
Files: sa10/driver.py, sa10/vertex.py, sa10/story.txt
Date: November 15, 2025
A text-based adventure game engine using graph data structures. Players navigate through a story by making choices at each vertex (story node).
Skills: File I/O, graph data structures, text parsing, game loop design
Features:
- Vertex class representing story nodes
- Multi-line description support
- Choice-based navigation (a, b, c options)
- End detection for story completion
File: lab/lab01.py
Date: October 13, 2025
A complete implementation of the classic Pong arcade game with two-player controls, ball physics, and scoring.
Skills: Game development, physics simulation, collision detection, state management
Features:
- Two-paddle gameplay (left: A/Z, right: K/M)
- Ball physics with bouncing
- Paddle collision detection
- Game over state and reset functionality
- Press SPACE to start
Controls:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| A | Move left paddle up |
| Z | Move left paddle down |
| K | Move right paddle up |
| M | Move right paddle down |
| SPACE | Start game |
| Q | Quit |
Files: lab02/solar.py, lab02/system.py, lab02/body.py
Date: October 31, 2025
A physics-based solar system simulation implementing gravitational interactions between celestial bodies using Newton's law of universal gravitation.
Skills: Physics simulation, OOP, numerical methods, vector math
Features:
- Gravitational constant implementation (G = 6.67430e-11)
- Multiple celestial bodies (Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars)
- Real astronomical data for masses and orbital velocities
- Acceleration computation based on gravitational attraction
- Position and velocity updates using numerical integration
Classes:
- Body: Represents a celestial body with mass, position, velocity, and color
- System: Manages collection of bodies and computes gravitational interactions
Files: lab04/map_plot.py, lab04/bfs.py, lab04/load_graph.py, lab04/vertex.py
Date: November 18, 2025
An interactive Dartmouth campus map application that uses Breadth-First Search (BFS) to find shortest paths between locations.
Skills: Graph algorithms, BFS, file parsing, interactive UI, pathfinding
Features:
- Interactive map with clickable vertices
- BFS-based shortest path finding
- Visual path highlighting with gradient colors
- Hover highlighting for vertices
- Start/end point selection
Usage:
- Click to select starting location (yellow)
- Hover over destination to see path (gradient colors)
- Path edges highlighted in green
Files: recitation3/face.py, recitation3/eye.py, recitation3/crowd.py
Date: Fall 2025
An OOP exercise creating a Face class with Eye subcomponents that can track mouse position.
Skills: OOP, class composition, coordinate geometry
Features:
- Face class with configurable position and size
- Eye class with look-at functionality
- Crowd class for managing multiple faces
File: exam/sprite.py
Date: Fall 2025
Functions for manipulating 2D sprite arrays including inversion, swapping, and horizontal flipping.
Skills: 2D array manipulation, in-place algorithms
Functions:
invert(): Inverts sprite pixel valuesswap(): Swaps two positions in spriteflip_horizontal(): Mirrors sprite horizontally
Most projects can be run using Python 3 with the cs1lib graphics library:
cd project_folder
python3 filename.pyPrerequisites:
- Python 3.x
- cs1lib (included in each project folder)
Gift C. Christian
Dartmouth College '29
📧 [email protected]
This repository contains academic coursework. Please respect academic integrity policies if you are a current student.
Last Updated: December 2025