Array of moving objects stacking up - arrays

Question

My question concerns creating an array of moving objects. The goal is to have each created "symbol" starts at x=200 when created and then moves along the x-axis. This is possible by creating individual objects, though when I try to make them appear in an array they just appear on top of each other (made the balls transparent so you can see them stack). Is there a way to create an array of individual array objects so that this doesn't happen.
int numSymbols = 100;
int symbolXPos;
int i;
Symbol[] symbols = new Symbol[numSymbols];
void setup(){
for(int i = 0; i < numSymbols; i++){
symbols[i] = new Symbol();
}
size(748,1024);
}
void draw(){
background(255,255,255);
i++;
if(i > 10){
symbols[1].addSymbol(i);
}
if(i > 100){
symbols[2].addSymbol(i);
}
if(i > 200){
symbols[3].addSymbol(i);
}
}
int symbolY = 748-2*6-89-180;
int symbolX = 200;
int symbolPos;
boolean firstLoop = true;
int xSpeed;
class Symbol{
void addSymbol(int xSpeed){
if(firstLoop == true){
symbolXPos = xSpeed;
firstLoop = false;
}else{
xSpeed = symbolX + (xSpeed - symbolXPos);
fill(0,0,0,20);
noStroke();
rect(xSpeed,symbolY, 36, 36, 18);
}
}
}

Answer 1

The first part that looks strange is that you have these properties that seem related to a Symbol instance, and not to the main scope:
int symbolY = 748-2*6-89-180;
int symbolX = 200;
int symbolPos;
boolean firstLoop = true;
int xSpeed;
perhaps you meant something like this:
int numSymbols = 100;
int symbolXPos;
int i;
Symbol[] symbols = new Symbol[numSymbols];
void setup() {
for (int i = 0; i < numSymbols; i++) {
symbols[i] = new Symbol();
}
size(748, 1024);
}
void draw() {
background(255, 255, 255);
i++;
if (i > 10) {
symbols[1].addSymbol(i);
}
if (i > 100) {
symbols[2].iaddSymbol(i);
}
if (i > 200) {
symbols[3].addSymbol(i);
}
}
class Symbol {
int symbolY = 748-2*6-89-180;
int symbolX = 200;
int symbolPos;
boolean firstLoop = true;
int xSpeed;
void addSymbol(int xSpeed) {
if (firstLoop == true) {
symbolXPos = xSpeed;
firstLoop = false;
} else {
xSpeed = symbolX + (xSpeed - symbolXPos);
fill(0, 0, 0, 20);
noStroke();
rect(xSpeed, symbolY, 36, 36, 18);
}
}
}
Even so, it feels like the code is more complex than it should be and there is some confusion regarding classes and objects/instances.
Let's assume you're simply going to move symbols horizontally. You could use a class as simple as this:
class Symbol{
//position
float x;
float y;
//speed
float speedX;
void updateAndDraw(){
//update position
x += speedX;
//reset to 0 if out of bounds
if(x > width) x = 0;
//draw
rect(x, y, 8, 8, 18);
}
}
It has an x,y and just a speedX for now. The x property is incremented by the speed, and the updated position is used to render the symbol on screen.
Here's a basic sketch using the above class:
int numSymbols = 100;
Symbol[] symbols = new Symbol[numSymbols];
void setup(){
size(748, 1024);
fill(0, 0, 0, 64);
noStroke();
for (int i = 0; i < numSymbols; i++) {
symbols[i] = new Symbol();
//use different speeds to easily tell the symbols appart
symbols[i].speedX = 0.01 * (i+1);
//increment y position so symbols don't overlap
symbols[i].y = 10 * i;
}
}
void draw(){
background(255);
for (int i = 0; i < numSymbols; i++) {
symbols[i].updateAndDraw();
}
}
class Symbol{
//position
float x;
float y;
//speed
float speedX;
void updateAndDraw(){
//update position
x += speedX;
//reset to 0 if out of bounds
if(x > width) x = 0;
//draw
rect(x, y, 8, 8, 18);
}
}
The key points are:
using properties related to a Symbol within the class, not outside (which would mean the global scope)
using different positions so Symbol instances don't overlap
Be sure to check out Daniel Shiffman's Objects tutorial, it provides a nice and easy intro to Object Oriented Programming