java

jMusic videos

Here are a few videos that relate to Java Music (jMusic) in EECS 1021: Intro to jMusic: Intro to jMusic in Windows 11: Inheritance: Polymorphism: Combining User Input with jMusic:

Some useful things to do with Arduino, Firmata and Java

When contemplating how to use Firmata with Java, consider some of the following things: Your Main Project will look something like this (this is an older video that doesn't quite reflect changes to the updated project): Install Firmata on your device To do any of this you'll need to install Firmata: Using the OLED display […]

Firmata4j: "Index out of bounds"

If you're trying to use Firmata4j and get an Exception in thread "main" java.lang.IndexOutOfBoundsException: Index 4 out of bounds for length 0 message, it may be because you downloaded StandardFirmata via the Arduino 2.0 IDE. At this stage, I'm not sure of the cause. I've determined that a solution for this is to use the […]

EECS 1011 and 1021 Lab Kit (2025/26 version)

[as of May 21, 2025, this is a public draft] This kit is updated from 2024/25 edition of the kit with three new sensors, one extra actuator, an extra cable and "crib sheets" for Matlab and Java. The lab kit for the two courses include the following list of items We'll be asking the Bookstore […]

Basic Graphics and Graphs with Princeton's Java StdLib

I really like the Princeton StdLib for Java to make basic graphs with Java. The learning curve isn't steep and installation is easy. To get started either grab the Maven support files or the JAR and install in IntelliJ or your favourite IDE. Here's an example to draw some basic shapes on the screen. Now, […]

Version 2.3.9 of Firmata4j

Summary to installing Firmata4j for Java projects in EECS 1021: Either one should work fine, but the 2.3.9 version should operate a little more cleanly. When using Maven to load the Firmata4j library you'll can only use up to version 2.3.8 and you'll need to load dependencies in a particular order, as per my earlier […]

Plagiarism detection for program source code

Detecting copied source code in student assignments is important. Here, I'll explore a few options that are possible for instructors here at York University, but these options may also work for instructors elsewhere. Look, there are a few notable reasons why copied source code will appear in a student's assignment: Given the convenience of the […]

Firmata4j and a Simple DHT20 example

After my earlier blog post from today, I wanted to verify that I could read single bytes of data from other sensors on the Grove Beginner Kit for Arduino. The next target? The DHT20 sensor. According to the data sheet, I should be able to be able to request a status byte and that that […]

Firmata Example : I2C Sensor + Java & Firmata4j

A lot of Arduino projects are meant to always be attached to a PC, transferring data back and forth between the Arduino and the PC. That's why Firmata, a program that sits on the Arduino and allows a program on your PC to remotely read from sensors and buttons and transmit to things like speakers […]

VPL: testing arrays in Java with cloning

On a recent final exam I had students create a method that could interleave two halves of an array. The original exercise came from a Schaum's Outline book. If you're not careful, by passing values by reference you can have the student's solution pollute the original input test value. To solve this in Java you […]