Aims & Objectives	Work done	Conclusions	Further work	Home

Essentially being a project to learn the Java programming language and the Hardy Cross method, the work that has been done falls generally between two these subjects. The Hardy Cross method required a lot of research and study to understand its use effectively and correctly. Firstly using Microsoft Excel, I began work on an example pipe network to try to produce accurate flow results. This proved to be a time consuming and complicated task, as several important stages must be executed correctly. This meant that expressions in each cell became very long and difficult to follow. I did finally produce a spreadsheet that followed the Hardy Cross method successfully. After determining all the pipe network data that was required, the design of the Java applet could be considered. I began learning Java and tried producing simple applets to test my knowledge. After extensive study of the language, I began to write code for my program. Layout and graphical user interface were of particular importance and attracted intensive design and Java programming, each panel of my final Java applet took several weeks to complete. Many problems were encountered throughout this stage of my project associated with Java programming but eventually all of these problems were solved and my code developed into a very long program. Layout was achieved using Java's GridBagLayout manager that offers a complex but extremely versatile method to arrange the components on each card of my applet. Using the Canvas class, I was able to accept user inputs and output graphically. Event listeners and appropriate handlers were also exploited to enable further interaction with users. The final stages involved combining the engineering theory with the Java program. This occurred in the code for the calculation stage of the applet. This again took many weeks of work to develop to complete successfully. However, as the project reached its conclusion, the final program was produced. My Java applet was then extensively tested for reliability, compatibility and correctness. After making several alterations and amendments my program was complete. Some features that i have worked upon are as follows; User friendly graphical interface. Accurate and correct flow result calculation using the Hardy Cross method. Versatility to accept infinite network configurations. Full applet user instructions web page. Mouse Coordinate output text. Step by step, specific instructional text. Informative logs containing network data. Minimal numbers of components, to avoid over complexity. 'Back' and 'Next' card navigation through my applet. Gradual background colour changes to indicate progress. 'Remove' buttons to delete incorrectly entered data. Helpful pipe locating text on Results card. Output to Status bar in browser with iteration detail. Many hidden controls to ensure data entry is reliable. For a comprehensive explanation of all that I have worked on for this project please refer to the library copy of my report.