January 2011

The code is still far from optimal but the track network traversal and linear distance computations are working correctly. I haven’t tested a train with cars facing in both forward and reverse directions but the code is all written to handle it. It’s a lot of code for…

I have a working sample of the code I mentioned in an older blog post. I have a self-propelled train car that moves along any unending track layout. When the front wheels of the train car passes over a turnout, a random choice is made by this train…

This quick article describes a mechanism of data hiding that I have been using with some success. Data hiding is a mechanism where information in an object is not accessible to users of the object and, more importantly, not visible to users of the object. Some data hiding…

I wrote some code and then had an epiphany. A minor one but one that made me realize I had approached something in the wrong way. It was not much code and can be reused with the new idea. First, the requirement is that the train move in…

I just figured out why the concept of realistic train management was giving me trouble. I really hadn’t tried to figure it out in any detail before and as soon as I did, the problems became obvious. First A real railroad can do things that would be considered…

I am providing this code in C# for a Visual Studio 2010 add-in to set the caption of the Visual Studio window based on information in the solution. All of the other code samples I found, all two of them, are only partially usable. My VS Solution always…

I’ve been thinking about various computer programing projects for years. One is a railroading game that focuses on realistic track building and realistic operations or a small (shortline) railroad. Another is an evolution simulation. There is also the mechanism simulator that I have working fairly well. The thing…