hi all,

i'm working on creating a Node object that stores data of its parent as well as its children (which is a flexible amount, from 0 to X). using a recursive method data is categorized into the Nodes. for this initial test i'm working with the most basic concept, a family tree.


     kimi (child)                                                                          marcus (child)

now i really don't want to make a family tree (actually trying to show the relationship/break down of a website). but for simplicity's sake i'm starting off with this example. once i figure out how to structure the data i want to give Nodes PVector behaviors -- these Nodes can be drawn into a typical tree diagram format OR change their display according to commonalities (such as representing a hereditary trait -- Nodes that have such trait move to the center of the screen, while relatives reshape around them).

i've made some serious progress with the insertNode() recursive method -- but am running into some problems.

1. insertNode() skips over "christian", "rosemary", "beatrice" from the 2nd line of input data (i believe this is because depth is set to 3 after running through kimi in the previous input line). so it goes straight to depth 3 in the second line (ie "marcus"). if i reset d to 0, insertNode() runs through everyone again and makes 2 christians, versus verifying he's already there and moving on.

2. there's is something really strange going on after "marcus" is put in (you can see from the printlns)

i think i'm getting closer, but this recursion is very tricky to wrap my head around.

if anyone has any suggestions i'd be very grateful.

thank you!

1. // each Node knows that its name and who its children are
   
   // test data for Node class (real data will be parsed from .csv file)
   PVector randomVec = new PVector (random (400), random (400));
   
   // initialize depth value
   int d = 0;
   
   // this will later be pulled from the .csv file
   String[] testLine = {
     "christian", "dori", "greg", "kimi",
   };
   String[] testLine1 = {
     "christian", "rosemary", "beatrice", "marcus"
   };
   
   
   Tree tree;
   Node node;
   
   // test root node
   String[] rootA = {
     "root"
   };
   
   
   PFont font;
   
   
   
   void setup () {
     size (400, 400);
     background (0);
     //font = loadFont ("SansSerif-14.vlw");
     smooth();
   
     // tree = new Tree();
     node = new Node (rootA, randomVec);
   
     node.insertNode(testLine);
     // d = 0;
     node.insertNode(testLine1);
   }
   
   void draw () {
   }
   

1. // Node class keeps track of
   // 1. its parent
   // 2. its children
   
   
   class Node {
     PVector location;
     String label;
     int depth = 0;
     ArrayList <Node> children;
   
     Node (String[] label_, PVector loc) {
       label = label_[d];
       location = loc;
       // its depth value
       depth = d;
       // a particular Node's children
       children = new ArrayList <Node> ();
     }
   
     void insertNode (String[] testN)
     {
       println("DEPTH:: " + d);   
       Node newNode = new Node(testN, randomVec);
     
       if (children.size() == 0) {
   
         println("New Node:: " + newNode.label);  // AT A GIVEN DEPTH, D=0 AT FIRST 
      
         children.add(newNode);
         println (children.get(0).label);
       
         // run through the children array
         for (int j = 0; j < children.size(); j++)
         {
        
           if (children.get(j).label == newNode.label)
          
           {
             if (d < testN.length-1) {
               d++; 
               children.get(j).insertNode(testN);    // inserts the children into a parent       
             }
           }
         }
       }
   
       // otherwise (if there is something in the children array)
       else {
       
         for (int j = 0; j < children.size(); j++)
         {
       
           // PROBLEM IS HERE
           println ("TEST CHILDREN ARRAY:::::: " + children.get(j).label);                                
           println ("NEW LABEL::::::: " + newNode.label);    
           println ("NEW DEPTH::::::::::: " + d);                // depth = 3 (has been pushed up from previous loop)
          
           if (children.get(j).label == newNode.label)
           {
             println (children.get(j).label + " HIHO");
             // children.get(j).add(newNode);
             if (d < testN.length-1 )
             {
               children.get(j).insertNode(testN);
             }
           }
   
           else {        
             println(newNode.label + " HI");          
             children.add(newNode);
   
             for (int k = 0; k < children.size(); k++)
             {
               println ("test");
               if (children.get(k).label == newNode.label)
               {        
                 if (d < testN.length-1 )
                 {
                   children.get(k).insertNode(testN);
                 }
               }
             }
           }
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

1. class Tree {
     Node root;
     color col = color (0, 255, 0);
   
     Tree () {
       root = null;
     }
   
     void insertNode (String[] data) {
       // root.insertNode(data, 0);
     }
   }