Introduction to Data Conversion
A good
Graphical User Interface
does not appeared from nowhere. GUI needs a lot of
data conversion
processes before it can display graphics and, of course, it requires many
interfaces before it can prove useful to end users.
From the moment that inputs are introduced in a program or system, some
conversion processes will be required to obtain the desired output. Through
intermediary stages, data is converted from a notation to another, using
communications interfaces between different processes and storing temporal
data into different formats.
The easiest is when all possible inputs are known beforehand, but the
reality is not that and normally the usual scenario is when there is no
exact format of the input data, but the appropriate action must be taken
which should prevent the input data are not recognized by the data
conversion process to obtain the correct output data.
It should be very careful that this scenario does not happen, and that all
entries are predictable and expected, and all data conversion processes are
accurate, always generating the same output when the same conditions of
input data occur.
If data conversion specifications are secret, conversion processes behave as
a "
black box" where you only know the input and output data. If the specifications are
open, you can learn from the methods of conversion and improve them even
without being the author thereof.
Example of Chess Viewer in Excel
As an exercise of conversion, open to the community of Excel users, I have
designed a Chess Viewer in Excel without macros, for fans and lovers
of both wonderful worlds like me.
Input Data
is the Algebraic notation of a chess game, converted first into Numeric
notation that is finally converted, using an interface, into a graphic chessboard in which the chess pieces move according to the stored game, as
Output Data
shows to the user of this Chess Viewer.
This Chess Viewer by
Daniel Ferry are based on
ICCF Numeric Notation and it showcases the advantage of using a state machine as input to a
dynamic chart. This gives us the ability to view a game forward and
backwards. The movement of chess pieces are converted from a numeric
notation. Moves are designated with four digits – the first two are the code
for the square of the piece that is moving and the last two are the code for
its destination square.
The novelty of my approach of a Chess Viewer is that chess games are
introduced by the
Algebraic Notation, although their use can lead confusion to the machines, and even to human
people with
move notation for humans, since different languages have different names and initials for the chess
pieces, which still I have not solved but it is on my agenda. It is
less complex to use
move notations for computers.
Change the entry value in cell J10 (in yellow)
to move the pieces of the chess game selected with cell K1 from the Database
sheet with some chess games stored, as:
You can store more chess games into this Database sheet.
In future articles I plan to write an explanation of how I managed to
convert algebraic notation in movements of the pieces on the chessboard
without using macros, only using formulas to obtain the states of each
movement in numerical notation, in compliance with the
rules of chess (as "
en passant" rule), easily translatable into positions on the chessboard being
represented by
chess symbols in Unicode
characters, named figurines, without any external images, obtaining a
graphical user interface that allows us to display a nice two-dimensional
chess viewer.
In the next article: Data Conversion 2: Chess Viewer Instructions
3 Response to "Data Conversion 1: Chess Viewer in Excel"
Wow... amazing stuff..
Regards,
Saran
www.lostinexcel.blogspot.com
Saran, I'm glad you amazed by my chess made in Excel.
Just now I'm following your blog: LOSTinEXCEL
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