Help Creating a Graph (of sorts) for Professional Driver Daily Logs

Question

Hey All!
I'm working on a project for myself, that could go commercial if it gets as good as I'm hoping it will. This application (which I'm calling Truck Manager) will manage income and expenses, help plan trips, track trip/load information and do the US-MCSA/DOT regulated Driver's Daily Log. This log is a line graph that runs from midnight to midnight and has four lines: (1) Off Duty; (2) Sleeper Berth; (3) On Duty, Driving; and (4) On Duty, Not Driving. If anyone needs to see a paper form of this log book, just ask and I'll scan in one of my copies and post.
Anyway, I'm using J2D to handle the log book "pages" and have already gotten the grid laid out just fine...it runs from midnight to midnight and is broken into 15-minute increments, with the four required lines described above. Now that I have that done, I've hit a logic block that is keeping me from figuring out the best and/or simplest way to log the status changes and time lines. For example, let's say that I work the following day:
Midnight until 06:00 == off duty
06:00 until 06:15 == on duty, not driving: performing pre-trip inspection
06:15 until 08:00 == on duty, driving to customer to be loaded
08:00 until 08:15 == on duty, not driving: being loaded (only required to log 15 minutes for this)
08:15 until 09:00 == off duty (still being loaded)
09:00 until 12:00 == on duty, driving (heading toward delivery)
12:00 until 12:45 == off duty (lunch)
12:45 until 15:00 == on duty, driving (heading toward delivery)
15:00 until 15:15 == on duty, not driving (being unloaded)
15:15 until 16:00 == off duty, (still being unloaded)
16:00 until 20:00 == on duty, driving (heading home)
20:00 until midnight == sleeper (ran out of hours)
This graph would look like the following (provided each dash represents one 15-minute block:
<pre>
1. -----------------------| |---| |---| |---|
2. | | | | | | | |----------------
3. | -------| | |------------| |---------| | |----------------|
4. |-| |-| |-|
</pre>
Though the above graph is crappy, it should give the idea of what needs to be done. At each change of status (i.e., from off duty to on duty, not driving) there must be a vertical line between the statuses, not going above and below like in the example above. Then, once the status changes again, the horizontal line needs to be drawn from the vertical line of the last status change to the time of the new status change and then the vertical line to the new status.
The way the driver's daily log works is like this...When I come on duty, I am required to do a pre-trip inspection of my truck/trailer, which requires 15 minutes on duty, not driving, so I log that all at once, including the vertical line up to the 3rd line of the graph, which is on duty, driving. Then, in this example, I drive for 1.75 hours, until I arrive at my pick-up. Once I get there, I draw the horizontal line on line 3 of the graph, the vertical line down to line 4 (on duty, not driving), the 15-minute horizontal line and the vertical line up to line 1 (off duty). When I get ready to leave the pick-up after I am loaded, I draw the horizontal line across line 1, the vertical line down to line 3 and then drive until I stop.
Other things that are desired for this graph logic is to take into account the US-MCSA/DOT regulations for drivers that state the following:
a. A driver may not be on duty for more than 14 hours, without a 10-hour break
- Nothing stops this "14-hour clock" except a 10-hour break, so if a driver comes on duty at 06:00 and spends 15 minutes doing the pre-trip inspection and then goes off duty for the next 8 hours, the 14-hour clock is still running and the driver will only have 5 hours and 45 minutes to work (roughly).
b. A driver may not drive for more than 11 hours, without a 10-hour break, provided the 14-hour rule is obeyed.
- In other words, even if a driver only drives for a total of 7 hours, but the 14-hour clock expires, the driver may not complete his/her 11 hours of driving allowed.
c. A driver must take a break of 10 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period.
*** This is confusing because the 10-hour break can span midnight and still be considered consecutive, even though part of the break is on one graph and the other part is on another graph.
In taking these rules into account, I would like the graphing part of the program's logic to change the horizontal line color from blue (the regular line color) to red if the driver is in violation of the rules above. Where this gets really complicated is where the same status crosses midnight from day-to-day.
As I said, I have successfully gotten the grid painted using java.awt.Graphics2D methods, but am having trouble coming up with the logic for drawing the driver status throughout the day. All data will be stored in a MySQL database table and can be pulled at any time that it is needed. The user will be entering the current status change time, as well as location (city and state) and a comment (which is not required, except for when doing a pre-trip inspection, fueling, loading or unloading), then clicking a button labeled "Update Log".
Any help with the logic for this part of the application is greatly appreciated. If you can provide sample code to help demonstrate the logic you are describing, I will be grateful.
Thank you all for your assistance. If you would like a better idea of what the daily log graph looks like, you can run the class below.
Cheers,
Sean
<pre>
* DriverLog.java: Driver's Daily Log entry screen. By completing the small form at the bottom of
* dialog, the system will automatically update your log.
* Created on Sep 30, 2010, 2:03:18 PM
package net.pekinsoft.trkmgr.gui;
import java.awt.BasicStroke;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.Point;
import java.awt.Toolkit;
* @author Sean Carrick
public class DriverLog extends javax.swing.JFrame {
// Private class-level variables.
* @code{java.awt.Graphics2D} object that we will use for drawing on our
* view port, which is a @code{javax.swing.JPanel} on our form. This view
* port will hold our driver's log graph that shows the driver's status at
* different times of the day based upon the data the driver provides.
private Graphics2D canvas;
* @code{java.awt.geom.Point} object to hold the starting x, y coordinates
* for the driver's daily log off duty line.
private Point offDutyStartPoint;
* @code{java.awt.geom.Point} object to hold the ending x, y coordinates
* for the driver's daily log off duty line.
private Point offDutyEndingPoint;
* @code{java.awt.geom.Point} object to hold the starting x, y coordinates
* for the driver's daily log sleeper berth line.
private Point sleeperStartPoint;
* @code{java.awt.geom.Point} object to hold the ending x, y coordinates
* for the driver's daily log sleeper berth line.
private Point sleeperEndingPoint;
* @code{java.awt.geom.Point} object to hold the starting x, y coordinates
* for the driver's daily log driving line.
private Point drivingStartPoint;
* @code{java.awt.geom.Point} object to hold the ending x, y coordinates
* for the driver's daily log driving line.
private Point drivingEndingPoint;
* @code{java.awt.geom.Point} object to hold the start x, y coordinates
* for the driver's daily log not driving line.
private Point notDrivingStartPoint;
* @code{java.awt.geom.Point} object to hold the ending x, y coordinates
* for the driver's daily log not driving line.
private Point notDrivingEndingPoint;
* @code{int} that holds the number of 15-minute blocks in a 24-hour period.
private static final int qtrHourBlocks = (24 * 60) / 15;
/** Creates new form DriverLog */
public DriverLog() {
// Initialize the window's components. {handled by NetBeans}
initComponents();
// Center the window on the screen.
Toolkit tk = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit();
int winX = (tk.getScreenSize().width - getWidth()) / 2;
int winY = (tk.getScreenSize().height - getHeight()) / 2;
setLocation(winX, winY);
// Initialize our drawing canvas.
canvas = (Graphics2D) viewPort.getGraphics();
// Next, we need to initialize our line starting and ending point objects.
int qtr = (viewPort.getHeight() / 8);
int y = qtr + 20;
int startX = 20;
int endX = viewPort.getWidth() - 20;
offDutyStartPoint = new Point(startX, y);
offDutyEndingPoint = new Point(endX, y);
y = (qtr * 2) + 20; // Double the value of y
sleeperStartPoint = new Point(startX, y);
sleeperEndingPoint = new Point(endX, y);
y = (qtr * 3) + 20; // Triple the value of y.
drivingStartPoint = new Point(startX, y);
drivingEndingPoint = new Point(endX, y);
y = (qtr * 4) + 20; // Quadruple the value of y.
notDrivingStartPoint = new Point(startX, y);
notDrivingEndingPoint = new Point(endX, y);
// Now that our objects have been initialized, we need to draw our grid.
paint();
/** This method is called from within the constructor to
* initialize the form.
* WARNING: Do NOT modify this code. The content of this method is
* always regenerated by the Form Editor.
@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
// <editor-fold defaultstate="collapsed" desc="Generated Code">
private void initComponents() {
bgrpStatus = new javax.swing.ButtonGroup();
viewPort = new javax.swing.JPanel();
lblStatusChange = new javax.swing.JLabel();
txtStatusChange = new javax.swing.JFormattedTextField();
rbtnOffDuty = new javax.swing.JRadioButton();
rbtnSleeper = new javax.swing.JRadioButton();
rbtnDriving = new javax.swing.JRadioButton();
rbtnNotDriving = new javax.swing.JRadioButton();
btnUpdate = new javax.swing.JButton();
lblComment = new javax.swing.JLabel();
txtComment = new javax.swing.JTextField();
lblLocation = new javax.swing.JLabel();
txtLocation = new javax.swing.JTextField();
setDefaultCloseOperation(javax.swing.WindowConstants.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
setTitle("Driver's Daily Log");
setAlwaysOnTop(true);
setResizable(false);
addWindowListener(new java.awt.event.WindowAdapter() {
public void windowOpened(java.awt.event.WindowEvent evt) {
formWindowOpened(evt);
addWindowStateListener(new java.awt.event.WindowStateListener() {
public void windowStateChanged(java.awt.event.WindowEvent evt) {
formWindowStateChanged(evt);
javax.swing.GroupLayout viewPortLayout = new javax.swing.GroupLayout(viewPort);
viewPort.setLayout(viewPortLayout);
viewPortLayout.setHorizontalGroup(
viewPortLayout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.LEADING)
.addGap(0, 674, Short.MAX_VALUE)
viewPortLayout.setVerticalGroup(
viewPortLayout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.LEADING)
.addGap(0, 351, Short.MAX_VALUE)
lblStatusChange.setText("Status Change Time:");
txtStatusChange.setFormatterFactory(new javax.swing.text.DefaultFormatterFactory(
new javax.swing.text.DateFormatter(new java.text.SimpleDateFormat("HH:mm"))));
bgrpStatus.add(rbtnOffDuty);
rbtnOffDuty.setSelected(true);
rbtnOffDuty.setText("Off Duty");
bgrpStatus.add(rbtnSleeper);
rbtnSleeper.setText("Sleeper");
bgrpStatus.add(rbtnDriving);
rbtnDriving.setText("Driving");
bgrpStatus.add(rbtnNotDriving);
rbtnNotDriving.setText("On Duty; Not Driving");
btnUpdate.setMnemonic('U');
btnUpdate.setText("Update Driver Log");
btnUpdate.addActionListener(new java.awt.event.ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent evt) {
btnUpdateActionPerformed(evt);
lblComment.setText("Reason/Comment:");
lblLocation.setText("Location: City, ST:");
javax.swing.GroupLayout layout = new javax.swing.GroupLayout(getContentPane());
getContentPane().setLayout(layout);
layout.setHorizontalGroup(
layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.LEADING)
.addGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING, layout.createSequentialGroup()
.addContainerGap()
.addGroup(layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING)
.addComponent(viewPort, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE,
javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, Short.MAX_VALUE)
.addGroup(layout.createSequentialGroup()
.addGroup(layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING)
.addComponent(lblLocation)
.addComponent(lblStatusChange))
.addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.RELATED)
.addGroup(layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING)
.addGroup(layout.createSequentialGroup()
.addComponent(txtStatusChange, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE, 50,
javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE)
.addGap(18, 18, 18)
.addComponent(rbtnOffDuty)
.addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.UNRELATED)
.addComponent(rbtnSleeper)
.addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.UNRELATED)
.addComponent(rbtnDriving)
.addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.UNRELATED)
.addComponent(rbtnNotDriving)
.addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.RELATED,
65, Short.MAX_VALUE)
.addComponent(btnUpdate))
.addGroup(layout.createSequentialGroup()
.addComponent(txtLocation, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE,
232, Short.MAX_VALUE)
.addGap(18, 18, 18)
.addComponent(lblComment)
.addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.RELATED)
.addComponent(txtComment, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE,
227, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE)))))
.addContainerGap())
layout.setVerticalGroup(
layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.LEADING)
.addGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING, layout.createSequentialGroup()
.addContainerGap()
.addComponent(viewPort, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE,
javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, Short.MAX_VALUE)
.addGap(18, 18, 18)
.addGroup(layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.BASELINE)
.addComponent(lblStatusChange)
.addComponent(txtStatusChange, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE,
javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE)
.addComponent(rbtnOffDuty)
.addComponent(rbtnSleeper)
.addComponent(rbtnDriving)
.addComponent(rbtnNotDriving)
.addComponent(btnUpdate))
.addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.RELATED)
.addGroup(layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.BASELINE)
.addComponent(txtComment, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE,
javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE)
.addComponent(lblComment)
.addComponent(lblLocation)
.addComponent(txtLocation, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE,
javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE))
.addContainerGap())
pack();
}// </editor-fold>
private void btnUpdateActionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent evt) {                                         
// KEEP AS LAST LINE IN THIS FUNCTION!!! //
paint();
private void formWindowStateChanged(java.awt.event.WindowEvent evt) {                                       
// Draw the driver's daily log grid.
paint();
private void formWindowOpened(java.awt.event.WindowEvent evt) {                                 
// Draw the driver's daily log grid.
paint();
private void paint() {
drawOutline();
* @code{net.pekinsoft.gui.DriverLog.drawOutline()} function handles the
* rendering of the driver's daily log grid outline only.
private void drawOutline() {
// Set up the starting point for our log grid's upper-left corner.
int x = 0; // 20 points down from the top.
int y = 0; // 20 points in from the left.
int offset = 28;
// Get the height and width of our log grid from the panel.
int h = 112;
int w = 671;
// Set the color of our border to Red.
canvas.setStroke(new BasicStroke(1));
canvas.setPaint(Color.BLACK);
// Draw our log graph outline.
canvas.drawRect(x, y, w, h);
// Draw our log's horizontal lines.
for ( int i = 1; i < 5; i++ ) {
canvas.drawLine(x, y + (i * offset), w + offset, y + (i * offset));
// Draw our log's hour lines.
for ( int i = 1; i < 24; i++ ) {
canvas.drawLine(x + (i * offset), 0, x + (i * offset), 112);
// Draw our log's 30-minute ticks.
for ( int i = 1; i < 48; i++ ) {
for ( int j = 0; j < 5; j++ ) {
canvas.drawLine(x + (i * (offset / 2)), y + (j * offset),
x + (i * (offset / 2)), (y + (j * offset) + 10));
// Draw our log's 15-minute ticks.
for ( int i = 1; i < 96; i++ ) {
for ( int j = 0; j < 5; j++ ) {
canvas.drawLine(x + (i * (offset / 4)), y + (j * offset),
x + (i * (offset / 4)), (y + (j * offset) + 5));
canvas.drawLine(0, 112, 0, 122);
canvas.drawLine(w, 112, w, 122);
* @param args the command line arguments
public static void main(String args[]) {
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
new DriverLog().setVisible(true);
// Variables declaration - do not modify
private javax.swing.ButtonGroup bgrpStatus;
private javax.swing.JButton btnUpdate;
private javax.swing.JLabel lblComment;
private javax.swing.JLabel lblLocation;
private javax.swing.JLabel lblStatusChange;
private javax.swing.JRadioButton rbtnDriving;
private javax.swing.JRadioButton rbtnNotDriving;
private javax.swing.JRadioButton rbtnOffDuty;
private javax.swing.JRadioButton rbtnSleeper;
private javax.swing.JTextField txtComment;
private javax.swing.JTextField txtLocation;
private javax.swing.JFormattedTextField txtStatusChange;
private javax.swing.JPanel viewPort;
// End of variables declaration
</pre>
Edited by: 799477 on Oct 1, 2010 2:42 PM

Answer 1

<blockquote>Sean, I checked your code and seen that package net.pekinsoft..., is this an Illinois Company by any chance?</blockquote>
Yes, this is a company that I have tried (unsuccessfully) to start in central Illinois...I'm guessing that the "Pekin" part gave it away.
<blockquote>Thanks for posting the DB TABLE -- we'll need that later, plus I wanted to see if you would respond.</blockquote>
Not a problem on the DB table. Why wouldn't I respond...I want and NEED help here... ;-)
<blockquote>I have a few questions but don't want to complicate your line of thinking, so I'll just describe generally how I have approached a big project like this. </blockquote>
I will answer them the best that I can.
<blockquote>For one thing, I do not start with a GUI or even consider what I want it to look like... I start with the data, and how that data is broken down into different classes, and then how those classes come together to form an Object Hierarchy. I have and do maintain a large MySQL database myself with 18 TABLES. Some of the TABLES hold very little information which I use as static final information. As a matter of fact, one of those TABLES is called status and contains 5 fields. This status TABLE is storing 7 rows of information because I have 7 different levels. The fields in my status TABLE are status_id, status_type, status_title, status_desc, and status_icon. This means I will have 7 icons to represent the different status levels, a description, a title, a type (maybe yours could be ON or OFF duty for example), and the ID of the status.
Another thing at this stage of development is that I don't make up my mind concretely about any of the data or how the data will fit together. I want to remain as flexible as possible, so that as my design develops, the design allows for the addition or subtraction of data and different data types to be created. In other words, I completely atomize all structure, associations, relationships, dependencies, or just anything in general that makes two or more pieces of information stick together.
At this point, all I have is a loose bag of primitive data types with no structure whatsoever. Like I just tore up a piece of paper into a hundred pieces and threw into the air letting the pieces fall where they may.
While I'm at this point, I will make decisions about which languages and platform would be the best to raise the beast. In my case, I chose to run it on the internet, so I chose MySQL to store the data, SQL to communicate to the DB, and the server uses a PHP scripting engine to spit out the HTML, also PHP lets me create OO classes very similar to a JAVA class. This is a very important step and must be made now, not later -- you don't want to do all this work only to find out that it should have been done in another language! Been there done that.
Once I've decided all of the above, then I come back and decide how the data should be organized. NOW I make all the database TABLES. Then I write a class definition for each of the db tables. Each class will provide methods for saving, editing, and retrieving info to and from the db using SQL.
Once I get to this point I will make FORMS for the easy entry of data. The FORMS, CLASSES and and db TABLES all mirror each other now, so the CLASSES handle all the info from FORM to DB, DB to FORM. Notice at this point I am still dealing with data and data flow, NOT the display of pretty information -- not even close.
Ok, enough about this Sean, let me know if this helps any.</blockquote>
This information was helpful, but also how I typically approach a large project.
The only problem with what you talk about above is dealing with allowing "wiggle-room" for changing the data because the data that I'm storing is codified by the federal government through the CSA-2010 laws that regulate the trucking industry. Therefore, I really don't have any wiggle-room with the data at all.
As for choosing Java over another language, I made this choice because I don't like limiting myself (or others) on what operating system they use and platform-independence is one of the best things about Java (provided you don't use any OS-specific code, which I try like hell not to do). I am a huge Linux guy, but have to use Windows to update my GPS and would like to be able to use this application no matter which OS I'm booted into. Just so you understand, I am fluent in multiple languages, including PHP, Java, Python, Ruby, C/C++, BASIC and Bash. I am also very big on OOP and always leave accessing the database to the class that holds that data (i.e., LogEntry class will access the database to store and retrieve the log data). I am also using MySQL as the database back-end, because it is the SQL server that I am most comfortable with and also has versions for various OSes. I use the mysql-connector.jar library for accessing MySQL from Java, so that's not even an issue.
As for "static final" data in the database, I do store my statuses, with the status_id numbers the same as the row number on the hard-copy Driver's Daily Log books. These records simply hold the status_id and description (i.e., 1, "Off Duty").
I believe that I've got the logic for logging an entry such as: 08:00-10:00, On Duty, Driving, status location Indianapolis, IN, comment: Tire check. This whole entry is on the same day and therefore fairly easy to graph. The type of entry that I'm having problems figuring the logic for is one where the last change of duty status was before midnight and the current change of duty status is after midnight, on the next day. For example, I typically stop for the night (my DOT 10-hour break) at 5:00 PM (17:00) and am in the sleeper across midnight, then get going at 3:00 AM (03:00). I'm having trouble figuring out how many hours to log on the current day. In the example that I just gave, I'm not getting how I can figure out when to start at midnight and when to start out at the prior status change time through code. Nothing that I try seems to work correctly and I keep getting horizontal status lines outside of my graph area.
As for what data I need to store and how I need to store it, I am very flexible, except with the daily log data, since it is federally mandated. Once I figure out the logic for actually logging the statuses and changes of status properly, I will create the class for storing and retrieving the database data...for now I'm just using hard-coded times to get the graphing logic right without the overhead of database access. Changing this code to use the data from the database will be a snap in comparison to figuring out the graphing functionality.
Thanks for your insights and assistance. I look forward to seeing what other ideas you have to share.
Sean