sashadev-sky / maze-pathfinder

Terminal console maze solver

Maze Pathfinder

• An implementation of the A* shortest path algorithm for solving parsed mazes, written in Ruby for the terminal console.

• I have added a sleep method for improved UX. If the focus is efficiency, run the code without it.

Overview

• Run the command bundle install in your terminal

• To run the pathfinder: ruby lib/maze_solver.rb

• I have provided 3 test mazes in the mazes directory

  • The current setting is to run the pathfinder on the first maze. If you would like to try running the others, you can change the input .txt file in lib/maze_solver.rb. Save your changes, then run the ruby lib/maze_solver.rb command again.

Implementation Notes

• Two files in the lib directory hold the code:

  • maze.rb loads in the maze.txt file and parses it. It holds all of the information on the maze itself

  • maze_solver.rb holds all of the logic for the A* algorithm

• Find specific comments on my implementation of the A* algorithm in my code, as well as other useful notes

• Possible outputs from testing:

  • 1) If the path is blocked with not even an initial move available, "This maze has no available moves" will print to the terminal screen.

  • 2) If there are moves but the maze is found to be unsolvable, the traveling path that got the closest to the end will print to the terminal screen.

  • 3) Otherwise you will get the fastest path according to the A* algorithm (selecting from multiple equally fast paths may be handled by this implementation differently than others)

• Note that all of the mazes I provided are solvable

Ruby Concepts (personal use)

• colorize gem
• Reversing a grid to have graph perspective
• File class I/O
• Computer pathfinding
• Overriding to_s
• send method
• hash deep dup