My Class XI Computer Science Project (Sudoku Solver)
I honestly wasn’t planning on writing another post so soon. But anyway, here it is :P.
With the academic session nearing its end and the deadline to submit projects and labfiles coming closer, I’ve had a lot of people ask me questions such as “What are you making for your CS Project?“, “Can I use your project?“, “Will you help me with/make my project?“. Now that I have a blog set up, I’d rather reply to everyone here than individually.
I made a Sudoku Solver. No, you may not use mine. And well, depending upon what all you require help with and how much time I can find to spare, I will help you with yours. But sorry, I won’t make yours.
I’m putting up my project here(attached at the end of the post) for you to see. Please note that this is for reference purposes only. You are more than welcome to use ideas and logic from this code in your project. However, you may not copy this in all its entirety and submit it as your own. Apart from committing plagiarism, you would also be spelling trouble for yourself during the vivas.
I should also mention that this code makes use of some libraries, functions and methods that are not covered under the current CBSE prescribed syllabus for Class XI.
But I feel that, since the code is well-commented, none of you should have much trouble trying to understand any part of the code. But in case you do run into a stone wall, TurboC++ 3.0 has a help section where you can find documentation on any of the header files and predefined functions used in this program. And then there is always Google. If you still don’t find your answers, I’d be glad to help. But please do search before you decide to trouble me for help.
PS: Turbo C++ sucks. I don’t know why CBSE still bases its curriculum on it. It’s almost two decades old. Doesn’t match the language standards created over 12 years ago. The compiler(TC++ 3.0) is DOS Based and is no longer even supported by its own developer. And yet, here we are, apparently in the 21st century, still using it throughout high schools in India. And this is just one of the many sorry tales of education under CBSE. </rant>
PPS: I have a lot more to say about, or rather against, the prevalent formal education system. But I think I’ll save it for a huge post sometime later.
View full post to see the attached code.
/*
* ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* File : SudokuSolver.cpp
* Author : Bhuwan Khattar (BhuwanKhattar.com)
* Created : Not so long ago, in a galaxy not too far away...
* Revision : 42
* ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*/
#define BGI_PATH "C:\\tc\\bgi" // Please change this accordingly. (Is there a better way to do this is?)
// Header files
#include <conio.h>
#include <dos.h>
#include <graphics.h>
#include <iostream.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
// Defining some keycodes.
#define K_BKSPC 8
#define K_CTRL_R 18
#define K_ESC 27
#define K_F5 319
#define K_UP 328
#define K_LEFT 331
#define K_RIGHT 333
#define K_DOWN 336
#define K_DEL 339
// Just some declarations.
typedef enum bool { false, true }; // TC++ doesn't have a bool data type. Let's define it on our own.
int i,j,x1,y1,x2,y2,cellHeight,cellWidth;
enum {EMPTY, USER_DEFINED, LOGIC_FIND, BRUTE_FORCED};
struct { int type, value; } cell[9][9];
bool canEditCell(int x, int y),
isComplete(),
isValid(int x, int y, int number),
logicStep1(),
logicStep2();
int cursorAtCell(int x, int y);
void bruteForce(),
clearCell(int x, int y),
drawSudoku(),
solveUsingLogic(),
updateCell(int x, int y, int number, int color=WHITE);
void main(){
clrscr(); // Let's clear everything.
int i,j,x,y; // Just some declarations
// Initiallizing all cells as empty.
for(i=0;i<9;i++)
for(j=0;j<9;j++){
cell[i][j].value=0;
cell[i][j].type=EMPTY;
}
// Initiallizing Graphics Driver
int gdriver = DETECT, gmode, errorcode;
initgraph(&gdriver, &gmode, BGI_PATH);
errorcode = graphresult();
if (errorcode != grOk){ // If we got an error. Display it and exit.
printf("Graphics error: %s\n", grapherrormsg(errorcode));
printf("Press any key to halt:");
getch();
exit(1);
}
// Okay. Graphics works. Let's draw the Sudoku Grid
drawSudoku();
i=0; j=0; // Reset i and j to 0.
while(1){ // Infinite Loop
int keycode = cursorAtCell(i,j);
if(!keycode) keycode = 256+getch(); // Hack to add support for extended ASCII Codes
if(keycode==K_DOWN){
if(i<8) i++;
}else if(keycode==K_UP){
if(i>0) i--;
}else if(keycode==K_LEFT){
if(j>0) j--;
}else if(keycode==K_RIGHT){
if(j<8) j++;
}else if((keycode>='1')&&(keycode<='9')){ // If the key pressed is a valid number(1-9)
clearCell(i,j);
updateCell(i,j, keycode-'0'); // Update current cell with the number corresponding to the ASCII key code
}else if((keycode==K_BKSPC)||(keycode==K_DEL)){
clearCell(i,j);
}else if(keycode==K_CTRL_R){
int error=0;
// Let's loop through all the cells and see if they're valid enteries.
for(x=0;x<9;x++)
for(y=0;y<9;y++)
if(!isValid(x,y,cell[x][y].value)){
updateCell(x,y,cell[x][y].value,RED);
error=1;
}
if(!error){ // Okay. Everything is fine. Time to solve.
// Loop through all the cells. If it has a value, it must be user-defined.
for(x=0;x<9;x++)
for(y=0;y<9;y++)
if(cell[x][y].value!=0)
cell[x][y].type=USER_DEFINED;
solveUsingLogic(); // Let's try to solve using defined logics.
if(!isComplete()){ // If it didn't work.
setcolor(RED); // Add formatting
outtextxy(10,10,"Couldn't solve using defined logic. Attempting to brute force..."); // Print message
bruteForce();
}
if(isComplete()){ // Reached a solution.
drawSudoku(); // Redraw sudoku with the solution.
setcolor(WHITE); // Add formatting
outtextxy(10,10,"Sudoku Solved. Press any key to clear sudoku and restart."); // Print message
}else{
setcolor(RED); // Add formatting
outtextxy(10,20,"Couldn't find a solution."); // Print message
outtextxy(20,30,"Press F5 to change values and try again."); // Print message
outtextxy(20,40,"Or press any other key to clear sudoku and restart."); // Print message
}
keycode = getch();
if(!keycode) keycode = 256+getch(); // Hack to add support for extended ASCII Codes
if((keycode==K_F5) && !(isComplete())){ // If a solution wasn't reached and the user pressed F5, let's revert back to the original user entered grid.
for(x=0;x<9;x++)
for(y=0;y<9;y++)
if(cell[x][y].type!=USER_DEFINED)
clearCell(x,y);
}else // Okay. Safe to empty the grid.
for(x=0;x<9;x++)
for(y=0;y<9;y++)
clearCell(x,y);
i=0;j=0; // Return to the first cell.
drawSudoku();
}else{
settextstyle(0,0,1); setcolor(RED); // Add formatting
outtextxy(10,10,"Conflicting values(highlighted in red) found. Change and try again."); // Print message
}
}else if(keycode==K_ESC){ // Time to exit.
break; // End infinite loop. Oh, the irony!
}
}
}
void updateCell(int x, int y, int number, int color ){ // Updates cell(x,y) in the grid with number. Default color is white.
// Let's convert the number from int to string.
char number_string[1];
sprintf(number_string, "%d", number);
// Add formatting.
setcolor(color);
settextstyle(0,0,2);
outtextxy(x1+16+y*cellHeight, y1+10+x*cellWidth, number_string); // Write in the cell
cell[x][y].value=number; // Update the sudoku array
}
void clearCell(int x, int y){ // Empties cell(x,y) in the grid.
// Since we cannot erase, we'll overwrite the number with itself but with the background color.
// Let's convert the current number in the cell from int to string.
char number_string[1];
sprintf(number_string, "%d", cell[x][y].value);
// Add formatting. Using background color to achieve erasing effect.
setcolor(LIGHTGRAY);
settextstyle(0,0,2);
outtextxy(x1+16+y*cellHeight, y1+10+x*cellWidth, number_string); // Over-writing to erase.
// Update the sudoku array and cell type.
cell[x][y].value=0;
cell[x][y].type=EMPTY;
}
int cursorAtCell(int x, int y){ // Puts a cursor in the cell(x,y) in the grid. Returns keycode when a key is hit.
// We shall use the underscore character for the cursor. To achieve blinking effect, we shall alternate the color of the cursor between white and the background color every 100ms.
char cur_string[2] = "_";
int color = LIGHTGRAY;
while(1){ // Infinite loop.
(color==WHITE)?(color=LIGHTGRAY):(color=WHITE); // Alternate cursor color to achieve blinking effect.
// Add formatting.
setcolor(color);
settextstyle(0,0,2);
outtextxy(x1+16+y*cellHeight, y1+10+x*cellWidth+2, cur_string); // Add cursor
if(kbhit()){ // Oops. Someone hit a key. Time to stop the blinking.
if(color==WHITE){ // Wait. Before we get out of this loop, we must "erase the cursor". For this, we must make sure the color of the cursor is same as the background color.
setcolor(LIGHTGRAY);
outtextxy(x1+16+y*cellHeight, y1+10+x*cellWidth+2, cur_string);
}
break; // Okay. It's fine to break out of the loop now.
}
delay(100); // Let's wait 100ms before updating the cursor in order to make the blinking visible.
}
return getch(); // Return the key pressed so that we can process it.
}
void drawSudoku(){ // Draws the sudoku grid. Also adds text and numbers.
cleardevice(); // Let's clear everything on the screen.
clrscr();
// Getting and setting co-ordinate values
x1 = getmaxx()/5;
y1 = getmaxy()/5;
x2 = 4*getmaxx()/5;
y2 = 4*getmaxy()/5;
cellHeight = (x2 - x1)/9;
cellWidth = (y2 - y1)/9;
// Define background and pen colors
setbkcolor(LIGHTGRAY);
setcolor(DARKGRAY);
rectangle(x1-3, y1-3, x2+3, y2+3); // Draw the outer border of the grid.
rectangle(x1, y1, x2, y2); // Draw the inner border of the grid.
// Loop to draw vertical lines
for(int i=1; i<9; i++){
line((x1+i*cellHeight), y1, (x1+i*cellHeight), y2);
if(i==3||i==6) // And highlight the 3rd and 6th line
line((x1+i*cellHeight+3), y1, (x1+i*cellHeight+3), y2);
}
// Loop to draw horizontal lines
for(i=1; i<9; i++){
line(x1, (y1+i*cellWidth), x2, (y1+i*cellWidth));
if(i==3||i==6) // And highlight the 3rd and 6th line
line(x1, (y1+i*cellWidth+3), x2, (y1+i*cellWidth+3));
}
// Loop to fill the cells with numbers
for(i=0; i<9; i++)
for(j=0; j<9; j++){
if(cell[i][j].value!=0){ // If the cell isn't empty
int color=WHITE; // Let's define the color
if(cell[i][j].type==BRUTE_FORCED) color=BLUE;
else if(cell[i][j].type==LOGIC_FIND) color=GREEN;
updateCell(i,j, cell[i][j].value, color); // Write the number in the cell
}
}
// Now let's add a title and some instructions.
// Add formatting.
setcolor(WHITE);
settextstyle(0,0,3);
outtextxy(x1+40, y1-30, "Sudoku Solver"); // Co-ordinates found by experimentation. Let's hope this displays fine on all screens.
// Instead of placing all instructions manually, let's put them in a structure and loop to place them.
struct {char message[80]; int size; int color;} Messages[] = {{"Instructions",2,WHITE},
{"1. Use arrows keys to navigate and fill up all the known cells.",1,WHITE},
{"2. Press Ctrl+R to solve the sudoku.",1,WHITE},{"3. Press Esc to exit.",1,WHITE},
{"White: User Entered Values",1,WHITE},{"Green: Found Using Logic",1,GREEN},
{"Blue: Found Using Brute Force",1,BLUE},{"Red: Invalid Values",1,RED}};
int x=10, y=y1+10+9*cellWidth; // Initial x and y co-ordinates
for(i=0; i<8; i++){
settextstyle(0,0,Messages[i].size);
setcolor(Messages[i].color);
outtextxy(x, y, Messages[i].message);
y += textheight(Messages[i].message)+2; // Update y co-ordinate based on current message's height
}
}
bool isValid(int x, int y, int number){ // Check if the number in the cell(x,y) on the grid is valid.
if(number==0) // If the number is 0, that means the cell is empty. It's valid. Return true.
return true;
// Check for conflicts in the column.
for(int i=0;i<9;i++)
if(i!=x && cell[i][y].value == number) // Checking the cell for conflicts with itself doesn't make sense, does it?
return false;
// Check for conflicts in the row.
for(int j=0; j<9; j++)
if(j!=y && cell[x][j].value == number) // Checking the cell for conflicts with itself doesn't make sense, does it?
return false;
// Check for conflicts in the box.
int bx = (x/3)*3; // X coordinate of first cell in the box.
int by = (y/3)*3; // Y coordinate of first cell in the box.
for(i=0;i<3;i++)
for(j=0; j<3; j++)
if((!(bx+i==x && by+j==y)) && cell[bx+i][by+j].value == number) // Checking the cell for conflicts with itself doesn't make sense, does it?
return false;
// Okay, if we're here means that there are no conflicts. This is a valid move. Let's return true.
return true;
}
bool canEditCell(int x, int y){ // Checks if the cell is safe to be editing while bruteforcing.
if(cell[x][y].type==USER_DEFINED||cell[x][y].type==LOGIC_FIND) // If the cell was filled by the user or filled on the basis of basic logic, we better not touch it.
return false;
// If not, we're fine.
return true;
}
void bruteForce(){ // Brute-forces empty cells with all possible values until a solution is reached.
// We're going to work through all possible values seiuentially until a solution or contradiction is reached.
int i=0,x,y;
bool flag; // Initializing some variables.
while(i<81){ // Loop until we've crossed the last cell.
// Let's find the x and y co-ordinates
x = i/9; y = i%9;
if(canEditCell(x,y)){
flag=false; // Flag to see whether the cell was edited.
for(int j=cell[x][y].value+1;j<10;j++){ // Loop through all possible values.
if(isValid(x,y,j)){
cell[x][y].value=j;
cell[x][y].type=BRUTE_FORCED;
flag=true;
break; // We found a value that fits, time to break out of the loop and move to the next cell.
}
}
}
if(!flag){ // Oops, we didn't find any value to fit in the cell.
if(canEditCell(x,y)) cell[x][y].value=0; // Let's empty this cell, if we're allowed to edit it.
i--; // And go back to the previous cell.
}
else
i++; // We found a valid move. Next cell, here we come!
if(i==-1) // Oops, we can't go the cell previous to the first cell.
break; // No solution exists. Must break out of the loop.
}
}
bool isComplete(){ // Checks if all the cells in the sudoku have been filled.
for(i=0;i<9;i++)
for(j=0;j<9;j++)
if(cell[i][j].value==0)
return false;
return true;
}
bool logicStep1(){ // A.k.a there is only one possibility
int i,j,k,count,number;
bool flag=false;
// Loop through all the cells
for(i=0;i<9;i++)
for(j=0;j<9;j++){
if(cell[i][j].value==0){ // If it's empty
count = 0; // Number of possible values for this cell.
for(k=1;k<10;k++) // Let's loop from 1 to 9.
if(isValid(i,j,k)){ // And if it's valid in this cell
count++; // Number of possibilities++
number=k; // Let's store this number for now. We might need it later on.
}
if(count==1){ // There's only one possibility for this cell. Yay!
cell[i][j].value=number; // This is why we stored that number.
cell[i][j].type=LOGIC_FIND;
flag=true; // We found something when this function was called.
}
}
}
if(flag)
return logicStep1(); // This wasn't a futile call. Let's do it again.
else
return false; // This was a futile call
}
bool logicStep2(){ // A.k.a it only fits here.
bool flag=false;
// Let's loop through the columns and check if any value fits in only one of the cells
for(int c=0;c<9;c++){
int no[]={0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0}, pos[]={0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0}; // Sorry I wasted 2 bytes.
for(int r=0;r<9;r++)
if(cell[r][c].value==0)
for(int k=1;k<10;k++)
if(isValid(r,c,k)){
no[k]++;
pos[k]=r;
}
for(int k=1; k<10; k++) // Loop from 1 to 9.
if(no[k]==1){ // This number only fits at one place. Let's put it there.
cell[pos[k]][c].value=k;
cell[pos[k]][c].type=LOGIC_FIND;
flag=true;
}
}
// And now the rows
for(int r=0;r<9;r++){
int no[]={0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0},pos[]={0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0};
for(int c=0;c<9;c++)
for(int k=1;k<10;k++)
if(cell[r][c].value==0)
if(isValid(r,c,k)){
no[k]++;
pos[k]=c;
}
for(k=1; k<10; k++)
if(no[k]==1){
cell[r][pos[k]].value=k;
cell[r][pos[k]].type=LOGIC_FIND;
flag=true;
}
}
// Also the boxes.
int no[]={0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0},posx[]={0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0},posy[]={0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0};
for(int i=0;i<3;i++)
for(int j=0;j<3;j++){
for(r=i*3;r<i*3+3;r++)
for(c=j*3;c<j*3+3;c++)
if(cell[r][c].value==0)
for(int k=1;k<10;k++)
if(isValid(r,c,k)){
no[k]++;
posx[k]=r;
posy[k]=c;
}
for(int k=1; k<10; k++)
if(no[k]==1){
cell[posx[k]][posy[k]].value=k;
cell[posx[k]][posy[k]].type=LOGIC_FIND;
flag=true;
}
}
if(flag)
return logicStep2(); // This wasn't a futile call. Let's do it again.
else
return false; // This was a futile call
}
void solveUsingLogic(){ // Keeps on calling the two defined logic functions until the calls become futile.
bool flag1 = logicStep1();
bool flag2 = logicStep2();
if((flag1||flag2) && !isComplete())
solveUsingLogic();
else
drawSudoku(); // Let's update the sudoku with all that we have.
}
// Oops. Line not found =P.
| This entry was posted by Bhuwan on February 11, 2011 at 6:17 PM, and is filed under C++, Rant, School. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
about 2 years ago
Great work, Bhuwan.
about 2 years ago
Revision 42 :D
about 2 years ago
“And well, depending upon what all you require help with and how much time I can find to spare, I will help you with yours. But sorry, I won’t make yours.” – Google a man in Greek mythology named Narcissus.
about 2 years ago
I don’t see how that’s Narcissistic =/
about 2 years ago
I remade Minesweeper. Mukesh sir explicitly forbade me from using graphics.h :/
about 2 years ago
Well, it is a depreciated library. But sadly, there isn’t a better way of doing this with this old, rusty, non-standard C++ Complier. If I had a choice, I’d never have used it.
about 2 years ago
Your code is now mine.
about 2 years ago
“All your code are belong to us?”
NO WAI.
about 2 years ago
Remind me why I didn’t know about this blog till now. ;)
*adds to Google Reader*
about 2 years ago
Oh wait. It’s just 2 posts old. Haven’t missed much. ;)
about 1 year ago
I feel your pain, bro. TC 3.0 sucks the life and blood out of all the fun of programming, but oh well, what can we do.
I really must tell you how impressed I am by the exunclan website. Quite awesome stuff goin on in there.
Dude I too, made minesweeper for my class 11 CS project, but using graphics.h. It was very limiting, to say the least. Sadly, I did not have the time to learn OpenGL or Allegro enough to code my project in them :/
Which library did you use?
Oh and @Bhuwan, I hope you’re coming to ‘Unplugged 2011′ in Khaitan Public School Noida on the 1st of December!
about 1 year ago
Thanks Anirudh.
About OpenGL, I doubt it would be compatible with TC++ 3.0.
And for Unplugged 2011, I would’ve loved to come. But unfortunately my parents won’t let me go for any more competitions. Kind of grounded. Sorry. Nevertheless, I wish you all the best for your event!