Number Sliding Puzzle

A C program that solves the square number puzzle by outputting the steps as strings to the standard output. This program utilizes a hash table ADT to store possible moves of the strings and breadth-first search to reach the goal.

The Number Sliding Puzzle

The Number Sliding Puzzle is a square tray in which are placed (number of squares - 1) square 1x1 tiles numbered from 1 to (number of squares - 1). The remaining space is empty, so an adjacent tile can slide into that space, leaving its former location empty. In most cases, these are 3x3 trays with the numbers 1-8 and an empty slot.

Making the Program

Run make to get the executables Nine20 and testHash.

Usage of Program

Nine20 [HEIGHT WIDTH] MAXSTEPS INITIAL GOAL

1. Nine20 This is the executable

2. [HEIGHT WIDTH] These are optional arguments to change the dimensions of the puzzles if needed. The default dimensions are 3 x 3.

3. MAXSTEPS The limit of the number of steps the program takes as it comes up with more possible steps towards the goal

4. INITIAL and GOAL Strings containing the elements of the puzzle, essentially making the two dimensional puzzle one dimensional. INITIAL is the starting point and GOAL is the endpoint. These can be numbers or characters.

testHash

A C program that tests the functions for the hash table ADT.