Sudoku Solver...

[nfwu]

4th Revision!

http://www.autoitscript.com/fileman/users/nfwu/sudoku.au3

I had a look around at some of the other Sudoku helpers, and noticed that none of them automatically tracked all the data while you are solving a puzzle.

This one tracks the possibilities that each location can have.

(I apologize to those who have small screens... The GUI width and height is about 700+ pixels)

Click on the small buttons and see what happens!

I don't really know how to explain how to use this, try learning through experimentation!

Screenshot:

The solution to the above displayed sudoku, if you are interested, can be seen by clicking on this link: http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/766/solution5mc.png

list]

[*]Initial: A sudoku solver which automatically keeps track of the data.

[*]Revision 1: Added group boxes to distinguish the different cells

[*]Revision 2: Added automated Sudoku solving (not perfect yet!)

[*]Revision 3: Added an undo feature. Large buttons revert to small buttons when you click on them.

[*]Revision 4: Fixed 2 bugs. Upgrated Automatic Solving.

EDIT: 12th April 2006 - 04:27 PM: 1st Revision

EDIT: 12th April 2006 - 07:32 PM: 2nd Revision

EDIT: 14th May 2006 - 01:17 PM : 3rd Revision

Edited June 6, 2006 by nfwu

[Sunblood]

Could you add some dividing lines to your GUI? Right now it just looks like a garbled mess of buttons when it isn't solved.

Other than that, great job.

[MSLx Fanboy]

Very nice. Just, like Sunblood said, put groups around each main box (GuiCtrlCreateGroup I believe), and it will make a lot more sense.

It took me a minute to realize what it was I was looking at

[JSThePatriot]

First I would like to say. You have done an excellent job on this.

I am sad to say I had to go look up Sudoku to find out what it is and how it works. I figured I would share my findings here and save everyone else the trouble.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudoku

Excellent program/game. I look forward to playing it and sharpening my logic skills.

Thanks,

JS

[jftuga]

Excellent program/game. I look forward to playing it and sharpening my logic skills.

Yea, some of the puzzles can be pretty challenging. USAToday.com has daily puzzles.

-John

[nfwu]

Thanks for the feedback!

@JSThePatriot: Thanks for sharing that link... Should have realised that wikipedia had an article for it.

@Sunblood and @MSLx Fanboy: I will put some code in there to put groups round the cells, thanks for informing me of that!

@jftuga: Nice link! But maybe you should be more direct: http://puzzles.usatoday.com/sudoku/

#)

[nfwu]

1st Revision.

=========

Added group boxes to distinguish the different cells.

Please give more suggestions for improvement!

(Who wants a sudoku generator to go along with this?)

#)

[nfwu]

Revision 2.

=======

Added automated Sudoku solving (not perfect yet!)

Input the sudoku, then press {F5}, when the auto-solver gets stuck, press {F6} then solve the problem, then hit {F5} to continue the auto-solving.

NOTE: When the auto-solver gets stuck, the part where it gets stuck at is most likely NOT going to be easy to solve!

#)

EDIT:

Some data for the interested:

The auto-solver solves the example sudoku in the 1st post in 3 seconds without getting stuck.

Edited April 12, 2006 by nfwu

[MSLx Fanboy]

When selecting boxes, a few mini-buttons tend to delete all together. To clarify, if only two options exist for a specific square, when one of the values is selected in a neighboring box, both buttons disappear.

Also, how does the program look with @GUI_DISABLED set for the large buttons?

[Sunblood]

I think the large buttons should revert back to the smaller buttons if you click them again. I keep making mistakes but I can't undo them without undoing the entire puzzle.

[zerobazar]

I fully agree with Sunblood, I'm doing the same mistakes!

I would also enlarge the font (and maybe put it bold) on large buttons: it would give better visibility to help solving the puzzle.

This script is a very nice helper. Nice job!

[nfwu]

@Sunblood and @zerobazar: Thanks for the input, I'll release that in the next revision.

@MSLx Fanboy: Is it possible for you to post some "before" and "after" screenshots?

#)

[MrBadAxe]

Awesome. Was trying to program something like this myself but you've done a superior job.

One thing this still needs...reset button.

[nfwu]

Finally got round to doing what I promised 1 month ago.

Revision 3

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A undo feature has been added~!

Large buttons revert to small buttons when you click on them.

Please check for errors with the new code, as far as I tested it, it works as it should.

@MrBadAxe: Reset = rerunning the program. Sorry, but i did not see your post when doing this revision.

#)

[nfwu]

Discovered that the undo feature prevents automated solving from working correctly.

Will fix that in the next revision along with a new automated solving algorithum.

This new one should be able to solve the whole puzzle without human intervention.

#)

edit: @MrBadAxe: I'll include a reset button along with this one!

Edited May 16, 2006 by nfwu

[gamerman2360]

When you undo it. It sets all the small buttons back in all the other boxes in that row/collum. The bad thing is that includes the ones that are already in the large button form. Then you can accidently click a small button behind a large button and make a mess of the game board.

[nfwu]

That's wierd.

I'll check it out when I get home 2dae.

#)

[nfwu]

Thanks for spotting that bug. My private version has been updated.

Will update the public version in the first post when the automatic solving has been repaired and upgrated.

#)

[nfwu]

Current status: After much fiddling, repaired basic automatic solving.

Now testing advanced automatic solving.

About to finish,

nfwu

#)

Edit @ 09:59 AM:

Spotted a bug with the undo code - involving reselection. Now repairing.

The Automatic Solving works much better now - only jams up on the really hard puzzles (that I myself cannot solve ).

Edit @ 10:07 AM:

Bug repaired, looking for more ways to upgrate the Automatic solver...

Edit @10:09 AM:

Spotted yet another bug, fixed it on the spot.

Edit @ 10:27 AM:

Added a new method of telling whether a number can go into a box. The "twin" method. Inexperienced players of sudoku will point this out as a bug, but it is not.

Hopefully I can release it by 11AM!

Edited June 6, 2006 by nfwu

[jefhal]

3rd Revision!

I really like this application. I personally don't like games and would much prefer to work out the solution with a program like yours than to burn brain cells doing it the hard way.

Are you planning a solver for the Rubiks Cube next? If so, I'd pay $3 to $4 for it! How about an automated Taipei player?