I was impressed by the challenge and decided a couple of days ago I would build it in python. First I started out with the code to be able to build, save, load, and modify mazes. The create.py file contains the ability to initialize a maze if you have not.
From a non-privileged account run ./create.py. You will then be presented with a greeting, then if you would like to load a maze from a file you are prompted to do so. Then you are prompted for the number of columns and rows you would like. This then draws the map using a '#' as a character symbolizing a wall that can not be passed through.
Then you can proceed by creating the maze through typing in 'n', 's', 'w', or 'e'. Notice that with every maze you start on the last row in the middle. Everything is based on an x,y coordinate system as shown in the code. In creating the maze anywhere it touches the outside border the server will issue a win, so remember to leave a barrier of '#' between the maze and the outer rim of the maze you are creating. The code for create.py is below:
#!/usr/bin/python
# Maze Structure
#
# x ---------------------->
# y (0,0) (1,0) (2,0)
# |
# | (0,1) (1,1) (2,1)
# |
# | (0,2) (1,2) (2,2)
# \_/
import sys
def intro():
print "Welcome to the Maze Creator"
print
print "This will assist you in creating a maze that is the size in columns and rows"
print "specified. Then you can create the navigation through the maze as you start"
print "on the bottom row in the middle."
print
print "The starting spot of the maze will always be in the bottom middle. Wherever"
print "a '.' touches the edge it will be an exit point."
print
def promptSize(val):
print
print "Input the number of " + val + " you would like your maze to have."
output = raw_input("~: ")
print
return output
def createMaze(m, x, y):
# x is columns, y is rows
for i in range (0, y):
for j in range (0, x):
dictKey = str(i) + '-' + str(j)
m[dictKey] = '#'
def loadMaze(m, x, y, f):
try:
prevMaze = open(f, 'r')
except:
print "Failed to open the file specified. Goodbye!"
sys.exit()
lineCount = 0 # Number of rows or y
charCount = 0 # Number of columns or x
for line in prevMaze:
if lineCount == 0:
x = int(line.strip())
elif lineCount == 1:
y = int(line.strip())
else:
charCount = 0
for i in line.strip():
dictKey = str((lineCount-2)) + '-' + str(charCount)
m[dictKey] = i
charCount = charCount + 1
lineCount = lineCount + 1
return m, x, y
def outputMaze(m, x, y, posX, posY, t):
# x is columns, y is rows
if t == 'final':
print
saveFile = raw_input("Save the maze as file (default: final.txt): ")
try:
file = open(saveFile, 'w')
except:
file = open('final.txt', 'w')
saveFile = 'final.txt'
print "Saving the below maze as " + saveFile
print
file.write(str(x) + '\n')
file.write(str(y) + '\n')
row = ''
for i in range (0, y):
for j in range (0, x):
dictKey = str(i) + '-' + str(j)
if ((posX == j) and (posY == i)):
if t == 'redraw': row = row + '$'
elif t == 'final': row = row + '.'
m[dictKey] = '.'
else:
row = row + m[dictKey]
if t == 'redraw':
print row
if t == 'final':
file.write(row + '\n')
row = ''
if t == 'final':
file.close()
def findDirections(m, x, y, posX, posY):
dirN = False # Can I go North?
dirS = False # Can I go South?
dirE = False # Can I go East?
dirW = False # Can I go West?
dirTravel = '' # Return the directions that can be traveled.
if (posY <> 0): # Determine if you can navigate North
dirN = True
dirTravel = dirTravel + 'n '
if (posY <> (y - 1)): # Determine if you can navigate South
dirS = True
dirTravel = dirTravel + 's '
if (posX <> (x - 1)): # Determine if you can navigate East
dirE = True
dirTravel = dirTravel + 'e '
if (posX <> 0): # Determine if you can navigate West
dirW = True
dirTravel = dirTravel + 'w '
return dirTravel
def findPath(m, x, y, posX, posY):
dirN = False # Can I go North?
dirS = False # Can I go South?
dirE = False # Can I go East?
dirW = False # Can I go West?
dirTravel = '' # Return the directions that can be traveled.
if (posY <> 0): # Determine if you can navigate North
dictKey = str(posY-1) + '-' + str(posX)
if m[dictKey] == '.':
dirN = True
dirTravel = dirTravel + 'n '
if (posY <> (y - 1)): # Determine if you can navigate South
dictKey = str(posY+1) + '-' + str(posX)
if m[dictKey] == '.':
dirN = True
dirTravel = dirTravel + 's '
if (posX <> 0): # Determine if you can navigate East
dictKey = str(posY) + '-' + str(posX+1)
if m[dictKey] == '.':
dirN = True
dirTravel = dirTravel + 'e '
if (posX <> (x - 1)): # Determine if you can navigate West
dictKey = str(posY) + '-' + str(posX-1)
if m[dictKey] == '.':
dirN = True
dirTravel = dirTravel + 'w '
return dirTravel
def main():
maze = {}
sizeX = 0 #Size of the Maze X - Number of columns
sizeY = 0 #Size of the Maze Y - Number of rows
posX = 0 #Position of '$' on the Maze X based on x,y coordinates
poxY = 0 #Position of '$' on the Maze Y based on x,y coordinates
option = '' #Option Selected for Movement or to Quit
directions='' #The directions in which can be navigated
listDir = [] #Create a list of the directions possible
loadOption = '' #Option to load a previously created maze or create a new one
mazeFile = '' #Filename of what the maze is called
intro()
loadOption = raw_input("Would you like to load a previously created maze from file (y, n)? ")
if loadOption == 'y':
mazeFile = raw_input("Enter the filename of the maze to load: ")
maze, sizeX, sizeY = loadMaze(maze, sizeX, sizeY, mazeFile)
else:
sizeX = promptSize('columns')
sizeX = int(sizeX)
sizeY = promptSize('rows')
sizeY = int(sizeY)
createMaze(maze, sizeX, sizeY)
posX = int(sizeX) / 2
posY = int(sizeY) - 1 # The range goes from 0 to the number before the sizeY given so you need to subtract 1
while (option <> "q"):
print
outputMaze(maze, sizeX, sizeY, posX, posY, 'redraw')
directions = findDirections(maze, sizeX, sizeY, posX, posY)
print
print "You can travel in the following directions: " + directions
option = raw_input("Select direction to navigate or 'q' to quit: ")
listDir = directions.split()
if option in listDir:
if option == 'n': posY = posY - 1
elif option == 's': posY = posY + 1
elif option == 'e': posX = posX + 1
elif option == 'w': posX = posX - 1
elif option <> 'q':
print 'Invalid direction!'
print
outputMaze(maze, sizeX, sizeY, posX, posY, 'final')
print
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
Then the server portion of the challenge, I had the following objectives.
1. I wanted multiple clients to be able to connect to it.
2. It needed to be able to load a maze and then be able to return to the client the directions of where it could go next
Below is the server code that I utilized. I was able to reuse some of the functions that are in the create.py file so you will notice that I import from that file. If you save the file for the create portion of the maze as something else, you will need to update the import file entry at the beginning and as it is referenced throughout the code. I also start the listener on TCP port 30,000 which can be modified.
Also as far as a client connecting to it, I initially used netcat. At the end of this I have provided a python client that can be utilized. The ideal goal would be to create a python client to navigate through the maze and then automate it. Also in the challenge there was a timeout of 3-5 seconds between making decisions of the direction to go in the maze. I have left that out of the code but can easily be put in.
#!/usr/bin/python
import socket
import sys
import thread
import create # Import the functions from the create.py file
mazeFilename='final.txt' # Change this for the server to load a different maze file.
def handleClient(c, addr):
maze = {}
sizeX = 0 #Size of the Maze X - Number of columns
sizeY = 0 #Size of the Maze Y - Number of rows
posX = 0 #Position of '$' on the Maze X based on x,y coordinates
poxY = 0 #Position of '$' on the Maze Y based on x,y coordinates
startX = 0 #Position of '$' on the Maze X based on x,y coordinates
startY = 0 #Position of '$' on the Maze Y based on x,y coordinates
directions='' #The directions in which can be navigated
listDir = [] #Create a list of the directions possible
print "Accepted connection from: " + str(addr)
msg = "Welcome to the maze. Navigate through the maze based on the directions returned.\r\n"
msg += "You will only have 10 seconds between moves to make a decision.\r\n\r\n"
msg += "The size of the maze selected is below:\r\n"
maze, sizeX, sizeY = create.loadMaze(maze, sizeX, sizeY, mazeFilename)
msg += str(sizeX) + ',' + str(sizeY) + "\r\n\r\n"
c.send(msg)
posX = int(sizeX) / 2
posY = (sizeY - 1) # The range goes from 0 to the number before the sizeY given so you need to subtract 1
startX = int(sizeX) / 2
startY = (sizeY - 1) # The range goes from 0 to the number before the sizeY given so you need to subtract 1
while 1:
create.outputMaze(maze, sizeX, sizeY, posX, posY, 'network') # redraw or network
directions = create.findPath(maze, sizeX, sizeY, posX, posY)
directionInfo = "You can travel in the following directions: " + directions + "\r\n"
c.send(directionInfo)
listDir = directions.split()
option = c.recv(1024)
#print listDir
option = option.strip()
if option in listDir:
if option == "n": posY = posY - 1
elif option == 's': posY = posY + 1
elif option == 'e': posX = posX + 1
elif option == 'w': posX = posX - 1
else:
c.send("Invalid direction received.\r\n")
break
# Check to see if the player figured a way out of the maze
#print "startX,Y: " + str(startX) + "," + str(startY)
#print "posX,Y: " + str(posX) + "," + str(posY)
if not ((startX == posX) & (startY == posY)):
if ((posX == 0) | (posY == 0) | (posX == (sizeX - 1)) | (posY == (sizeY - 1))):
c.send("You Win!\r\n")
break
c.close()
def main():
host = ''
port = 30001
try:
s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
except:
print "Failed to create socket."
sys.exit()
print 'Listening for connections on port ' + str(port)
s.bind((host, port))
s.listen(5) # Allows up to 5 connections at a time
while 1:
(client, address) = s.accept()
thread.start_new_thread(handleClient, (client, address))
s.close()
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
I have included both of these files and a few mazes that I have created to test the code on my google drive located here. An example of a maze that can be downloaded with the preceding link and use is below.
15
15
##.############
##........#####
##.######.#####
##.######.#####
##.######.#####
##.####.......#
##.####.#.#####
##.####.#....##
##.####.####.##
##.####.####.##
##.##...####.##
##.##.#.####.##
##......####.##
#######......##
#######.#######
Below is the quick client that I designed to navigate through the maze, however it is not an automated method to navigate through the maze.
#!/usr/bin/python
import socket
host = '127.0.0.1'
port = 30001
def createMaze(m, x, y):
# x is columns, y is rows
x = int(x)
y = int(y)
for i in range (0, y):
for j in range (0, x):
dictKey = str(i) + '-' + str(j)
m[dictKey] = ' '
def createWall(m, px, py, dir):
if (dir == 'n'): py = py - 1
elif (dir == 's'): py = py + 1
elif (dir == 'w'): px = px - 1
elif (dir == 'e'): px = px + 1
dictKey = str(py) + '-' + str(px)
#print m
#print dictKey
m[dictKey] = '#'
return m
def outputMaze(m, x, y, posX, posY):
# x is columns, y is rows
x = int(x)
y = int(y)
row = ''
for i in range (0, y):
for j in range (0, x):
dictKey = str(i) + '-' + str(j)
if ((posX == j) and (posY == i)):
row = row + '$'
m[dictKey] = '.'
else:
row = row + m[dictKey]
print row
row = ''
def main():
recvInfo = ''
maze = {}
sizeX = 0
sizeY = 0
newSizeX = 0
newSizeY = 0
coord = []
posX = 0
poxY = 0
option = ''
directions = ''
listDir = []
while 1:
try:
s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
except:
print "Failed to create socket."
sys.exit()
s.connect((host, port))
recvInfo = s.recv(1024)
print recvInfo
size = recvInfo[191:]
coord = size.split(',')
#print str(coord[0]) + ' ' + str(coord[1])
newSizeX = coord[0]
newSizeY = coord[1]
if not ((newSizeX == sizeX) & (newSizeY == sizeY)):
createMaze(maze, newSizeX, newSizeY)
sizeX = newSizeX
sizeY = newSizeY
posX = int(sizeX) / 2
posY = int(sizeY) - 1
option = ''
while 1:
recvInfo = s.recv(1024)
if not recvInfo:
break
else:
if recvInfo[:7] == 'Invalid':
break
else:
directions = recvInfo[44:]
listDir = directions.split()
if option == 'n': posY = posY - 1
elif option == 's': posY = posY + 1
elif option == 'e': posX = posX + 1
elif option == 'w': posX = posX - 1
if not ('n' in listDir):
maze = createWall(maze, posX, posY, 'n')
if not ('s' in listDir):
maze = createWall(maze, posX, posY, 's')
if not ('e' in listDir):
maze = createWall(maze, posX, posY, 'e')
if not ('w' in listDir):
maze = createWall(maze, posX, posY, 'w')
outputMaze(maze, sizeX, sizeY, posX, posY)
print recvInfo
option = raw_input("~: ")
s.send(option)
s.close()
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
