Beginner Puzzle Solver

About

This repository aims to implement various search algorithms to solve the NP-hard puzzle problem. The objective is to learn these algorithms and compare their performance practically.

Algorithms Implemented

Algorithm	Description
Breadth-First Search (BFS)	Explores all neighboring nodes at the current depth before moving deeper, ensuring the shortest path but using more memory.
Depth-First Search (DFS)	Explores as far as possible along each branch before backtracking, conserving memory but not guaranteeing the shortest path.
Depth-Limited Search	A variant of DFS that restricts the depth of exploration to avoid infinite paths.
Iterative Deepening Search (IDS)	Combines the depth efficiency of DFS with the completeness of BFS by incrementally increasing the depth limit.

How to Use

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/JavadiSM/puzzle-solver

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd puzzle-solver

3. Run the main script:

   python main.py

4. Enter your puzzle and the method you wish the program to use for solving. Here’s an example of how to use it:

   dfs bfs or ids or ldfs?
   

   Note: ldfs stands for limited depth search (limited DFS) and ids is iterative deepening search.

   Copy and paste:

   ids
   size of grid?
   3
   enter puzzle
   1 2 3
   9 4 5
   7 8 6
   

   Example output:

   solution:
   1 2 3
   4 9 5
   7 8 6
   
   1 2 3
   4 5 9
   7 8 6
   
   1 2 3
   4 5 6
   7 8 9
   

Future Work

• Implement additional search algorithms like A* and Greedy Best-First Search.
• Benchmark and compare algorithm performance (if time permits).
• Develop a graphical user interface (GUI). (I would be grateful if you are eager to help!)