The purpose of lab today is to get you familiar with the data representation for homework four and to work on arrays in C.

1 Getting Started

Download the https://www.cs.unm.edu/~vasek/cs241/hw/mazegeneration.py file. We’re going to be making mazes today!

To run the code, use the following command.

In addition, download the maze.c file off the lab directory on the course website. You’ll need to edit it before it can be compiled.

2 Creating some test cases

Run the python script a number of times using the >> command to append the mazes to the end of a file. Your file should be called testmaze.in.

Then, edit at least one to be a valid maze, but not have a path from top left to bottom right.

3 Writing some code

• Think about how big your double array needs to be in order to hold the first maze you created. Make your array that large.
• Write the readInMaze function to read in one maze from standard in (using the getchar function).
• Think about how to access the cells in the array. Write some code in your main method (after you read in the maze) that plays around with once you’re at a cell, determining if it can go north/east/south/west.

4 More time?

• Write some functions for your cell access. What would you write and how would you incorporate this into a maze solver?
• Flesh out the printmaze function.
• Think about how your variables/functions change when your maze size changes. You will want one double array of a static size for everything. Given that the largest maze you need to handle is 40x40 cells, how large should your double array be? What character could you use to delimit what is valid or not in your current working maze?
• Write a function that determines if your maze is valid. What sorts of things should you be looking for?

5 Turning in your program

It’s ok not to finish this assignment – get through as much as you can.

Zip up your maze.c file along with your testmaze.in file into a zip file entitled yourCSUsername.zip. Then drop the zip file into the dropbox under the lab-05 folder..