Mazes For Programmers

Unlock the secrets to creating random mazes! Whether you're a game developer, an algorithm connoisseur, or simply in search of a new puzzle, you're about to level up. Learn algorithms to randomly generate mazes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and dimensions. Bend them into Moebius strips, fold them into cubes, and wrap them around spheres. Stretch them into other dimensions, squeeze them into arbitrary outlines, and tile them in a dizzying variety of ways. From twelve little algorithms, you'll discover a vast reservoir of ideas and inspiration. From video games to movies, mazes are ubiquitous. Explore a dozen algorithms for generating these puzzles randomly, from Binary Tree to Eller's, each copiously illustrated and accompanied by working implementations in Ruby. You'll learn their pros and cons, and how to choose the right one for the job. You'll start by learning six maze algorithms and transition from making mazes on paper to writing programs that generate and draw them. You'll be introduced to Dijkstra's algorithm and see how it can help solve, analyze, and visualize mazes. Part 2 shows you how to constrain your mazes to different shapes and outlines, such as text, circles, hex and triangle grids, and more. You'll learn techniques for culling dead-ends, and for making your passages weave over and under each other. Part 3 looks at six more algorithms, taking it all to the next level. You'll learn how to build your mazes in multiple dimensions, and even on curved surfaces. Through it all, you'll discover yourself brimming with ideas, the best medicine for programmer's block, burn-out, and the grayest of days. By the time you're done, you'll be energized and full of maze-related possibilities! What You Need: The example code requires version 2 of the Ruby programming language. Some examples depend on the ChunkyPNG library to generate PNG images, and one chapter uses POV-Ray version 3.7 to render 3D graphics.

Part I. The basics : Your first random mazes : Preparing the grid ; The binary tree algorithm ; The sidewinder algorithm -- Automating and displaying your mazes : Introducing our basic grid ; Displaying a maze on a terminal ; Implementing the binary tree algorithm ; Rendering a maze as an image -- Finding solutions : Dijkstra's algorithm ; Implementing Dijkstra's ; Finding the shortest path ; Making challenging mazes ; Coloring your mazes -- Avoiding bias with random walks : Understanding biases ; The Aldous-Broder algorithm ; Implementing Aldous-Broder ; Wilson's algorithm ; Implementing Wilson's algorithm -- Adding constraints to random walks : The hunt-and-kill algorithm ; Implementing hunt-and-kill ; Counting dead ends ; The recursive backtracker algorithm ; Implementing the recursive backtracker -- Part II. New steps : Fitting mazes to shapes : Introducing masking ; Implementing a mask ; ASCII masks ; Image masks -- Going in circles : Understanding polar grids ; Drawing polar grids ; Adaptively subdividing the grid ; Implementing a polar grid -- Exploring other grids : Implementing a hex grid ; Displaying a hex grid ; Making hexagon (sigma) mazes ; Implementing a triangle grid ; Displaying a triangle grid ; Making triangle (delta) mazes -- Braiding and weaving your mazes : Braiding mazes ; Cost versus distance ; Implementing a cost-aware Dikstra's algorithm ; Introducing weaves and insets ; Generating weave mazes -- Part III. More algorithms : Improving your weaving : Kruskal's algorithm ; Implementing randomized Kruskal's algorithm ; Better weaving with Kruskal ; Implementing better weaving -- Growing with Prim's : Introducing Prim's algorithm ; Simplified Prim's algorithm ; True Prim's algorithm ; The growing tree algorithm -- Combining, dividing : Eller's algorithm ; Implementing Eller's algorithm ; Recursive division ; Implementing recursive division -- Part IV. Extending mazes into hight dimensions : Understanding dimensions ; Introducing 3D mazes ; Adding a third dimension ; Displaying a 3D maze ; Representing four dimensions -- Bending and folding your mazes ; Cylinder mazes ; Möbius mazes ; Cube mazes ; Sphere mazes -- Summary of maze algorithms : Aldous-Broder ; Binary tree ; Eller's ; Growing tree ; Hunt-and-kill ; Kruskal's (randomized) ; Prim's (simplified) ; Prim's (true) ; Recursive backtracker ; Recursive division ; Sidewinder ; Wilson's -- Comparison of maze algorithms : Dead ends ; Longest path ; Twistiness ; Directness ; Intersections

A single line of code offers a way to understand the cultural context of computing. This book takes a single line of code—the extremely concise BASIC program for the Commodore 64 inscribed in the title—and uses it as a lens through which to consider the phenomenon of creative computing and the way computer programs exist in culture. The authors of this collaboratively written book treat code not as merely functional but as a text—in the case of 10 PRINT, a text that appeared in many different printed sources—that yields a story about its making, its purpose, its assumptions, and more. They consider randomness and regularity in computing and art, the maze in culture, the popular BASIC programming language, and the highly influential Commodore 64 computer.

Brace yourself for a fun challenge: build a photorealistic 3D renderer from scratch! In just a couple of weeks, build a ray tracer that renders beautiful scenes with shadows, reflections, refraction effects, and subjects composed of various graphics primitives: spheres, cubes, cylinders, triangles, and more. With each chapter, implement another piece of the puzzle and move the renderer forward. Use whichever language and environment you prefer, and do it entirely test-first, so you know it's correct.

Rust is an exciting new programming language combining the power of C with memory safety, fearless concurrency, and productivity boosters - and what better way to learn than by making games. Each chapter in this book presents hands-on, practical projects ranging from "Hello, World" to building a full dungeon crawler game. With this book, you'll learn game development skills applicable to other engines, including Unity and Unreal. Rust is an exciting programming language combining the power of C with memory safety, fearless concurrency, and productivity boosters. With Rust, you have a shiny new playground where your game ideas can flourish. Each chapter in this book presents hands-on, practical projects that take you on a journey from "Hello, World" to building a full dungeon crawler game. Start by setting up Rust and getting comfortable with your development environment. Learn the language basics with practical examples as you make your own version of Flappy Bird. Discover what it takes to randomly generate dungeons and populate them with monsters as you build a complete dungeon crawl game. Run game systems concurrently for high-performance and fast game-play, while retaining the ability to debug your program. Unleash your creativity with magical items, tougher monsters, and intricate dungeon design. Add layered graphics and polish your game with style. What You Need: A computer running Windows 10, Linux, or Mac OS X.A text editor, such as Visual Studio Code.A video card and drivers capable of running OpenGL 3.2.

amusements using principle of maze, most based on story situations. Quite unusual. 84 illustrations.

When you write software, you need to be at the top of your game. Great programmers practice to keep their skills sharp. Get sharp and stay sharp with more than fifty practice exercises rooted in real-world scenarios. If you're a new programmer, these challenges will help you learn what you need to break into the field, and if you're a seasoned pro, you can use these exercises to learn that hot new language for your next gig. One of the best ways to learn a programming language is to use it to solve problems. That's what this book is all about. Instead of questions rooted in theory, this book presents problems you'll encounter in everyday software development. These problems are designed for people learning their first programming language, and they also provide a learning path for experienced developers to learn a new language quickly. Start with simple input and output programs. Do some currency conversion and figure out how many months it takes to pay off a credit card. Calculate blood alcohol content and determine if it's safe to drive. Replace words in files and filter records, and use web services to display the weather, store data, and show how many people are in space right now. At the end you'll tackle a few larger programs that will help you bring everything together. Each problem includes constraints and challenges to push you further, but it's up to you to come up with the solutions. And next year, when you want to learn a new programming language or style of programming (perhaps OOP vs. functional), you can work through this book again, using new approaches to solve familiar problems. What You Need: You need access to a computer, a programming language reference, and the programming language you want to use.

Covers Expression, Structure, Common Blunders, Documentation, & Structured Programming Techniques