Description

24-780 B—ENGINEERING COMPUTATION

Problem Set 5: 2D Maze

Before anything else, a clarification:
This assignment is the first part of a two-part sequence. For PS05, we will deal simply with drawing the maze as it is read from a file, with some limited user interaction. For PS06, we will deal with how to implement an algorithm that can allow an entity to navigate the maze automatically. Again, no automatic navigation yet!
For this assignment, you are asked to write a program that can read information about a maze from a data file and display the maze in an OpenGL graphics window. Your program will also draw an entity that a user can manipulate to navigate the maze. I recommend that you tackle this assignment by progressing through the tasks listed, being sure each part works before continuing.
The Maze
Start: 1 4
End: 7 6
Map Begin: 10
1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1
0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1
1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
Map End:
The maze is a two-dimensional map made up of squares, each with dimensions of 20×20 pixels. Each square is referenced by row and column number, starting with 1 (e.g., the top left square is 1,1). Each square is either navigable (represented in white) or obstacle (represented in black). In addition, there is a navigable square that represents the starting point of the navigation challenge and there is a navigable square that represents the end point (i.e., the goal) of the navigation challenge (see sample above).
The configuration of the maze is read in from a text file that has a format as given at right. The start and end locations are given as rowNum followed by colNumb (like for a matrix). The map is defined first with the key words “Map Begin:” followed by the number of columns (10 in this example). The rest of the lines (up to key words “Map End”) give the location of obstacles (represented by “1”) and navigable spaces (represented by “0”). Number of rows in the maze is determined by how many lines are used to define the map. Note that Start and End could be given before or after map definition (or omitted completely).
The example shown generates the maze illustrated above. This input file and other (bigger) ones are attached to this assignment to use for testing.

Task 1 (Maze class)
Create a class for the maze called Maze. Think about what data needs to be stored and what is the best method for doing so. What member variables are needed? What functions make sense and should they be private or public? Don’t overcomplicate things (e.g., using a 2D vector where a 2D basic array will do, or using integer where boolean is more appropriate).
Reading a file void readFile(std::ifstream &input);
Create a function that, when given an input file stream, clears the maze and then reads the file to get all maze data. Since we don’t want to just read blindly (we need to check for keywords), you need to make this function “a little bit smart”. Here is an example of the kind of code you need to accomplish this, with an example for reading the start location of the maze:
string wholeLineString; // used to read file one whole line at a time stringstream lineStream; // used to easily get numbers from part of line int colonLocation; // used to store location of colon in line

while (!input.eof()) {
lineStream.clear();// just in case

getline(input, wholeLineString); // read the whole line into a string
// if there is a colon, set up lineStream to start just after colon
// also, remember colonLocation, just in case
if ((colonLocation = wholeLineString.find(“:”)) != string::npos) lineStream.str(wholeLineString.substr(colonLocation + 1));
else {
colonLocation = -1; lineStream.str(wholeLineString);
}

// check for keywords in the line
if (wholeLineString.find(“Start:”) != string::npos) // find() returns npos when not found partLineStream >> startRow >> startCol; // put values into class variables

Writing the maze friend ostream& operator<<(ostream& os, const BitmapMaze& aMaze);
This function outputs all the maze data to an output stream (file or console) so that it looks just like the input file. For Task 1, the purpose of this function is purely so that you can be sure that you captured all the information correctly and can do it for any maze input file.
Create a simple/short main() function (in a separate file) to test the functioning of your program up to Task 1 (reading and writing mostly). You can have your program ask for an input file (with the extension .map) or hardwire the different file names.

Task 2 (OpenGL, no interaction)
Write a function paint(…) that displays the maze graphically in OpenGL. Note that maximum size of 40×40, with 20 pixels each square gives you a window size of 800×800. You are NOT required to include the index numbers along the edge of the maze (keep it simple). The Start Square should be colored green and the End Square should be colored red. The inclusion of the letters “S” and “E” is optional. Pressing the ESC key should close the window.

Task 3 (User-controlled navigation, Entity class)
Create an Entity class that the user can manipulate through the maze by using the arrow keys. The entity should be smaller than 20×20 pixels (so that it fits inside each square) but can appear to be anything (e.g., a circle, a spider, a robot, an alien, a letter, etc.). Obviously, the entity cannot move into a square that is not navigable (the square is an obstacle, or the square is beyond the maze area). It is very likely Entity class will have functions like:
• void move(Maze &aMaze, int direction);
• void paint();
• bool reset(Maze &aMaze); // places entity at maze start
• bool reachedGoal(Maze &aMaze);
The variable “direction” will probably use the same constants as fsSimpleWindow (e.g., FSKEY_UP, FSKEY_LEFT, etc.), so there is no need to enumerate the four possible moves.
Maze class will likely now require some new functions like:
• bool isNavigable(int row, int col);
• Cell getStart();
• Cell getEnd();
Note that Cell is a struct with two integer members, row and col. This struct is defined in Maze.h, but is not a part of the Maze class itself.
At this point, you’ve created a nice little game that you and your friends can play. Have fun!

Deliverables
3 files, very appropriately named and zipped together:
PS05maze_main_andrewID.cpp << contains main() and maybe some other code
Maze.h Maze.cpp << contains Maze class
Entity.h Entity.cpp << contains Entity class

Learning Objectives
Read data from structured input files.
Develop your own classes and the interactions between them Providing user interaction.
Searching references (online or textbook) for C++ library functions.