Obfuscate Code Contest 4 - Results Poll

[MXP]

Hey gamma, main can be void. That's the way I was taught back in the day. "_"

If that day was before 1998 then that is understandable since the standard didn't exist then. After 1998, however, it does and it says main() must return an int.

I made the code in MSVC++ 6.0 and it works fine. Sorry you have problems with it.

MSVC++ 6.0 doesn't follow the standard very well, in part because the standard didn't exist when MSVC++ 6.0 was released.

[Mattxl]

Yeah I first learned C++ around 1995-97. I then took some classes to expand my knowledge in 2000-01. But even in those classes they never made a big deal about main returning an int. I sometimes return an int and sometimes don't. It just depends on my mood.

[Beer Hunter]

Note: Beerhunter assumes chars are unsigned, while they could be signed!

If I did, it was entirely by accident. Where did I do so?

[exomo]

How about a deal: I'll test yours and you try to unravel my code.
Since Darobat's compiler wasn't that ansi compliant, I had to make a second version, which is also nice to decrypt perhaps. Almost the same code, but with extra defines (stringification!) an some extra art. It is available here:http://www.fmf.nl/~dopheide/darobat/final03.cc

OK, I will try to make your first version readable. It compiles and runs perfectly for me.

[Togra]

Difficult choice....

Corsix and Gamma.

[Safari]

Can someone tell me how to think? I'm thinking like this.

It should read the file and find @. And then it puts the position of the @ in a array (position like in a graph (1, 4)). Then it should "move" from the @. If it's a wall on the left it should try another direction (if-s. But Then it will allways first check left and then right. It would be better if it went in random directions, right?). If it enters a dead end it should put another wall there. For example:

Code: Select all

###########  ##...
#
##############...

1st loop:

###########  ##...
##<--------<-------<----
##############...

2nd loop:

###########  ##...
###<----------------<-----
##############...

10th loop

###########  ##...
###########^----<---<--
##############...

Is that a smart way? Ofcourse the whole map is saved in a array with cordinates.

Then it should loop until it find !.

Now the trycky part. How will it find the fastest way? Maybe I should but X on roads it have traveled. So it should forst take roads where there isn't X, but if there's no way out it should take X. But then another question comes up.

Code: Select all

#######!############
#######XXXXXXXXXXXX#
####### ##########X#
##XXXXXXXXX#XXXXXXX#
###X###X##X####X####
###X######XXXXX?####
###X###X#######X####
###X###XX#####XX####
###X#XXX#XXXXXXX####
####X## #######X####
####X## #######X####
##XXXXXXXXXXXXXX####
##### ## ###X#######
##### ## ###X#######
##       ###@      #
##### ## ######### #
##### ## ######### #
#        ######### #
##### #######      #
####################

Now it's at ? . The problem is that it first goes up and down, then left and right. So now it would rather go up then the fastest way.

I'm not that good at c++ so I didn't understand that much from the code gamma "decrypted"

[exomo]

Not bad for the start. That is what I had first.

Look at my code to see a simple way. It's not the fastest algorithm I know, but it is the simplest.

I added information for every point in the map on "where to go" and "how long it took me to go there. If I come across a point again I can see if the new way is shorter or not. If it is shorter overwrite it.

[gamma]

The easiest to code and to understand would be a flood fill I guess. (Well... perhaps a simple recursion would be easier to understand). Anyway, here is my explanation of flooding this maze by example:
N = 0
1) See what you can reach in N steps without using a square double.
2) If you can reach the end point, it must be shortest.
3) Otherwise: increase N.

Code: Select all

######    ######    ######    #######   ######    ######
@   # -> 1@1  # -> 1@12 # -> 1@12 # -> 1@123# -> 1@123#
#  # !    #1 # !    #12# !    #12# !    #12#4!    #12#45 <- found it.
###  #    ###  #    ###  #    ###  #    ###  #    ### 5#


For the implementation, I advise a queue. Pseudo code:
1) push the starting point in the (back of the) queue.
2) while queue_not_empty repeat
3) get the position in front of the queue ("pop")
4) if the front is end point, you are done (leave while)
5) mark this spot.
6) push all neighbours that are possible (i.e. inside map, not wall, not marked etc)

If you did not find an endpoint, the queue will drain and become empty (because there are no more spaces that are possible). There seems to be no solution.
If you find a endpoint, you have found just 1 shortest route. There may be other that are equally fast. But there can't be a route that is faster (no proof given here).

humor mode:
See my code for an example

[schloob]

the only part about my thing thats actually like obfuscated is this line

Code: Select all

(s>1)[schloooooob]+=((s%2)*2-1);

i forgot how about it works



im gonna go with corsix and beer hunter, for originality..

darobats are always cliché, the others were just not as good

mattxl was third but we only get 2 votes so, sorry ;P

[Safari]

Yeay, I solved it with flood fill But in php