COP3530 Maze Solver

Overview

The COP3530 Maze Solver is a Python project that utilizes the Pygame library to generate and solve mazes. The application offers a graphical interface where users can interact with buttons to generate mazes, solve them using different algorithms like A* and Dijkstra's, and view various metrics like nodes expanded, path length, and time taken to solve.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• Pygame
• NumPy

Installation

To install the required packages, run the following commands:

pip install pygame numpy

Components

DisjointSet Class

This class is utilized for Kruskal's algorithm to create the maze. It performs find and union operations.

Maze Class

This class handles the maze generation, solving, and visualization. It contains methods for:

• Maze generation using Kruskal's algorithm
• Solving the maze using A* and Dijkstra's algorithms
• Resetting and displaying current stats

User Interface

The interface offers buttons for:

• Maze generation
• Maze solving (A* and Dijkstra's)
• Clearing the maze
• Displaying stats
• Exiting the application

Usage

1. Run the main script to start the application.

python app.py

2. Use the buttons in the graphical interface to interact with the application.

Metrics Displayed

• Nodes Expanded: The number of nodes that were expanded during the solving process.
• Path Length: The length of the solution path from start to goal.
• Time to Solve: The time taken to solve the maze.
• Algorithm Used: The algorithm used to solve the maze (A* or Dijkstra's).

Additional Notes

The application supports various maze dimensions and offers a way to visualize the maze-solving process.