From cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Thu Aug 5 21:04:33 1999 Return-Path: Received: from sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil (sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil [132.250.84.38]) by mc.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1a/8.9.1-mod) with SMTP id VAA26830 for ; Thu, 5 Aug 1999 21:04:32 -0400 (EDT) Precedence: bulk Errors-To: cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Message-Id: <37A19059.40026399@frontiernet.net> Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 07:45:30 -0400 From: John Bailey To: phanna@gbonline.com Cc: Cube-Lovers@ai.mit.edu Subject: Re: cube computer solutions using procedural languages References: <006001bed45e$d4429420$1b4b43cf@compaq> Paul Hanna wrote: > Have any of you done any work on solving the cube with computer programs > using procedural languages such as C? > > Do you have any suggestions you can pass my way? I am a good programmer but > not a cube solution expert. I am just a novice at best when it comes to cube > algorithms and efficient cube solutions. You wouldn't believe how long ago it was that I attempted a computer based cube solution. At the time, I had become adept at assembly languague for the chip in the Apple II and I worked in that. Today I would typically use C++.At the time, I had not found Singmasters book ( the time was roughly 25 years ago) and when I did, I realized that what I was attempting was doomed, so I quit. I was attempting to apply the tree search techniques used for Chess programs to look far ahead and by applying a heuristic scoring method, find likely paths to solution, which would in turn be iterated. In the process, I worked ways to encode the orientation of each cubelet, its postion, and transformation rules for moves etc. As soon as I read Singmaster, I realized how deep the iterations would have to go to reach a convergent solution. That's when I dropped the problem. Some of the recent work which the moderator referenced have moved the state of the art further, but not yet so far as to search and find solutions in a general sense. (If that statement is false, it will be worth the embarassment, if only the critic sends me a URL for source code.) I do have some suggestions about format and linguistic conventions. For an example,go to http://www.ggw.org/donorware/4D_Rubik/ and look at the source code. Yes, that's really all there is. If that helps or you think I should add a few comment lines, let me know. John http://www.frontiernet.net/~jmb184 http://www.ggw.org/donorware