To build:

We recommend that you try the alternate version first so you can see what this entry looked like back in 1995 (with a configurable speed). See the Original code section below for the original entry.

    make alt

The alternate version uses usleep(3) with SLEEP (defined in the Makefile, default 3000) microseconds to make it easier to see the maze being solved in real time. You can redefine SLEEP at compile time to reconfigure it in case it's going too slow, too fast :-) or you're doing some strange experiment like making it 100000 (which is actually fun :-) ).

Bugs and (Mis)features:

The current status of this entry is:

STATUS: INABIAF - please DO NOT fix

For more detailed information see 1995/cdua in bugs.html.

To use:

    ./cdua.alt

Try:

    make SLEEP=1500 clobber alt

    ./cdua.alt # press enter and watch it go much faster!

You might also like to try:

    make SLEEP=65000 clobber alt

    ./cdua.alt # press enter and watch it go much slower!

Do you see anything strange in this version when SLEEP is a high value like 65000? What happens if you use 100000? Is this strange output still there? Why?

Original code:

With modern systems this was hard to see it solve it in real time because it goes so quickly which is why we recommend the alternate version first: you can actually see it being solved in real time rather than have it go by in a flash.

If you wish to use the original version, for instance if you wish to see how fast your computer is :-) or use both to see the difference, you can do so.

Original build:

    make all

Original use:

    ./cdua

Judges' remarks:

This could be used as the basis of an a-maze-ing screen exerciser.

Author's remarks:

A program that generates a maze, and then solves it, all this being seen by the user. Some highlights of obfuscation are: 3 step function in one - main(), several recursive calls with conditional actions, and just one (big and ugly) statement to solve the maze.