Sudoku Solver

This project implements a Sudoku solver with both a command-line interface and a graphical user interface (GUI) using GTK+3. The solver can handle Sudoku puzzles of sizes 4x4, 9x9, 16x16, and 25x25.

NOTE FOR CONTRIBUTORS

If you are a beginner, don't worry. You have already been provided with a basic project structure. Your task now is to manage everything, and you are allowed to modify the structure as needed.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• File Structure
• How It Works

Features

• Solves Sudoku puzzles of various sizes (4x4, 9x9, 16x16, 25x25)
• Command-line interface for quick solving
• Graphical user interface for interactive solving
• Displays the solved Sudoku grid
• Shows the total number of steps taken to solve the puzzle
• Classifies puzzle difficulty based on clues and solving steps

Simple Sudoku

Installation

Prerequisites

• GCC compiler
• GTK+3 development libraries

Installing Dependencies

Windows

1. Install MSYS2 from https://www.msys2.org/
2. Open MSYS2 terminal and run:

   pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gtk3 mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc

3. Go to repository directory

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libgtk-3-dev gcc 

Go to repository directory

macOS

1. Install Homebrew from https://brew.sh/
2. Run:

   brew install gtk+3
   

Go to repository directory

Compilation

• Compile the program using the provided Makefile:

  make clear
  make
  

• This will create an executable named sudoku_solver.

Usage

GUI Version

• To run the Sudoku solver with the graphical interface:

Windows (MSYS2 MinGW terminal)

./sudoku_solver.exe

Linux and macOS

./sudoku_solver

Command-Line Version

• Compile the code using GCC:

  gcc main.c ./src/core/sudoku.c -o sudoku_solver
  

• To run the Sudoku solver:

  ./sudoku_solver

• To run the Sudoku solver Using txt file:

  ./sudoku_solver ./EXAMPLE/puz.txt

The program initializes a pre-defined Sudoku puzzle and attempts to solve it. Modify the board array in main.c to test different puzzles.

File Structure

Sudoku/
├── src/
│   ├── core/
│   │   ├── sudoku.c
│   │   └── sudoku.h
│   └── gui/
│       ├── main.c
│       ├── sudoku_gui.c
│       └── sudoku_gui.h
├── main.c
├── Makefile
└── README.md

How It Works

• The program can solve Sudoku puzzles using a backtracking algorithm.
• In GUI mode, users can input puzzles interactively and solve them with a button click.
• In command-line mode, puzzles can be input manually or loaded from a file.
• The solver attempts to find empty cells and fill them with valid numbers.
• If a solution is found, it displays the completed board and solving statistics.
• The difficulty of the puzzle is classified based on the number of clues and solving steps.