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https://github.com/jamis/csmazes

Maze algorithms implemented in CoffeeScript, with an eye toward demonstrating how the algorithms work by animating them.
https://github.com/jamis/csmazes

generator maze maze-algorithms

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Maze algorithms implemented in CoffeeScript, with an eye toward demonstrating how the algorithms work by animating them.

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README 

        
CoffeeScript Mazes

==================



There are a lot of different maze algorithms out there, each with different

properties, strengths, weaknesses, and interesting points. The aim of this

project is to develop a library of these algorithms in a format that allows

the inner structure and behavior of them to be studied and observed

visually, by animating them and allowing students to step through them.



Installation

------------



You'll need [CoffeeScript](http://coffeescript.org) installed. Once you've

got that, you can run:



    cake build



This will convert the CoffeeScript sources in the "src" directory, to

Javascript files in the "lib" directory.



At this point you should be able to open the demo in examples/maze.html.

(A possibly-out-of-date version of the demo can be seen

[here](http://jamisbuck.org/mazes), if you want to get an idea of what

csMazes can do.)



If you want to do a piecemeal installation of your own, you'll need at least

these files, included in this order:



* mersenne.js

* maze.js



Further, the "widget.js" includes a script for easily embedding maze animations

on your page; you just need to add the CSS definitions. (See examples/maze.html

for the CSS definitions.)



Once you've included those files, you can include any of the algorithm-specific

files you want.



Also, these files may be safely combined and minified, if you want to reduce

everything to a single file.



Usage

-----



Using the included widget, embedding a maze is as simple as this:



    

      Maze.createWidget("Prim", 10, 10)

    



This would embed a 10x10 grid that will animate Prim's algorithm. You can also

pass an optional object (hash) with properties to customize how the algorithm

runs, or how the grid is displayed. These properties are supported:



* **id** : used to set the id of the created HTML elements. If not specified,

  the lower-cased   algorithm name will be used.

* **class** : the HTML class attribute to add to the outermost generated

  div. This is in addition to any other classes that the widget itself

  assigns (e.g. "maze").

* **input** : data that should be passed to the maze object upon creation.

  This should be either a string, in which case it is passed directly to the

  maze constructor, or a function, in which case it is invoked first and

  the return value used as the value passed to the maze. The actual format

  of the string is dependent on the algorithm used.

* **interval** : the delay (in milliseconds) between steps when the maze

  is in "run" mode. Defaults to 50ms.

* **wallwise** : a boolean value indicating whether the maze is to be

  displayed as a passage carver (false) or a wall adder (true). The meaning

  of the wall queries is inverted when wallwise is true. Most mazes

  need to have wallwise set to false (the default), but the RecursiveDivision

  algorithm is a wall adder and needs to be rendered with wallwise set to

  true.

* **seed** : an integer value to use as a seed for the random number generated.

  Using the same seed for different animation runs (where the algorithm and

  dimensions are otherwise the same) will always result in the same maze

  being generated.

* **rng** : the random number generator object to use to generate numbers.

  You'll almost never need to use this; but it could be handy if you want to

  generate a series of mazes with the same original seed. If used, this should

  be an instance of MersenneTwister (defined in mersenne.coffee), or should

  at least conform to the same interface.

* **padded** : if true, adds space around each cell. The default is false.

* **weave** : if true, generates a "weave" maze (where passages move over

  and under other passages). This is not supported by all algorithms. For

  best results, use with **padded** set to true.

* **weaveMode** : either, "onePhase" (the default), or "twoPhase". Only

  Kruskal's algorithm currently supports this setting.

* **weaveDensity** : A number between 0 and 100 (default 80), with 100

  meaning "maximum" density". Only used when **weaveMode** is set to

  "twoPhase".



Advanced Usage

--------------



If you're determined to do things the hard way, you can always instantiate

the mazes yourself, setting up the callbacks and rendering things manually.

To instantiate a maze:



    var maze = new Maze(10, 10, Maze.Algorithms.Prim)



This would create a blank 10x10 grid that will generate a maze using Prim's

algorithm. Mazes are generated either step-wise:



    maze.step() // returns false when the maze is completed



Or they can be generated all at once:



    maze.generate() // calls step() repeatedly until done



As with the widget helper, the maze constructor accepts an optional final

parameter, an object, whose properties can be used to customize how the

maze is built. The following properties are understood (and have the same

meaning as their counterparts in the widget helper):



* **input** : a string used as input to the algorithm, which can be used to

  customize its behavior. Not all algorithms use this parameter.

* **seed**

* **rng**

* **weave**

* **weaveMode**

* **weaveDensity**



To indicate interest in the progress of the maze, you can use the onUpdate and

onEvent methods to register callbacks that will be invoked. The onUpdate

callback is triggered every time a cell is changed. The onEvent callback is

triggered whenever an algorithm-dependent "event" occurs (e.g. the recursive

backtracker hits a dead-end and has to backtrack). Both callbacks accept three

parameters: the maze object that caused the callback, and the x and y coordinates

that are relevant.



    maze.onUpdate(function(m, x, y) {

      // update the display, etc.

    });



    maze.onEvent(function(m, x, y) {

      // pause the animation, etc.

    });



License

-------



csMazes is written by Jamis Buck ([email protected]) and is made available

in the public domain. Do with it what you will.



But please prefer good over evil.