All systems are go...

Wahey - we're up. You never should underestimate the easter holidays for getting things done in, even if only small things. I've been meaning to put up a blog for ages now but never could seem to find the time - now it's here, I'm almost wondering what to fill it with though I'm sure I'll find something. Still, I do have a life apart from this blog and I am relatively busy; but just for those key times of boredom and maybe even the occasional happy time when I'm feeling exhuberant for some reason and have some time to spare I'll manage or even remember to stick an article up or post some updates on my projects! For now, since I've already spent too long (yes, I spent a while getting the setup of this *just* right) I'll leave a few images of one of my existing projects:





This was an experimental project that I created with the intention of solving sodoku puzzles - it was done in python and since it was just an experiment I started while using the open source 3D modeling program, Blender, it currently utilizes the Blender interface and scripting capabilities. Most of the solving, generating and grading buttons don't work as they should yet but it loads and saves files in a backwards and forwards compatible file format reminiscent of XML but more like .ini files were on the old Windows machines. My current plan is to get the actual functionality up and running first, then go about creating a decent UI for it outside of Blender and rewrite the files saving and loading after that.

The first screenshot is of some of the new code I wrote for solving the puzzles using backtracking techniques (it uses a modified version of the algorithm in the Dancing Links paper by Donald E. Knuth - however, my modifications complicate the code somwhat since I'm effectively trying to solve in a matrix of 5 dimensions); unfortunately, at the moment, this code just seems to get stuck in an infinite loop somewhere and eventually exceeds the maximun recursion limit of python (which is 1000 nested functions) - still, I expect I will solve this bug in due time. The second, third and fourth images show screenshots of the program itself in it's current state; the last two in particular show captured shots of my specially invented "dot mode" which helps to solve very complex sudokus manually with either numbers or just plain dots being drawn instead of the normal solving screen - dot positions being optimized for easy input via the numpad on a computer keyboard! If anybody is interested, I can post the source code online licensed under the GPL or similar license although at the moment the only interesting bit would be the Dancing Links solver anyway which doesn't work yet.

Anyhow, time ticks on and I really must be getting on with other things - so until next time!...
-lemon. :)