This relatively simple program solves by iteration the classic 8 queens chess problem. For those unfamiliar, the challenge is to find the number of ways it's possible arrange 8 queens on a chess board so that none can capture any other in one move. There's some wierd mathmatical proof of this, but this simple Python program demonstrates recursive iteration through many, (8^8), possible possibilities in the most efficient manor possible. The code itself was written for clarity and speed by someone relatively new to Python, so it should be pretty easy to understand.
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Copy to clipboard1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | def Permute(queens, row):
for i in range(8):
queens[row] = i
if Fine(queens, row):
if row == 7:
print(queens)
globals()["solutions"] = globals()["solutions"] + 1
else:
Permute(queens, row+1)
def Fine(queens, row):
c = 0
derga = True
for i in range(row):
c, cur, oth = c+1, queens[row], queens[row-i-1]
if (cur == oth) or (cur-c == oth) or (cur+c == oth):
derga = False
break
return(derga)
globals()["solutions"] = 0
queens = [20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20]
for i in range(8):
queens[0] = i
Permute(queens, 1)
print(solutions)
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WHY DO IT? For programming experience, and to solve a simple looking but fun problem. :D
WHY THIS SOLUTION? Because the mathematical proof for this is annoyingly long and overcomplicated, and because programming's fun.
ISSUES: None
ALTERNATIVES: Try re-writing this program for different size boards and different numbers of queens. :D
HELP: You'll need to understand arrays, loops and multiple assignment. As I said before, it's a pretty simple program!
