AI Maze Solver Project - CS450 - Fall 2024 - University Name

The assignment focuses on developing an AI to solve a maze using the C programming language. The maze contains a player, keys, and an exit. The player must collect all keys before reaching the exit to solve the maze. Students are provided with several C files (Maze.c, Maze.h, Main.c, and MazeSolver.h), and they are required to implement the maze-solving logic within MazeSolver.h. The project emphasizes the use of provided functions for movement, position retrieval, and maze inspection. The grading scheme includes points for test cases and extra credit for speed, bug reports, and other factors. The project must be compatible with the provided files and the final versions after any potential updates, and it must adhere to the rules to avoid penalties for cheating the system. The maximum maze size is 500x500.

Background:
You are writing an AI for solving a maze. The maze has 3 important
objects, the player, the exit, and keys. The player is the only object that
can move. To solve the maze, the player must move onto all of the keys, and
then move onto the exit.
You have been given 4 files:
Maze.c - Which contains definitions of functions I've written.
Maze.h - Which contains headers for functions I've written.
Main.c - Which contains the main method I've written.
MazeSolver.h - Which contains methods I've started for you.
You will only be submitting MazeSolver.h! Don't make edits to the other
three, as I will be using my original copies, not your versions!
Compiling & Running:
To compile your project with my files, you will need them all in the same
directory. You will also need to alert the linker to them somehow. I do not
know how to do this inside of Netbeans, Codeblocks, etc, but from the terminal
you should just type:
gcc Main.c Maze.c Maze.h MazeSolver.h
To run the program, you will need to supply a single argument, which is
the name of the maze file. I don't know how to do this from any IDE but I
assure you it is possible. To run it from the terminal, just type
./a.out (a.exe) <file_name>
Explanation of maze files:
0 - Wall
1 - Empty Space
2 - Player
3 - Key
4 - Exit
The maximum size for a maze is 500x500.
Explanation of Maze.h:
Here are the methods from Maze.h that you might want to use:
int getNumSteps() - returns the number of steps which you have made so
far. Might be useful for debugging purposes.
void getCurrentPosition(int * arr) - this puts the player's row into
arr[0], and the player's column into arr[1].
void readMaze() - using this is considered cheating.
void printMaze() - prints the current maze. Might be useful for debugging.
int isComplete() - returns 1 if the maze is complete, and 0 otherwise.
Useful for loop conditions
int move(int newRow, int newCol) - if possible, it moves the player to the
position specified. Returns 1 if move succeeds, 0 otherwise. If not possible,
it prints a handy error message explaining what happened. You are definitely
allowed to comment out the print statements if you get tired of seeing the
error messages.

int look(int lookRow, int lookCol) - if possible, it tells you what's in
the square you are looking at. It also returns the integer value of what is in
the square (see maze file explanation), or -1 on a failed look. If not
possible, it prints a handy error message explaining what happened. You are
definitely allowed to comment out the print statements if you get tired of
seeing the error messages.
General rules:
1. Leave the file names the same.
2. Don't cheat the system! You know the intent of the project. Don't try
to skirt the rules.
3. If people find bugs in the files I've provided, I will post an
announcement and update them on this site, AND YOU WILL BE GRADED ON THE
UPDATED VERSIONS! Make sure your projects work with the final versions before
you submit them. I guarentee that I won't make any changes to the files after
12/4. So 12/5 and 12/6 are the "safe" days to submit the project.
Grading Schema:
15 points for each of the 10 test cases.
-50 points for cheating the system. You will know if this applies to you,
don't worry.
Extra Credit:
0. All of these points allow your grade to exceed the normal maximum of
110 points.
1. If your group is fastest, or tied for the fastest in any of the test
cases, you will receive 3 points. This bonus may be applied multiple times.
You are automaticlaly disqualified from the bonus if:
a. You already have an A as your final grade in the course.
b. Applying the bonus would not affect your final letter grade.
If you are disqualified, the bonus will go to second place, and so on
until someone receives the bonus.
2. If you find a bug and alert me to it, I will grant you 10 points. I
consider a bug to be "A problem with my code that allows people to solve the
project in unintended ways." If you think you've found a bug, let me know.
3. This maze must be at least 30 x 30, not 'trivial' (like an empty room
maze or a straight line), and also contain at least two keys.