Scribd
Upload
75 views5 pages

Backtracking: "Backtrack" To The Junction. at This Point in Time You Know That

Backtracking is an algorithmic technique for solving problems by trying possibilities and systematically eliminating those that fail. It involves trying possibilities one by one, backing up and undoing a choice if it leads to a dead end, and then trying the next choice. Common problems solved with backtracking include mazes, the eight queens puzzle, and Sudoku puzzles.

Uploaded by

جعفر عباس
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
75 views5 pages

Backtracking: "Backtrack" To The Junction. at This Point in Time You Know That

Backtracking is an algorithmic technique for solving problems by trying possibilities and systematically eliminating those that fail. It involves trying possibilities one by one, backing up and undoing a choice if it leads to a dead end, and then trying the next choice. Common problems solved with backtracking include mazes, the eight queens puzzle, and Sudoku puzzles.

Uploaded by

جعفر عباس
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Backtracking

Backtracking is a technique used to solve problems with a


large search space, that systematically tries and eliminates
possibilities.

A standard example of backtracking would be going through a


maze. At some point in a maze, you might have two options of
which direction to go:

Junction
------------------------ portion A
|
|
|
portion B

One strategy would be to try going through portion A of the


maze. If you get stuck before you find your way out, then you
"backtrack" to the junction. At this point in time you know that
portion A will NOT lead you out of the maze, so you then start
searching in portion B.

Clearly, at a single junction you could have even more than two
choices. The backtracking strategy says to try each choice, one
after the other, if you ever get stuck, "backtrack" to the
junction and try the next choice. If you try all choices and
never found a way out, then there IS no solution to the maze.
Eight Queens Problem

The problem is specified as follows:

Find an arrangement of eight queens on a single chess board


such that no two queens are attacking one another.

In chess, queens can move all the way down any row, column
or diagonal (so long as no pieces are in the way).

Due to the first two restrictions, it's clear that each row and
column of the board will have exactly one queen.

The backtracking strategy is as follows:

1) Place a queen on the first available square in row 1.


2) Move onto the next row, placing a queen on the first
available square there (that doesn't conflict with the previously
placed queens).
3) Continue in this fashion until either (a) you have solved the
problem, or (b) you get stuck. When you get stuck, remove the
queens that got you there, until you get to a row where there is
another valid square to try.

When we carry out backtracking, an easy way to visualize


what is going on is a tree that shows all the different
possibilities that have been tried.

Consider the following page with a visual representation of


solving the 4 Queens problem (placing 4 queens on a 4x4 board
where no two attack one another).
____
____
____
____
/ \
Q___ ____
____ Q_ _ _
____ ____
____ ____
/ | \ /
Q___ Q _ _ _ STUCK ____
____ _ _ _ _ (NO MORE Q_ _ _
_ Q_ _ ____ OPTIONS ____
____ _Q__ ON COL 2) _ Q_ _
/ / |
STUCK(1) Q___ __Q_
_ _ Q_ Q_ _ _
____ ____
_ Q_ _ _ Q_ _
|
STUCK(2) |
__Q_
Q_ _ _
___Q
_ Q_ _
DONE!(3)
The neat thing about coding up backtracking, is that it can be
done recursively, without having to do all the bookkeeping at
once.

Instead, the stack or recursive calls does most of the


bookkeeping (ie, keeping track of which queens we've placed,
and which combinations we've tried so far, etc.)

Here is some code that is at the heart of the eight queens


solution:

void solveItRec(int perm[], int location, struct onesquare


usedList[]) {

int i;

if (location == SIZE) {
printSol(perm);
}

for (i=0; i<SIZE; i++) {

if (usedList[i].selected == 0) {

if (!conflict(perm, location, usedList[i].row)) {

perm[location] = usedList[i].row;
usedList[i].selected = 1;
solveItRec(perm, location+1, usedList);
usedList[i].selected = 0;
}
}
}
}
Sudoku and Backtracking

Another common puzzle that can be solved by backtracking is


a Sudoku puzzle. The basic idea behind the solution is as
follows:

1) Scan the board to look for an empty square that could take
on the fewest possible values based on the simple game
constraints.
2) If you find a square that can only be one possible value, fill it
in with that one value and continue the algorithm.
3) If no such square exists, place one of the possible numbers
for that square in the number and repeat the process.
4) If you ever get stuck, erase the last number placed and see if
there are other possible choices for that slot and try those next.

Mazes and Backtracking

A final example of something that can be solved using


backtracking is a maze. From your start point, you will iterate
through each possible starting move. From there, you
recursively move forward. If you ever get stuck, the recursion
takes you back to where you were, and you try the next
possible move.

In dealing with a maze, to make sure you don't try too many
possibilities, one should mark which locations in the maze have
been visited already so that no location in the maze gets visited
twice. (If a place has already been visited, there is no point in
trying to reach the end of the maze from there again.

You might also like