The Solver command-line app

Introduction

Solver solves Su Doku puzzles from the command-line, which gives it some possible advantages over the SuDoku app:

• It will display all solutions to a given puzzle.
• It is easier to incorporate within scripts.
• It is easier to profile.

Syntax

The [-m max solutions] option stipulates that the app should exit once a given number of puzzle solutions has been found. The default behaviour is for the app to continue until all possible solutions have been found.

The [-s strategy] option stipulates the strategy for the solver to use. The default strategy is Least Candidates Hybrid.

The [-v] option enables verbose output.

The [-p] option provides basic profiling statistics.

The puzzle to solve will be read from standard input. The puzzle should be entered in the format used by the SuDoku app's Copy button

Examples

Solver -v < puzzle.txt finds all solutions to the puzzle stored in the file puzzle.txt and writes them to standard output.

Solver -m 1 -s "First Available" -v < puzzle.txt finds a single solution to the problem using the First Available strategy.