README.md

Simplified Memory Bounded A*

A* is a search algorithm that finds the shortest path between nodes in a graph. However, it is not memory friendly at all and to fix this, we can use a memory bounded A* algorithm or SMA* for short.

How It Works

Explaining how SMA* or her mother A* works is not easy in some short sentences. I saved some notes during my research in Notion, you can learn more about this algorithms through this page.

Usage

Save your custom maze in the following format in a text file:

$      ###      #   #        # # #
       ### X        #
              #####          X

The characters $/S/s represents the start and the */X/x/E/e/G/g represents the end point. You can also use the #/&/; characters as wall.

Run the program by passing the path of the maze file:

python core.py -m <path_to_maze_file>

Use the -g flag to generate a random maze:

python core.py -g

The generated maze will be saved in the genmaze.txt file in the current directory.

Set the memory bound by the -b option:

python core.py -m genmaze.txt -b <memory_bound>

Memory bound is not the storage bound in kilobyte or megabyte, it is the number of nodes that visited in the search.

Force the program to continue searching even if the memory bound is reached:

python core.py -m samples/maze09.txt -b 100 -f

Here is some sample mazes for you.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT license found in the LICENSE file in the root directory of this repository.