Sudoku Solver Project

Introduction & Problem Statement

Solving a Sudoku Puzzle on paper takes the average person 7 - 8 minutes; it would be more convenient to find the solution of a sudoku puzzle in less time.

Current Solution/System

Sudoku puzzles are solved by hand and take too long.

Proposed Solution/System:

Create a computer application that can solve a Sudoku puzzle within seconds or microseconds.

Project Objective

Create an application using HTML, CSS, and JS to solve incomplete sudoku puzzles.

Project Goals

Demonstrate and improve on the following skills and abilities:

Javascript
HTML
CSS
UI Design
UX Design
Software Development Practices (Lifecycle Activities)
TODOs
Modify App Theme
Refine "application domain" paragraph
Create hover effects for use-case cards
Clean use-case diagram
Color systems on object diagram
Move Implemented design pattern below dynamic models - add propagation notes

Application Domain

Before we start building the project, we must ask how will it work? how will it be used? The designer(s) answer these questions and elicit project requirements by determining the product/project's use cases.

Use Cases (Requirement Elicitation)

Use cases include:

Edit/Input Puzzle

Load Existing Puzzle

Solve Puzzle

Restore Puzzle

Use Case Descriptions

Edit/Input Puzzle

The puzzle solver is not currently attempting to solve the puzzle.

The user presses the edit puzzle button and unlocks the puzzle board. The user can then select the cells they wish to change. The selected cell values can be changed by pressing the on-screen number buttons or by using the numbers on their keyboard. The user also has the option of clearing the puzzle board (Include Clear Puzzle Board use case).

The puzzle board is filled with the user inputted values.

Load Existing Puzzle

The puzzle solver is not currently attempting to solve the puzzle.

The user presses the load puzzle button and is prompted with a list of saved puzzles (Saved Puzzle Menu). The user selects a puzzle by pressing on the list item. The selected puzzle is loaded onto the board and displays “Puzzle Loaded” on the Status Panel. The user is given the options to edit the loaded puzzle, load a different saved puzzle, change the initial solving method and/or solve the loaded puzzle.

A saved puzzle is loaded onto the puzzle board.

Solve Puzzle

A non-zero puzzle is loaded onto the puzzle board.

The user selects an initial solving method if the default method isn't desired. (Include the Select Initial Solving Method use case). The user presses the Solve Puzzle Button. The puzzle board locks and displays an in progress message and a progress bar. While the solver is attempting to solve the puzzle, the user can pause or abort the solving procedure. If the user pauses the solver, they can resume progress by pressing the resume button; the user can also abort the solver from the paused or solving state. (Include Pause Solver, Resume Solver, and Abort Solver) Once completed, the status panel will display whether the puzzle has been solved or is unsolvable (Extended by the Puzzle Solved and Puzzle Unsolvable use cases).

Puzzle is solved or is unsolvable using the current solver algorithm.

Restore Puzzle

A puzzle solver has attempted to solve a puzzle, resulting in a Solved Puzzle or an Unsolvable puzzle.

The user presses the restore puzzle button and the puzzle board returns to the state it was in before the user had pressed Solve Puzzle. The user can then make changes to the puzzle values and/or change the initial solving method before attempting to solve the puzzle again.

The previous version of the loaded puzzle is displayed on the puzzle board.

Analysis and Synthesis

Once the use cases have been determined, the designer(s) have an idea how the app will work and what parts are needed. Static and Dynamic models are developed from information discussed in the use case descriptions, testing and further code refinement.

Static models represent the components and systems of the project - answering "what" and dynamic models represent how those components and systems will work when the project undergoes user interactions

The following static and dynamic models were created using the use case descriptions, testing and code refinement. The models below are the final/current depictions of the sudoku solver app.

Static Models

Class / Object Diagram

Implemented Design Patterns

Composite
Observer / Subscriber
Singleton

Dynamic Models

The observer pattern was used to propagate the global app state to each UI component

all user events were defined at the component level but called global level functions to reduce coupling

App State Diagram

Sudoku Solver