I'm creating a recursive wordsearch app which appears (to my amateur eye) correct yet is missing five of the fifty three words. The words may be hidden left to right, right to left, up, down or diagonally. I want the console to output the found word, x and y coordinates in the puzzle, and direction. I have looked through the code tirelessly and can't seem to find the problem. Please help!
The missing words are:
2: Backup
29: LCD
40: Power Supply
44: Scanner
53: Wireless
Here's the code:
I'm loading the puzzle and word list from textareas:
<textarea name="wordsearch" id="wordsearch" style="display:none">
TPIRCSAVAJLEXIPIGE
LIAMEMORYMMOUSENIL
CRABKSATXINUYHSTFG
DNDIRECTORYETAOEOO
POWERSUPPLYNIRFRLO
UCOASAEVASCCRETNDG
KIROPKTYPSHRUWWEEL
CDDECPREEAHYCAATRM
ANRIMALLTDRPERREAT
BOLENMEIEKETSEEPHH
RCKIPRAFCVRIIRSULM
EEBEIARRIABOOTMBOR
NSTWRAPRGRTNWBINGO
NOOSGNDLOODINTIOIS
ANGMAKAULARAOTEANR
CAEASPTLTAIPONRNDU
SNFIREWALLWREIKOOC
TFDPRDHTOOTEULBYTE</textarea>
<textarea name="wordlist" id="wordlist" style="display:none">
Application
Backup
Binary
Bluetooth
Boot
Byte
Chat
Click
Cookie
Cursor
Data
Defragment
Directory
Disk drive
DOS
Drag
Email
Encryption
File
Firewall
Folder
GIF
Google
HTML
Icon
Internet
JavaScript
Kernal
LCD
Login
Memory
Monitor
Mouse
Nanosecond
Network
Partition
Paste
PDF
Pixel
Power Supply
Programmer
Router
Save As
Scanner
Security
ShareWare
Software
Spam
Taskbar
Thumbnail
UNIX
Wallpaper
Wireless</textarea>
<script src="wordsearch.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
And the javascript:
(function() {
var puzzle = [];
var rows = 0;
var columns = 0;
var words = [];
var foundWordsArray = [];
var foundWordsObj = {
word: "",
coordinates: {
x: 0,
y: 0
},
direction: ""
};
window.onload = function() {
puzzle = document.getElementById("wordsearch").value.split("\n").map(function(p) {
return p.toUpperCase();
});
words = document.getElementById("wordlist").value.split("\n").map(function(w) {
return w.toUpperCase().replace(/\s/g, '');
});
rows = puzzle.length;
columns = puzzle[0].length;
solvePuzzle();
};
function solvePuzzle() {
var wFound = []; // list of words that were found
var res = false; // was word found in any direction
var wL = words.length;
// console.log(wL);
var i = 0; // index for the words
var j = 0; // index for the puzzle rows
var k = 0; // index for the puzzle columns
var fChar = ''; // first character
for (i = 0; i < wL; ++i) {
fChar = words[i].charAt(0);
wordFound:
for (j = 0; j < rows; ++j) {
for (k = 0; k < columns; ++k) {
if (fChar == puzzle[j].charAt(k + 1)) {
// found first character
//left
res = findWordLeft(words[i], 1, words[i].length, j, k + 1);
if (false !== res) {
// console.log(i + 1, words[i], (k + 2), (j + 1), "RL");
break wordFound; // found a word, break to wordFound
}
//Right
res = findWordRight(words[i], 1, words[i].length, j, k + 1);
if (false !== res) {
// console.log(i + 1, words[i], (k + 2), (j + 1), "LR");
break wordFound; // found a word, break to wordFound
}
//Up
res = findWordUp(words[i], 1, words[i].length, j, k + 1);
if (false !== res) {
// console.log(i + 1, words[i], (k + 2), (j + 1), "U");
break wordFound; // found a word, break to wordFound
}
//Down
res = findWordDown(words[i], 1, words[i].length, j, k + 1);
if (false !== res) {
// console.log(i + 1, words[i], (k + 2), (j + 1), "D");
break wordFound; // found a word, break to wordFound
}
//UpLeft
res = findWordUpLeft(words[i], 1, words[i].length, j, k + 1);
if (false !== res) {
// console.log(i + 1, words[i], (k + 2), (j + 1), "DUL");
break wordFound; // found a word, break to wordFound
}
//UpRight
res = findWordUpRight(words[i], 1, words[i].length, j, k + 1);
if (false !== res) {
// console.log(i + 1, words[i], (k + 2), (j + 1), "DUR");
break wordFound; // found a word, break to wordFound
}
//DownLeft
res = findWordDownLeft(words[i], 1, words[i].length, j, k + 1);
if (false !== res) {
// console.log(i + 1, words[i], (k + 2), (j + 1), "DDL");
break wordFound; // found a word, break to wordFound
}
//DownRight
res = findWordDownRight(words[i], 1, words[i].length, j, k + 1);
if (false !== res) {
// console.log(i + 1, words[i], (k + 2), (j + 1), "DDR");
break wordFound; // found a word, break to wordFound
}
}
}
}
}
}
function findWordLeft(word, posW, wordL, j, k) {
var result = false;
if (posW == wordL) { // check if all characters were found
return true;
}
if (k > 0 && word.charAt(posW) == puzzle[j].charAt(k - 1)) {
result = findWordLeft(word, posW + 1, wordL, j, k - 1);
if (result !== false) {
return new Array(j, k - 1);
}
}
return result;
}
function findWordRight(word, posW, wordL, j, k) {
var result = false;
if (posW == wordL) { // check if all characters were found
return true;
}
if (k < columns && word.charAt(posW) == puzzle[j].charAt(k + 1)) {
result = findWordRight(word, posW + 1, wordL, j, k + 1);
if (result !== false) {
return new Array(j, k + 1);
}
}
return result;
}
function findWordUp(word, posW, wordL, j, k) {
var result = false;
if (posW == wordL) { // check if all characters were found
return true;
}
if (0 <= (j - 1) && word.charAt(posW) == puzzle[j - 1].charAt(k)) {
result = findWordUp(word, posW + 1, wordL, j - 1, k);
if (result !== false) {
return new Array(j - 1, k);
}
}
return result;
}
function findWordDown(word, posW, wordL, j, k) {
var result = false;
if (posW == wordL) { // check if all characters were found
return true;
}
if (rows > (j + 1) && word.charAt(posW) == puzzle[j + 1].charAt(k)) {
result = findWordDown(word, posW + 1, wordL, j + 1, k);
if (result !== false) {
return new Array(j + 1, k);
}
}
return result;
}
function findWordUpLeft(word, posW, wordL, j, k) {
var result = false;
if (posW == wordL) { // check if all characters were found
return true;
}
if (0 < k && 0 < j && word.charAt(posW) == puzzle[j - 1].charAt(k - 1)) {
result = findWordUpLeft(word, posW + 1, wordL, j - 1, k - 1);
if (result !== false) {
return new Array(j - 1, k - 1);
}
}
return result;
}
function findWordUpRight(word, posW, wordL, j, k) {
var result = false;
if (posW == wordL) { // check if all characters were found
return true;
}
if (columns > k && 0 < j && word.charAt(posW) == puzzle[j - 1].charAt(k + 1)) {
result = findWordUpRight(word, posW + 1, wordL, j - 1, k + 1);
if (result !== false) {
return new Array(j - 1, k + 1);
}
}
return result;
}
function findWordDownLeft(word, posW, wordL, j, k) {
var result = false;
if (posW == wordL) { // check if all characters were found
return true;
}
if (rows > (j + 1) && 0 < k && word.charAt(posW) == puzzle[j + 1].charAt(k - 1)) {
result = findWordDownLeft(word, posW + 1, wordL, j + 1, k - 1);
if (result !== false) {
return new Array(j + 1, k - 1);
}
}
return result;
}
function findWordDownRight(word, posW, wordL, j, k) {
var result = false;
if (posW == wordL) { // check if all characters were found
return true;
}
if (rows > (j + 1) && columns > k && word.charAt(posW) == puzzle[j + 1].charAt(k + 1)) {
result = findWordDownRight(word, posW + 1, wordL, j + 1, k + 1);
if (result !== false) {
return new Array(j + 1, k + 1);
}
}
return result;
}
})();
Here is what I get from the console:
1 "APPLICATION" 4 6 "DDR"
3 "BINARY" 3 12 "DUR"
4 "BLUETOOTH" "RL" 15 18
5 "BOOT" 11 12 "LR"
6 "BYTE" 15 18 "LR"
7 "CHAT" 12 6 "DDL"
8 "CLICK" 2 11 "DUR"
9 "COOKIE" "RL" 18 17
10 "CURSOR" 18 17 "U"
11 "DATA" 11 14 "DDL"
12 "DEFRAGMENT" 10 9 "DDL"
13 "DIRECTORY" 3 4 "LR"
14 "DISKDRIVE" 3 18 "DUR"
15 "DOS" 3 8 "DUR"
16 "DRAG" 6 18 "DUL"
17 "EMAIL" "RL" 5 2
18 "ENCRYPTION" 12 4 "D"
19 "FILE" 8 11 "U"
20 "FIREWALL" 3 17 "LR"
21 "FOLDER" 17 3 "D"
22 "GIF" 17 1 "D"
23 "GOOGLE" 18 6 "U"
24 "HTML" 18 10 "U"
25 "ICON" 2 7 "U"
26 "INTERNET" 16 1 "D"
27 "JAVASCRIPT" "RL" 10 1
28 "KERNAL" 3 11 "DDR"
30 "LOGIN" 17 11 "D"
31 "MEMORY" 4 2 "LR"
32 "MONITOR" 18 11 "DDL"
33 "MOUSE" 11 2 "LR"
34 "NANOSECOND" 2 17 "U"
35 "NETWORK" 16 16 "DUL"
36 "PARTITION" 9 7 "DDR"
37 "PASTE" 6 16 "DUL"
38 "PDF" "RL" 4 18
39 "PIXEL" "RL" 15 1
41 "PROGRAMMER" 12 16 "DUL"
42 "ROUTER" 10 13 "DDL"
43 "SAVEAS" "RL" 10 6
45 "SECURITY" 13 10 "U"
46 "SHAREWARE" 14 2 "D"
47 "SOFTWARE" 15 3 "D"
48 "SPAM" 15 11 "DUR"
49 "TASKBAR" "RL" 8 3
50 "THUMBNAIL" 18 9 "DDL"
51 "UNIX" "RL" 12 3
52 "WALLPAPER" 11 17 "DUL"
There seems to be something off with the way you indexing or the way you check for the boundaries. To be honest, I can't exactly tell you what the problem is, but I have a working version which is much shorter and with less code repetition. Maybe you can take something from that.
function solvePuzzle() {
// list of words that were found
var wFound = [];
console.log("Number of words:", words.length);
// loop over words
for (var i = 0; i < words.length; ++i) {
var fChar = words[i].charAt(0);
wordFound:
// loop over characters
for (var j = 0; j < rows; ++j) {
for (var k = 0; k < columns; ++k) {
// check first character
if (fChar == puzzle[j].charAt(k)) {
// iterate over all 9 directions
for (var dj = -1; dj <= 1; dj++) {
for (var dk = -1; dk <= 1; dk++) {
// skip invalid direction
if (dj == 0 && dk == 0) continue;
// try to find word
if (findWord(words[i], 0, j, k, dj, dk)) {
console.log(i + 1, words[i], k + 1, j + 1, getDirectionString(dj, dk));
// found a word
wFound.push(words[i]);
break wordFound;
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
console.log("Number of words found:", wFound.length);
}
function findWord(word, posW, j, k, dj, dk) {
// check if all characters were found
if (posW == word.length) return true;
// check if position is outside the boundaries
if (j < 0 || j >= rows || k < 0 || k >= columns) return false;
// check if current character fails to match the word
if (word.charAt(posW) != puzzle[j].charAt(k)) return false;
// check next character
return findWord(word, posW + 1, j + dj, k + dk, dj, dk);
}
function getDirectionString(dj, dk) {
switch (dj) {
case -1: switch (dk) { case -1: return "DUL"; case 0: return "U"; case 1: return "DUR"; } break;
case 0: switch (dk) { case -1: return "RL"; case 1: return "LR"; } break;
case 1: switch (dk) { case -1: return "DDL"; case 0: return "D"; case 1: return "DDR"; } break;
}
return "invalid";
}
The output is:
Number of words: 53
1 "APPLICATION" 4 6 "DDR"
2 "BACKUP" 1 10 "U"
3 "BINARY" 3 12 "DUR"
4 "BLUETOOTH" 15 18 "RL"
5 "BOOT" 11 12 "LR"
6 "BYTE" 15 18 "LR"
7 "CHAT" 12 6 "DDL"
8 "CLICK" 2 11 "DUR"
9 "COOKIE" 18 17 "RL"
10 "CURSOR" 18 17 "U"
11 "DATA" 11 14 "DDL"
12 "DEFRAGMENT" 10 9 "DDL"
13 "DIRECTORY" 3 4 "LR"
14 "DISKDRIVE" 3 18 "DUR"
15 "DOS" 3 8 "DUR"
16 "DRAG" 6 18 "DUL"
17 "EMAIL" 5 2 "RL"
18 "ENCRYPTION" 12 4 "D"
19 "FILE" 8 11 "U"
20 "FIREWALL" 3 17 "LR"
21 "FOLDER" 17 3 "D"
22 "GIF" 17 1 "D"
23 "GOOGLE" 18 6 "U"
24 "HTML" 18 10 "U"
25 "ICON" 2 7 "U"
26 "INTERNET" 16 1 "D"
27 "JAVASCRIPT" 10 1 "RL"
28 "KERNAL" 3 11 "DDR"
29 "LCD" 1 2 "D"
30 "LOGIN" 17 11 "D"
31 "MEMORY" 4 2 "LR"
32 "MONITOR" 18 11 "DDL"
33 "MOUSE" 11 2 "LR"
34 "NANOSECOND" 2 17 "U"
35 "NETWORK" 16 16 "DUL"
36 "PARTITION" 9 7 "DDR"
37 "PASTE" 6 16 "DUL"
38 "PDF" 4 18 "RL"
39 "PIXEL" 15 1 "RL"
40 "POWERSUPPLY" 1 5 "LR"
41 "PROGRAMMER" 12 16 "DUL"
42 "ROUTER" 10 13 "DDL"
43 "SAVEAS" 10 6 "RL"
44 "SCANNER" 1 17 "U"
45 "SECURITY" 13 10 "U"
46 "SHAREWARE" 14 2 "D"
47 "SOFTWARE" 15 3 "D"
48 "SPAM" 15 11 "DUR"
49 "TASKBAR" 8 3 "RL"
50 "THUMBNAIL" 18 9 "DDL"
51 "UNIX" 12 3 "RL"
52 "WALLPAPER" 11 17 "DUL"
Number of words found: 52