FAQ   Search   Memberlist   Usergroups   Register   Profile   Log in          Games  Calendar Log in to check your private messages    Precise definition for x-wing, swordfish, jellyfish, etc..? Goto page 1, 2  Next          Sudoku Programmers Forum Index -> Solving sudoku View previous topic :: View next topic   Author Message MadOverlord Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Posts: 80 : Location: Wilmington, NC, USA Items Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 10:49 pm    Post subject: Precise definition for x-wing, swordfish, jellyfish, etc..? From another thread on this forum: AMcK wrote: Look for N columns (2 for X-wing, 3 for the Swordfish, 4 for a Jellyfish, 5 for a Squirmbag) with only two candidate cells for ONE given digit. If these fall on exactly N common rows, and each of those rows has at least 2 candidate cells, then all N rows can be cleared of that digit (except in the defining cells!). I'm playing around with implementing a deducer for these kind of patterns in the Susser, and there seems to be two definitions for them that I've run into. AFAICT, the more general definition seems to be: Look for N columns (2 for X-wing, 3 for the Swordfish, 4 for a Jellyfish, 5 for a Squirmbag) with 2 to N candidate cells for ONE given digit. If these fall on exactly N common rows, then all N rows can be cleared of that digit (except in the defining cells!). The test can also be done swapping rows for columns. It seems to me that you could actually look for columns with 1-N candidate cells (ie: includes solved cells), but if you find, say, a swordfish with such a cell, it degenerates to an x-wing. Note also that the requirement "and each of those rows has at least 2 candidate cells" seems to be extraneous. Consider the swordfish: Code: A..C..... ......... B..D..E.. ......... ......F.. The only possibilities are ADF or BCF. In practice, of course, most players would find the ABCD X-wing first, and F would be pinned. Comments? Once I get this nailed down I'll be able to implement not only a nice deducer for these patterns but also a nifty visualizer. Back to top Lummox JR Joined: 07 Sep 2005 Posts: 202 : Items Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 12:05 am    Post subject: The requirement for 2+ candidate cells is only there because if you have just 1 candidate, you have a hidden single. Assuming you've solved for all singles, any subset operation will always be based on 2+ candidates. This is why the swordfish situation never comes up in a case like you described, because the F is pinned before an X-wing on ABCD would ever be tried. If squirmbag is just a 5-col/row swordfish, then it doesn't exist in a 9x9 sudoku grid. Because X-wing, swordfish, and these other forms are all just a positional form of naked/hidden subsets, a 5-column squirmbag is equivalent to a 4-row jellyfish, or perhaps a lesser number of rows like 2 or 3 which is more common. This is by the same logic that equates a naked triple in 5 candidates to a hidden pair. If you have only have two of a particular digit locked down, leaving you 7 candidate columns and rows, and a 5-column squirmbag exists in those 7, then you can just as easily (actually more easily) find an X-wing in the 2 rows left out of the squirmbag. This is what I mean when I say this is a positional form of the subset rule: Naked and hidden subsets both operate on a binary graph of candiate digits and positions within a house. Observe the following: Code:        digit p   1 2 5 6 7 9 o s 2 X X   X i 4   X X   X t 5 X   X     X i 7 X   X X X o 8     X     X n 9 X   X     X What we have here is a hidden subset, where 2, 6, and 7 appear only in positions 2, 4, and 7. If you take only those 3 columns, you get only 3 active rows. However you can use this same graph with different values to find naked subsets. All you have to do is look for rows instead of columns. X-wing and swordfish are the same thing because you can change the labels on the graph. Skipping over any cols/rows where the target digit is accounted for, label the graph with any columns and rows where you aren't sure of the digit's position, and put an X in where any candidates may occur. If the code you use to solve for pairs, triples, etc. is robust enough, it should be easy to modify to use in this way. If not, I posted an algorithm that should handle the subset solving for you as long as you give it a table of bitwise values to work with. Back to top Nick67 Joined: 08 Sep 2005 Posts: 5 : Location: Sacramento, CA Items Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 12:29 am    Post subject: Quote: AFAICT, the more general definition seems to be: Look for N columns (2 for X-wing, 3 for the Swordfish, 4 for a Jellyfish, 5 for a Squirmbag) with 2 to N candidate cells for ONE given digit. If these fall on exactly N common rows, then all N rows can be cleared of that digit (except in the defining cells!). The test can also be done swapping rows for columns. I like your revised definition. For what it's worth, here is an informal proof: Code: * Let's call the selected candidate value "X". * In the puzzle solution, X must   appear in exactly 1 cell in each of the   N columns in the pattern.   So, these cells form a group (let's call it "G") of exactly N cells   within the pattern. * All pattern cells are located   inside a set of N rows. Let's call this set "S". * Each of the cells in G must be on a different row in S.  * So there must be exactly 1 cell from group G   in each row in S. * Therefore, we can eliminate X as a candidate   for all cells outside the pattern in each row in S. Quote: It seems to me that you could actually look for columns with 1-N candidate cells (ie: includes solved cells), but if you find, say, a swordfish with such a cell, it degenerates to an x-wing. . I agree with "1 to N" instead of "2 to N". Then, your pattern-finder could recognize patterns containing singles. I would guess that most solvers recognize singles before looking for such patterns, but that doesn't seem to be necessary. Quote: Note also that the requirement "and each of those rows has at least 2 candidate cells" seems to be extraneous. I agree. There seems to be no reason to make this additional check. (For example, the proof above does not depend on this condition). Back to top MadOverlord Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Posts: 80 : Location: Wilmington, NC, USA Items Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 12:37 am    Post subject: Lummox JR wrote: The requirement for 2+ candidate cells is only there because if you have just 1 candidate, you have a hidden single. Assuming you've solved for all singles, any subset operation will always be based on 2+ candidates. This is why the swordfish situation never comes up in a case like you described, because the F is pinned before an X-wing on ABCD would ever be tried. OK, that means it's safe for me to use the more generalized code (as in the example above). The reason I need to do so (apart from it making the code simpler) is that in the Sudoku Susser, it's possible for people to turn rules on and off, so someone might run the rule before the simpler reductions have been done. Quote: If squirmbag is just a 5-col/row swordfish, then it doesn't exist in a 9x9 sudoku grid. Right, you'll never see it during an all-rules deduction. But I've added it for completeness. I've got a generalized find_wing routine that takes a parameter N=2 (x-wing), 3 (swordfish), etc., so it's no trouble to mention squirmbags. Are there names for N=6,7,8 patterns? Quote: If the code you use to solve for pairs, triples, etc. is robust enough, it should be easy to modify to use in this way. If not, I posted an algorithm that should handle the subset solving for you as long as you give it a table of bitwise values to work with. Right, it immediately became clear to me that I could crib my "comprehensive locked set" code to find these patterns. Instead of having a 9-square row of possibility bitmaps, you have, for each possibility, a set of bitmaps that show what squares in the row have that possibility. Then it's just find a union of N rows that has N bits set (or vice-versa for columns) One other side-effect was that I was able to add code to the Fishy-Cycles routine to identify the simpler subpatterns and mention what they were. If you have a 2-edge fishy cycle where all the edges are rows and all the vertexes are columns (or vice-versa), that's a simple X-wing. A 3-edger with the same constraints is a swordfish. And a 2-edger that fails the constraints is a generalized X-wing as per http://users.pandora.be/vandenberghe.jef/sudoku/index.html?how2solve Back to top xyzzy Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 80 : Items Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 2:32 am    Post subject: Quote: I agree. There seems to be no reason to make this additional check. (For example, the proof above does not depend on this condition). The two or more is just an optimization of the algorithm's implimentation. Most human and computer solvers will search and find singles (N=1) before they search for pairs/x-wings (N=2). In this case, every row in an X-wing/swordfish/etc. will have at least two candidate cells. It's not that the rows need to have at least two, just that they will, and so rows with one candidate can be excluded from the search. It's easy to optimize the searcha bit more. If you're searching for a group of N rows, then you know that each row will have between 1 and N candidate cells. e.g. if you're searching for X-wings you don't need to consider rows with 3 cells, they can't be in an X-wing. Back to top MadOverlord Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Posts: 80 : Location: Wilmington, NC, USA Items Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 5:53 am    Post subject: BTW, are there any defined names for higher-order patterns (ie: 6x6, 7x7, 8x8, 9x9) or are they even possible? If a 9x9 is possible, I reckon we should call it a Cthulu... Back to top xyzzy Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 80 : Items Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 9:45 am    Post subject: MadOverlord wrote: BTW, are there any defined names for higher-order patterns (ie: 6x6, 7x7, 8x8, 9x9) or are they even possible? If a 9x9 is possible, I reckon we should call it a Cthulu... N=9 isn't possible unless your grid is completely empty with no known cells at all. And even then, once you find the pattern you remove the possibilities from every row (or column) not in the pattern. If the pattern has nine rows, then there aren't any rows not in it, and so you remove nothing. Patterns with N>4 rows exist of course, but aren't necessary, as a corresponding pattern of size 9-N exists in columns. For example, in this grid X, +, and * are places a certain digit can go, while . represents places it can't. Code:   a b c d e f g h i 1 X . X . . . . . . 2 X . . . X . . . . 3 . . . + . . . + + 4 X . X . X . . . . 5 . . * . . . . . + 6 . + . . . . . + . 7 . . . . * + + . . 8 . + * + . + . . . 9 . . . . * . + . . There is a N=3 locked set with rows 1, 2, and 4 (the X's). Row 1 can be in columns {ac}, row 2 in {ae} and row 4 in {ace}. The union of these sets is {ace} which has three columns in it for three rows. So we can remove as a possibility the columns {ace} from all the rows other than {124}, which are the cells with *'s. There is also a locked set with size N=6 with the columns b, d, f, g, h, and i (all the +'s). These are the columns that weren't used in the previous locked set. Column b can has rows {68}, column d has {38}, and so on. The union is the rows {356789}, which are all the rows that weren't in the N=3 locked set. This means we can remove the rows {356789} from the columns that aren't {bdefgi}. Which is, again, all the *'s. So there's really no point in naming N=5 or more, because there always exists a corresponding pattern with N<5 that does the exact same thing. Back to top DHallman Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 24 : Location: Inglewood, CA 90302 USA Items Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 2:00 am    Post subject: Why cant I use a sword 3-fish Angus, After many steps Simple Sudoku gives me the following filter on 4s: Code:  ... ...  ...  ... bxb .b.  ... .4. .b.  ... b.b 4..  ... .4. 4..  ... ... ...  ... bxb .B.  ... ... ...  ... ... ... where b is my column bbb bbb and B is the extension of bb and x to be excluded Why do you allow 7,5 to be excluded but not 2,5? BTW how can I copy your image.png into here? I see others doing it. The saved file is: Code:  *-----------*  |654|.9.|...|  |..1|...|9.5|  |.8.|...|6..|  |---+---+---|  |...|.6.|.31|  |...|2.5|...|  |46.|.8.|...|  |---+---+---|  |..9|...|.6.|  |7.8|...|1..|  |...|.3.|594|  *-----------* I746 I702 I713 I644 I675 E75001 E77011 E77002 E57007 E59017 E57008 E59018 E58007 I553 I545 I189 E53002 E44007 E53017 I539 I446 I525 I063 I379 I215 I295 E43004 E47003 I361 I731 I278 I093 I233 I483 I383 I722 I501 Back to top angusj Site Admin Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Posts: 406 : Items Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 9:42 am    Post subject: Re: Why cant I use a sword 3-fish DHallman wrote: After many steps Simple Sudoku gives me the following filter on 4s I certainly don't understand your b's an B's. Anyhow this is what I get when filtering on 4's (and it certainly isn't the way forward so I don't see why you might be interested in them): DHallman wrote: BTW how can I copy your image.png into here? I see others doing it. 1. Save the image to file (File | Save Image As) in SS. 2. Upload the image here - http://www.imageshack.us/ 3. Copy the "direct link" given by imageshack into your post enclosed in IMG tags. nb: Don't paste images here unless you think it'll help illustrate your problem (or solution) as it's much easier to copy and paste the text representation of the puzzle into SS than manually copying each given from an image. Back to top DHallman Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 24 : Location: Inglewood, CA 90302 USA Items Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Why cant I use a sword 3-fish Angus, I normally highlight (mark) in blue the rows or columns of fish so I can better see them. b indicated actuak 4s and B the extension in c I had eliminated the 4 at r5c8 and somehow at r3c4 & r3c6. Thus arriving at a swordfish using c4,c6 & c8. Which should have allowed me to eliminate r2c5 & r7c5. What did I do wrong? Back to top Nick67 Joined: 08 Sep 2005 Posts: 5 : Location: Sacramento, CA Items Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 6:56 am    Post subject: I think you may have an off-by-one error here: Code:  ... ...  ...  ... bxb .b.  ... .4. .b.  ... b.b 4..  ... .4. 4..  ... ... ...  ... bxb .B.  ... ... ...  ... ... ... Consider the b in r3c8 ... it does not share a row with other b's. So the group of b cells is not quite a swordfish (... but it would be if that same b was in r4c8 instead). Back to top DHallman Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 24 : Location: Inglewood, CA 90302 USA Items Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 6:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Why cant I use a sword 3-fish Nick67, Thank you. I did not realise that a fish had to have all rows AND columns occupied when present. Ie no stragglers except for extensions for shorter rows (or columns). Back to top DHallman Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 24 : Location: Inglewood, CA 90302 USA Items Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 6:55 pm    Post subject: Nick67 wrote: Quote: AFAICT, the more general definition seems to be: Look for N columns (2 for X-wing, 3 for the Swordfish, 4 for a Jellyfish, 5 for a Squirmbag) with 2 to N candidate cells for ONE given digit. If these fall on exactly N common rows, then all N rows can be cleared of that digit (except in the defining cells!). The test can also be done swapping rows for columns. I like your revised definition. Quote: It seems to me that you could actually look for columns with 1-N candidate cells (ie: includes solved cells), but if you find, say, a swordfish with such a cell, it degenerates to an x-wing. . I agree with "1 to N" instead of "2 to N". Then, your pattern-finder could recognize patterns containing singles. I would guess that most solvers recognize singles before looking for such patterns, but that doesn't seem to be necessary. Quote: Note also that the requirement "and each of those rows has at least 2 candidate cells" seems to be extraneous. I agree. There seems to be no reason to make this additional check. (For example, the proof above does not depend on this condition). Nick, Your last statement above does not seem to agree with your last post re my problem. Quote: Code: Code:  ... ...  ...  ... bxb .b.  ... .4. .b.  ... b.b 4..  ... .4. 4..  ... ... ...  ... bxb .B.  ... ... ...  ... ... ... I had eliminated the 4 at r5c8 and somehow at r3c4 & r3c6. Thus arriving at a swordfish using c4,c6 & c8. Which should have allowed me to eliminate r2c5 & r7c5. What did I do wrong? I am now confused. Back to top angusj Site Admin Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Posts: 406 : Items Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:35 pm    Post subject: DHallman wrote: I am now confused. Nick67 is correct, your b's don't line up to make a swordfish. You appear to have missed an important condition of swordfish. Here's my definition here: http://www.angusj.com/sudoku/hints.php#swordfish . Looking at your grid, it satisfied only half the conditions required - ie three columns each contain three 4s, but the candidates in these columns are in more than three rows (rows 2,3,4 & 7). Back to top DHallman Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 24 : Location: Inglewood, CA 90302 USA Items Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:05 pm    Post subject: Re: Why cant I use a sword 3-fish Nick & Angus, Thank you for the definitions. I did not notice that all marked candidates had to be in the same rows. I'll hope to do better and not get any more invalid moves. 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