The Old New Thing

Finding the shortest path to the ground while avoiding obstacles

July 28, 2014 Jul 28, 2014 07/28/14

Raymond Chen

Today's Little Program solves the following problem: Consider a two-dimensional board, tall and narrow. Into the board are nailed a number of horizontal obstacles. Place a water faucet at the top of the board and turn it on. The water will dribble down, and when it hits an obstacle, some of the water will go left and some will go right. The...