A* Visualizer

This program visualizes the process of finding the shortest path between two cells on a grid using the A* search algorithm.

Cloning instructions

The project uses OpenGL with GLFW and glad for rendering. GLFW is added as a submodule so the --recurse-submodules flag must be used when cloning:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/qqpilla/A-Star-Visualizer

Alternatively, in case you cloned the repo without specifying the -recurse-submodules flag you can run the following commands:

git submodule init
git submodule update

or the shorter version:

git submodule update --init

Build instructions

CMake must be installed on your system for building the application.

Create a build directory and cd into it. To generate CMake files use this command:

cmake -G <generator-name> <path-to-source>

where you need to specify the generator you want to use and a path to the project's root folder. For example, when running the command from the build directory that is a child of the project's root directory for building the program with Visual Studio 2022 the syntax is as follows:

cmake -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" ..

The -G <generator-name> option may be omitted. CMake will select a compiler itself depending on your system. For a list of all compilers accessible on your platform you can use cmake --help command.

Finally, to build the project run cmake --build . from the build directory. You will find the executable called program inside the build directory or one of its subdirectories (depending on the generator used)

Controls

• Press the Space bar to switch between placing Start/Finish cells and blocking/unblocking cells.
• Click/hold the Left Mouse Button to place the Start cell or to block a cell.
• Click/hold the Right Mouse Button to place the Finish cell or unblock a blocked cell.
• Press the R key to reset the scene.
• Press the C key to cancel the algorithm processing.
• Press the Escape key to exit the application.