r"""
Problem:
The n queens problem is of placing N queens on a N * N chess board such that no queen
can attack any other queens placed on that chess board. This means that one queen
cannot have any other queen on its horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines.
Solution:
To solve this problem we will use simple math. First we know the queen can move in all
the possible ways, we can simplify it in this: vertical, horizontal, diagonal left and
diagonal right.
We can visualize it like this:
left diagonal = \
right diagonal = /
On a chessboard vertical movement could be the rows and horizontal movement could be
the columns.
In programming we can use an array, and in this array each index could be the rows and
each value in the array could be the column. For example:
. Q . . We have this chessboard with one queen in each column and each queen
. . . Q can't attack to each other.
Q . . . The array for this example would look like this: [1, 3, 0, 2]
. . Q .
So if we use an array and we verify that each value in the array is different to each
other we know that at least the queens can't attack each other in horizontal and
vertical.
At this point we have that halfway completed and we will treat the chessboard as a
Cartesian plane. Hereinafter we are going to remember basic math, so in the school we
learned this formula:
Slope of a line:
y2 - y1
m = ----------
x2 - x1
This formula allow us to get the slope. For the angles 45º (right diagonal) and 135º
(left diagonal) this formula gives us m = 1, and m = -1 respectively.
See::
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/write-equation-line-that-hits-origin-45-degree-1474860
Then we have this another formula:
Slope intercept:
y = mx + b
b is where the line crosses the Y axis (to get more information see:
https://www.mathsisfun.com/y_intercept.html), if we change the formula to solve for b
we would have:
y - mx = b
And like we already have the m values for the angles 45º and 135º, this formula would
look like this:
45º: y - (1)x = b
45º: y - x = b
135º: y - (-1)x = b
135º: y + x = b
y = row
x = column
Applying this two formulas we can check if a queen in some position is being attacked
for another one or vice versa.
"""
from typing import List
def depth_first_search(
possible_board: List[int],
diagonal_right_collisions: List[int],
diagonal_left_collisions: List[int],
boards: List[List[str]],
n: int,
) -> None:
"""
>>> boards = []
>>> depth_first_search([], [], [], boards, 4)
>>> for board in boards:
... print(board)
['. Q . . ', '. . . Q ', 'Q . . . ', '. . Q . ']
['. . Q . ', 'Q . . . ', '. . . Q ', '. Q . . ']
"""
row = len(possible_board)
if row == n:
boards.append([". " * i + "Q " + ". " * (n - 1 - i) for i in possible_board])
return
for col in range(n):
if (
col in possible_board
or row - col in diagonal_right_collisions
or row + col in diagonal_left_collisions
):
continue
depth_first_search(
possible_board + [col],
diagonal_right_collisions + [row - col],
diagonal_left_collisions + [row + col],
boards,
n,
)
def n_queens_solution(n: int) -> None:
boards: List[List[str]] = []
depth_first_search([], [], [], boards, n)
for board in boards:
for column in board:
print(column)
print("")
print(len(boards), "solutions were found.")
if __name__ == "__main__":
import doctest
doctest.testmod()
n_queens_solution(4)