This project implements a pathfinding solution for a sliding puzzle commonly found in video games. The puzzle involves navigating from a start ('S') to a finish ('F') position on a grid, where the player slides until obstructed by walls or rocks ('0') on a frictionless ice floor.

• Task 1 (Setup): Set up the project environment.
• Task 2 (Data Structure): Implement a data structure to represent the map grid.
• Task 3 (Map Parser): Create a parser to read map data from input files.
• Task 4 (Algorithm): Implement a pathfinding algorithm to find the shortest path from start to finish.

• src/: Contains the source code files.
• input/: Directory for input map files.
• README.md: Project documentation.
• LICENSE: License information.

The map is represented using a 2D array in Java. Each cell can contain '.', '0', 'S', 'F', or '@' (for the player's current position).

A parser reads the map from an input file (input/map.txt), determines its dimensions, and locates 'S', 'F', and '0' positions.

The algorithm uses BFS (Breadth-First Search) to find the shortest path from 'S' to 'F', accounting for sliding movement on ice until blocked.

For an input map file input/map.txt:

.....0...S
....0.....
0.....0..0
...0....0.
.F......0.
.0........
.......0..
.0.0..0..0
0.........
.00.....0.

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/DharshanSR/sliding-puzzle-pathfinding.git