From: James Edward Gray II <james@...>
Date: 2007-01-08T01:53:57+09:00
Subject: Re: [QUIZ] Word Blender (#108)

Here's the solution I wrote while considering this quiz (it requires  
Unix):

#!/usr/bin/env ruby -w

require "io/wait"

# game date cache
CACHE_FILE = ".game_words"

if File.exist? CACHE_FILE  # load from cache
   word_list = File.open(CACHE_FILE) { |file| Marshal.load(file) }
else                       # build word list
   # prepare data structure
   words_by_signature = Hash.new { |words, sig| words[sig] = Array.new }

   # read dictionary
   File.foreach(ARGV.shift || "/usr/share/dict/words") do |word|
     word.downcase!
     word.delete!("^a-z")

     next unless word.length.between? 3, 6

     (words_by_signature[word.split("").sort.join] << word).uniq!
   end

   # prepare recursive signature search
   def choices(sig, seen = Hash.new { |all, cur| all[cur] = true;  
false }, &blk)
     sig.length.times do |i|
       shorter = sig[0...i] + sig[(i+1)...sig.length]
       unless seen[shorter]
         blk[shorter]
         choices(shorter, seen, &blk) unless shorter.length == 3
       end
     end
   end

   # prepare game data structure
   word_list = Hash.new

   # build game choices
   words_by_signature.keys.grep(/\A.{6}\Z/) do |possible|
     word_list[possible] = words_by_signature[possible]

     choices(possible) do |shorter_signature|
       if words_by_signature.include? shorter_signature
         word_list[possible].push(*words_by_signature 
[shorter_signature])
       end
     end
   end

   # cache for faster loads
   File.open(CACHE_FILE, "w") { |file| Marshal.dump(word_list, file) }
end

### game interface (requires Unix) ###
TERMINAL_STATE = `stty -g`
system "stty raw -echo cbreak"
at_exit { system "stty #{TERMINAL_STATE}" }
clear = `clear`

# a raw mode savvy puts
def out(*args) print(*(args + ["\r\n"])) end

# for easy selection
words = word_list.keys

rounds = 0
loop do
   # select letters
   letters = current = words[rand(words.size)]
   while word_list.include? letters
     letters = letters.split("").sort_by { rand }.join
   end
   letters.gsub!(/.(?=.)/, '\0 ')

   # round data
   advance       = false
   matches       = Array.new
   current_match = String.new
   start         = Time.now
   message       = nil
   last_update   = start - 1

   # round event loop
   until Time.now >= start + 2 * 60
     # game display
     if last_update <= Time.now - 1
       print clear

       out "Your letters:  #{letters}"
       out "   Time left:  #{120 - (Time.now - start).round} seconds"
       out "  Your words:  #{matches.join(', ')}"
       out
       unless message.nil?
         out message
         out
       end
       print current_match
       $stdout.flush

       last_update = Time.now
     end

     # input handler
     if $stdin.ready?
       char = $stdin.getc
   		case char
			when ?a..?z, ?A..?Z  # read input
			  current_match << char.chr.downcase
			  message       =  nil
         last_update   =  start - 1
       when ?\b, 127        # backspace/delete
         current_match = current_match[0..-2]
			  message       =  nil
         last_update   =  start - 1
       when ?\r, ?\n        # test entered word
         if word_list[current].include? current_match
           matches << current_match
           matches = matches.sort_by { |word| [word.size, word] }
           if not advance and current_match.length == 6
             advance = true
             message = "You will advance to the next round!"
           else
   			    message = nil
           end
         else
           message = "Unknown word."
         end
         current_match = String.new
         last_update   = start - 1
   		end
     end
   end

   # round results
   print clear
   missed = word_list[current] - matches
   unless missed.empty?
     out "Other words using \"#{letters}:\""
     out missed.sort_by { |word| [word.size, word] }.join(", ")
     out
   end
   if advance
     rounds += 1

     out "You made #{matches.size} word#{'s' if matches.size != 1}, ",
         "including at least one six letter word.  Nice work."
     out "Press any key to begin the next round."

     $stdin.getc
   else
     out "You made #{matches.size} word#{'s' if matches.size != 1}, ",
         "but failed to find a six letter word."

     break  # end game
   end
end

# game results
out "You completed #{rounds} round#{'s' if rounds != 1}.  Thanks for  
playing."

__END__

James Edward Gray II