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Project Info

Name:JFX Maze GenerationStarted:2023-03-01Finished:2023-03-20

Table of Contents

Visualizing Maze Generation Algorithms with JavaFXMotivationMaze Generation AlgorithmsWhat I learned

Visualizing Maze Generation Algorithms with JavaFX

One of the projects I undertook to dive deeper into GUI development in Java was "JFX Maze Generation". The core idea was to visually display how different maze generation algorithms work while learning JavaFX for creating graphical interfaces.

Motivation

My goal was to better understand how to build GUIs in Java, and what better way than to create a project that not only looks visually interesting but also allows me to learn how different algorithms work under the hood. By showing the step-by-step creation of mazes with animations, I could see these algorithms in action and learn both algorithmic thinking and GUI development.

Maze Generation Algorithms

In this project, I implemented various maze generation algorithms, each of which can be visually displayed through the JavaFX interface. Below are some of the algorithms I experimented with:

Recursive Backtracking Algorithm

The recursive backtracking algorithm is one of the most commonly used maze generation techniques. It works by recursively visiting cells and "backtracking" when hitting dead ends, eventually covering the entire grid.

Random Branches Algorithm

This algorithm generates a maze by randomly creating branches that extend from a starting point. It doesn’t guarantee a perfect maze but creates interesting patterns.

Binary Tree Algorithm

The binary tree maze generation algorithm is simple yet effective. It divides the grid into two regions (usually up and right) and carves out a maze by eliminating walls between cells.

Custom Maze Sizes

An exciting feature of the project was the ability to change the size of the maze dynamically. Whether you want a small or large maze, you can adjust the size through the UI and instantly see the maze generation process.

What I learned

Working on this project allowed me to get comfortable with JavaFX. The visual nature of the project also gave me quick feedback on what I was doing right and where I needed to improve. Looking back at it what I could have improved the most was seperating logic and gui, which I accomplished in my following JavaFX Project. Not having a clear seperation between the two gave me many problems in implementing the maze algorithms, because they constantly had to keep in touch with the frontend, and JavaFX does not like being interferred from another thread, where the algorithms had to be running on to not interrupt the frontend experience.

Written: 2024-09-16