PathMapper

A data structures project utilizing Dijkistra algorithm and Adjacency List to find the shortest path between two nodes.

Overview

PathMapper - An end semester project for EC-200 Data Structure course.

We were told to make use of what we had learned of Data Structures over the course of the semester and make a program that had the following features:

• Map shortest path between two cities (inter-city).
• Map shortest path between two towns within a city (intra-city).
• Map shortest path between two cities while visiting a particular city i.e. from city A to city C via city B.
• The path should be based on either shortest time taken or shortest distance required.

We were also made to find the time complexity of the entire project.
All the requirements of the project were fulfilled with homegrown Adjancency List and Dijkistra algorithm.
The complete project manual can be found here.

Layout

The project is essentially divided into three main classes, namely AdjacencyList, App and Program.

• AdjacencyList is the main class here since it handles the creation of vertex, edges and mapping out the smallest path.
• App class, wraps over the AdjacencyList and provides functions for ease of use.
• Program class is responsible for running the entire project.

The project could very well work by just using the AdjacencyList class.

Dataset

For this project to work, it needs a file called dataset.json. It essentially contains the record of all the cities, towns, the distances between them and the time taken to reach a certain town. For easier testing a dataset.json file has been attached with this project which contains a list of some major cities and towns of Pakistan. Furthermore, a file called dataset.json.example is also provided for easier understanding.

Dependency

This project uses the nlohmann.json package for handling .json files.
Do remember to include it (if not included) to the project. More info on how to include a package to Visual Studio 2019 can be found here.

Building and Running

After the dependency has been added, simply open the project in Visual Studio 2019 and click the run icon in the toolbar. Visual Studio will build the project and run it for you.

Outputs

An example of outputs that can be expected can be seen here.