Ingrid Core

This crate contains the core crossword-solving code used in the Ingrid construction app, as well as a standalone binary that can be used to solve grids from the command line.

Usage

After setting up Rust, you can install the Ingrid Core CLI tool with cargo:

$ cargo install ingrid_core

Then you just need to provide a grid as an input file:

$ cat example_grid.txt
....#.....#....
....#.....#....
...............
......##.......
###.....#......
............###
.....#.....#...
....#.....#....
...#.....#.....
###cremebrulees
......#.....###
.......##......
...............
....#.....#....
....#.....#....
$ ingrid_core example_grid.txt
bile#seeit#slaw
room#lasso#pone
intimateapparel
garret##whirred
###amens#easels
wisterialane###
aloes#nuevo#tnt
ssns#betty#ciao
pas#wipes#pelts
###cremebrulees
dealin#deere###
imgonna##aesops
goingintodetail
utne#anise#atta
pegs#lemur#shay

You can also use a custom word list (the default is Spread the Wordlist) or customize various other options:

$ ingrid_core --help
ingrid_core: Command-line crossword generation tool

Usage: ingrid_core [OPTIONS] <GRID_PATH>

Arguments:
  <GRID_PATH>  Path to the grid file, as ASCII with # representing blocks and . representing empty squares

Options:
      --wordlist <WORDLIST>
          Path to a scored wordlist file [default: (embedded copy of Spread the Wordlist)]
      --min-score <MIN_SCORE>
          Minimum allowable word score [default: 50]
      --max-shared-substring <MAX_SHARED_SUBSTRING>
          Maximum shared substring length between entries [default: none]
  -h, --help
          Print help information
  -V, --version
          Print version information

Acknowledgments

• The backtracking search implementation in this library owes a lot to "Adaptive Strategies for Solving Constraint Satisfaction Problems" by Thanasis Balafoutis, which was helpful both as an overview of the CSP space and a source of specific implementation ideas.

• The CLI tool includes a copy of the free Spread the Wordlist dictionary published by Brooke Husic and Enrique Henestroza Anguiano.