DWITE Online Computer Programming Contest
January 2008
Problem 4
Shortest path around

Sometimes an open field could be as much of a maze as narrow tunnels. Given an obstacle in an otherwise empty room, what is the shortest path around it?

The input file DATA4.txt will contain five sets of data, each a 10 by 10 character matrix. There will be a line of 10 dashes after each set, to visually delimit sets of data. The character representations are as follows:

The output file OUT4.txt will contain five lines -- each an integer distance between the two points marked with X.

There will always be only two X spots per set. There will always be a valid path. Valid steps are into any adjacent empty space; diagonal steps are legal. Refer to sample data for examples.

Sample Input (only first two sets given):
..........
..........
..........
....#.....
....#.....
X...#...X.
....#.....
....#.....
..........
..........
----------
..........
..........
........#.
........#.
X...#####X
...#......
..#.......
..........
..........
..........
----------
		        
Sample Output (only first two sets given):
8
9