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Grid navigation · Procedural thinking

Treasure Map

Navigate a grid with precise directions. Procedural thinking, made tactile.

Give the explorer step-by-step directions: north, east, south, west. The grid is your data structure, the directions are your program, the treasure is correctness. This is the smallest possible model of pathfinding — the algorithm class that powers GPS routing, robot navigation, and game AI.

What’s happening under the hood

  • ›Grid = 2D array. Position = (row, col). Each direction is a coordinate transform: north = (row-1, col), east = (row, col+1).
  • ›Pathfinding algorithms (Dijkstra, A*) explore the same grid by searching outward from the start until they reach the goal. Same data structure, smarter search.
  • ›Real pathfinding adds obstacles, weighted edges (cost per move), and heuristics (best guess at distance to goal). Same primitive, layered sophistication.

Dig deeper

Phase 1 · Programming Fundamentals

The concept you just explored is taught with full depth in the formal DURA curriculum.