Sudoku Cracker executable (Windows version).

Prerequisites

Ensure that you have created a directory for Cragcross progams, referenced by an environment variable, CRAGCROSS_DIR: see here for instructions..

Why write a program to solve a sudoku puzzle?

I decided to try and write a rust program to solve Sudoku grids.

Some of you will, no doubt, think that this goes against the whole point of solving a challenging logic puzzle: I agree.

However, most of the cryptic crosswords that I do today have the solutions available... except for the prize ones where I have to wait a week to see if I got the answers right or, more irritatingly find the two missing letters in a five-letter word. I imagine that the even the most experienced Sudoku solvers can occasionally make a mistake and long for a quick way of checking where they went wrong.

Moreover, within a few weeks of starting to solve Sudokus, I wondered if I could design a starting grid that was consistent and could be used to produce a solution: this program can be used to check any initial grid you may supply. (N.B., This does not begin to address the much harder problem of how to prove that a grid supplies enough info to be classed as easy/medium/hard.)

Installation

Execute the following steps:

Find a test Sudoku from a newspaper or online site, to use later.
Create a target folder, SC, on your Windows Cragcross base directory; e.g., C:\Cragcross\SC (used below).
Using the following link, save the attached sudoku_cracker.7z to C:\Cragcross\SC: Download sudoku_cracker.7z.
Double-click on sudoku_cracker_windows.7z to expand. (If not the default action, right-click and select extract.)

Usage test

When the sudocracker.exe is available, execute the following steps:

Double-click on sudocracker.exe to start the program.

Add the numbers from the test Sudoku to the starting grid, the press the "Find solution" button.

Let me know of any problems you may encounter...