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Quick kata: code cracker

2 Nov 2023 · 2 min read

This code cracker challenge is a great exercise to flex your programming muscles, especially in something new (like I did with rust). Let's break it down:

Challenge 1: Finding Possible Words Create a function that takes input text and outputs the substitution alphabet and each clue. For example:

example input

14 R
1 7 7 14 7 21
14 7 3 7 14 1 7

example output

Alphabet:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _  _  _  _  R  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _

Clue 1:
1 7 7 R 7 21

Now, search through a dictionary (e.g., /usr/dict/words) to find words matching the clue's length.

Challenge 2: Optimizing Options Print out all possible words that match the pattern. For 1 7 7 R 7 21, the output would be:

1 7 7 R 7 21

0: DEERES
1: JEERED
2: LEERED
3: PEERED
4: VEERED

Challenge 3: Play the Game Allow the player to fill in new letters in the substitution alphabet to play the next word. This could be a handy hint buddy for cracker enthusiasts.

Challenge 4: Solving a Full Game Create the ability to input an entire game, letting the program figure out a solution.

This challenge is not only a great exercise but also a fantastic way to learn a new programming language. Happy coding!

Looking for some more samples, check out the original authors work! codecracker.co.nz

As for my own solution? I'll post it soon, promise!

Thanks for reading.

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Practical notes on software engineering, AI-assisted development, developer tooling, and the projects I’m building. I send something useful once or twice a month. No noise.