Answer: Debug the Robot #250

Here’s the bug

Steps 7 and 8 are in the wrong order. It should be Turn left and then Forward, not the other way round.

Did you find a different fix that also gets Beep to the battery? That counts too! There is often more than one way to fix a bug. The important thing is that you tested it step by step.

The fixed program

1. Turn left
2. Forward
3. Turn left
4. Forward
5. Forward
6. Forward
7. Turn left
8. Forward
9. Forward
10. Forward
11. Forward
12. Turn left
13. Forward

What the buggy program did

Here is what happens if Beep follows the program with the bug, step by step. Beep bumps into a wall.

Step	Command	Beep is now at	Facing	Note
1	Turn left	column 5, row 6	right
2	Forward	column 6, row 6	right
3	Turn left	column 6, row 6	up
4	Forward	column 6, row 5	up
5	Forward	column 6, row 4	up
6	Forward	column 6, row 3	up
7	Forward	column 6, row 2	up
8	Turn left	column 6, row 2	left
9	Forward	column 6, row 2	left	Bump! A wall or the edge is in the way.

Check it with Python

This Python program pretends to be Beep. It follows the fixed program and checks for walls on the way. In Python, squares are counted from 0, so column 1, row 1 is (0, 0).

program = "LFLFFFLFFFFLF"
walls = [(2, 4), (2, 5), (3, 3), (4, 1), (4, 4), (5, 0), (6, 1), (6, 3), (6, 5)]
width, height = 7, 6
x, y, facing = 4, 5, "down"

moves = {"up": (0, -1), "right": (1, 0), "down": (0, 1), "left": (-1, 0)}
turn_left = {"up": "left", "left": "down", "down": "right", "right": "up"}
turn_right = {"up": "right", "right": "down", "down": "left", "left": "up"}

for step in program:
    if step == "F":
        dx, dy = moves[facing]
        if (x + dx, y + dy) in walls or not (0 <= x + dx < width and 0 <= y + dy < height):
            print("Bump! Beep hit a wall at", (x, y))
            break
        x, y = x + dx, y + dy
    elif step == "L":
        facing = turn_left[facing]
    elif step == "R":
        facing = turn_right[facing]

print("Beep finished at", (x, y), "facing", facing)

When you run it, it prints:

Beep finished at (1, 3) facing down

The battery is at (1, 3) in Python’s counting, so Beep made it! Try putting the buggy program, "LFLFFFFLFFFLF", back in and see what Python says.