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advent-of-code/2022/day09/README.org
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** --- Day 9: Rope Bridge ---
This rope bridge creaks as you walk along it. You aren't sure how old it
is, or whether it can even support your weight.
It seems to support the Elves just fine, though. The bridge spans a
gorge which was carved out by the massive river far below you.
You step carefully; as you do, the ropes stretch and twist. You decide
to distract yourself by modeling rope physics; maybe you can even figure
out where /not/ to step.
Consider a rope with a knot at each end; these knots mark the /head/ and
the /tail/ of the rope. If the head moves far enough away from the tail,
the tail is pulled toward the head.
Due to nebulous reasoning involving
[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_units#Planck_length][Planck
lengths]], you should be able to model the positions of the knots on a
two-dimensional grid. Then, by following a hypothetical /series of
motions/ (your puzzle input) for the head, you can determine how the
tail will move.
Due to the aforementioned Planck lengths, the rope must be quite short;
in fact, the head (=H=) and tail (=T=) must /always be touching/
(diagonally adjacent and even overlapping both count as touching):
#+begin_example
....
.TH.
....
....
.H..
..T.
....
...
.H. (H covers T)
...
#+end_example
If the head is ever two steps directly up, down, left, or right from the
tail, the tail must also move one step in that direction so it remains
close enough:
#+begin_example
..... ..... .....
.TH.. -> .T.H. -> ..TH.
..... ..... .....
... ... ...
.T. .T. ...
.H. -> ... -> .T.
... .H. .H.
... ... ...
#+end_example
Otherwise, if the head and tail aren't touching and aren't in the same
row or column, the tail always moves one step diagonally to keep up:
#+begin_example
..... ..... .....
..... ..H.. ..H..
..H.. -> ..... -> ..T..
.T... .T... .....
..... ..... .....
..... ..... .....
..... ..... .....
..H.. -> ...H. -> ..TH.
.T... .T... .....
..... ..... .....
#+end_example
You just need to work out where the tail goes as the head follows a
series of motions. Assume the head and the tail both start at the same
position, overlapping.
For example:
#+begin_example
R 4
U 4
L 3
D 1
R 4
D 1
L 5
R 2
#+end_example
This series of motions moves the head /right/ four steps, then /up/ four
steps, then /left/ three steps, then /down/ one step, and so on. After
each step, you'll need to update the position of the tail if the step
means the head is no longer adjacent to the tail. Visually, these
motions occur as follows (=s= marks the starting position as a reference
point):
#+begin_example
== Initial State ==
......
......
......
......
H..... (H covers T, s)
== R 4 ==
......
......
......
......
TH.... (T covers s)
......
......
......
......
sTH...
......
......
......
......
s.TH..
......
......
......
......
s..TH.
== U 4 ==
......
......
......
....H.
s..T..
......
......
....H.
....T.
s.....
......
....H.
....T.
......
s.....
....H.
....T.
......
......
s.....
== L 3 ==
...H..
....T.
......
......
s.....
..HT..
......
......
......
s.....
.HT...
......
......
......
s.....
== D 1 ==
..T...
.H....
......
......
s.....
== R 4 ==
..T...
..H...
......
......
s.....
..T...
...H..
......
......
s.....
......
...TH.
......
......
s.....
......
....TH
......
......
s.....
== D 1 ==
......
....T.
.....H
......
s.....
== L 5 ==
......
....T.
....H.
......
s.....
......
....T.
...H..
......
s.....
......
......
..HT..
......
s.....
......
......
.HT...
......
s.....
......
......
HT....
......
s.....
== R 2 ==
......
......
.H.... (H covers T)
......
s.....
......
......
.TH...
......
s.....
#+end_example
After simulating the rope, you can count up all of the positions the
/tail visited at least once/. In this diagram, =s= again marks the
starting position (which the tail also visited) and =#= marks other
positions the tail visited:
#+begin_example
..##..
...##.
.####.
....#.
s###..
#+end_example
So, there are =13= positions the tail visited at least once.
Simulate your complete hypothetical series of motions. /How many
positions does the tail of the rope visit at least once?/