Route_optimizer

Overview

This C++ application finds optimal routes between cities based on either the fastest or cheapest path. It implements Dijkstra's algorithm to calculate the best route and generates an HTML output displaying the journey details.

Features

• Finds optimal routes between two cities
• Supports two optimization criteria:
  • Fastest route (minimizes travel time)
  • Cheapest route (minimizes cost)
• Generates visual HTML output of the route
• Handles invalid input gracefully

Requirements

• C++ compiler (supporting C++11 or later)
• Standard Library headers

Usage

• Compile the program with your C++ compiler
• Run the executable
• Provide the following inputs when prompted: Cities filename (text file containing city data) Routes filename (text file containing route/connection data) Output filename (for the HTML results, must end with .html) Origin city Destination city Preference ("fastest" or "cheapest")

Input Files

• Cities File Format
  • The cities file should contain city information with one city per line.
• Routes File Format
  • The routes file should contain route/connection information between cities, including:
    • Origin city
    • Destination city
    • Cost
    • Time
    • Transport method

Output

• The program generates an HTML file that visually displays:
  • The optimal route from origin to destination
  • Each segment of the journey with details
  • Total cost and time for the entire trip

Example

Enter filename containing cities: cities.txt
Enter filename containing routes: routes.txt
Enter filename for output (.html): journey.html
Origin: New York
Destination: Los Angeles
Enter a preference (fastest/cheapest): cheapest
This will generate journey.html showing the cheapest route from New York to Los Angeles.

Error Handling

• The program checks for:
  • Invalid preference entries (must be "fastest" or "cheapest")
  • Nonexistent cities in the input
  • Valid file inputs