Chesspp - Modern C++ Chess Engine & CLI Application

Overview

A command-line chess application demonstrating modern C++ programming practices, concurrent system design, and algorithmic problem-solving. This project showcases modern software engineering principles through a complete chess engine implementation with a CPU opponent, built using C++17 standards and best practices.

Technical Highlights

Modern C++ Design Patterns & Practices

• RAII (Resource Acquisition is Initialization): Comprehensive smart pointer usage throughout the codebase with std::unique_ptr for automatic memory management.
• Strong Type Safety: Custom type-safe wrappers (RangedInt, BoardIndex, FileRankIndex) preventing invalid state and runtime errors.
• Exception Safety: Robust error handling with custom exception types and RAII guarantees
• Move Semantics: Efficient resource management with proper move constructors and assignment operators

Concurrent Programming and Multithreading

• Thread-Safe Timer System: Custom ChessTimer class using std::atomic, std::mutex, and std::condition_variable for precise time control
• Asynchronous Input Handling: Non-blocking user input system with thread synchronization
• Lock-Free Programming: Atomic operations for game state management across threads
• Producer-Consumer Pattern: Coordinated communication between game logic, timer, and input threads

Memory Management & Performance

• Zero Memory Leaks: Complete RAII implementation with smart pointers and automatic cleanup
• Efficient Data Structures: std::array for fixed-size board representation, std::unordered_map with custom hash functions for position tracking
• Cache-Friendly Design: Contiguous memory layout for board representation

Testing & Quality Assurance

• Comprehensive Unit Testing: Thorough unit testing with Google Test framework covering edge cases and game scenarios
• Mocking & Dependency Testing: Friend class testing pattern for private method validation
• Automated Testing Pipeline: CMake integration with CTest for continuous testing

System Design Highlights

Configurable Management

• External Configuration: File-based configuration system with type-safe parsing
• Runtime Flexibility: Configurable time controls, player types, and game parameters

Rendering System

• Modular Display Architecture: Separation of game logic and presentation layers
• ASCII Art Rendering: Custom frame builder for terminal-based chess board visualization
• Real-time Updates: Dynamic board state rendering with move history

Input/Output System

• Raw Terminal Mode: Low-level terminal control for responsive user interaction
• Cross-platform Compatibility: POSIX-compliant terminal handling
• Algebraic Notation: Standard chess notation parsing and generation

Build & Run

git clone --recursive https://github.com/schnyle/chesspp.git
cd chesspp
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make
./chess

Testing

Requirements

• Compiler: C++17 compatible (GCC 7+, Clang 5+, MSVC 2017+)
• Build System CMake 3.28+
• Testing: Google Test (automatically fetched)