Skip to content

Conversation

Copy link
Contributor

Copilot AI commented Sep 18, 2025

The Day 16 Packet Decoder implementation was incomplete and only outputted "2021" without solving either part of the challenge. This PR completes the implementation to fully decode BITS (Buoyancy Interchange Transmission System) packets and solve both parts.

Key Changes

Fixed literal value parsing bug: The original code incorrectly initialized the pointer position and had flawed parsing logic for literal value packets.

Implemented complete operator packet parsing: Added support for both length type ID modes:

  • Length type ID 0: 15-bit field specifying total bit length of sub-packets
  • Length type ID 1: 11-bit field specifying number of sub-packets

Added recursive packet structure handling: The decoder now properly handles nested packets of arbitrary depth, maintaining correct position tracking throughout the parsing process.

Implemented Part 1 solution: Calculates the sum of all version numbers across the entire packet hierarchy.

Implemented Part 2 solution: Evaluates packet expressions according to their type IDs:

  • Type 0: Sum operation
  • Type 1: Product operation
  • Type 2: Minimum operation
  • Type 3: Maximum operation
  • Type 4: Literal value
  • Type 5: Greater than comparison
  • Type 6: Less than comparison
  • Type 7: Equal comparison

Example Usage

# Input: D2FE28 (literal value packet)
# Output: 
# WARNING: Part 1 - Version sum: 6
# WARNING: Part 2 - Evaluated value: 2021

# Input: C200B40A82 (sum operation: 1 + 2)
# Output:
# WARNING: Part 1 - Version sum: 14  
# WARNING: Part 2 - Evaluated value: 3

The implementation now correctly handles all test cases from the problem description, including complex nested expressions with multiple operation types.

Fixes #7.


💬 Share your feedback on Copilot coding agent for the chance to win a $200 gift card! Click here to start the survey.

Co-authored-by: VaeterchenFrost <21226535+VaeterchenFrost@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Finish Day 16 2021 Complete Day 16 Packet Decoder implementation for both parts Sep 18, 2025
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

None yet

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

Finish Day 16 2021

2 participants