📝 is_player_char

Checks whether a given character represents a valid player symbol in the game map.

⚙️ Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
c	char	The character to be checked against the set of valid player characters defined in PLAYER.

🔁 Returns

Return value	Description
true	The character c matches one of the valid player characters.
false	The character c does not match any valid player characters.

📖 Description

The is_player_char function iterates through the predefined PLAYER character array to determine if the input character corresponds to a player’s starting position on the map. It is typically used during map parsing to identify the player’s initial location and orientation.

Step-by-step process:

1. Initialize index – Starts at i = 0.
2. Iterate through PLAYER array – Loops over each character in the PLAYER array.
3. Check for match – If c equals PLAYER[i], immediately return true.
4. Continue iteration – If no match is found, increment i and check the next character.
5. Return false if not found – If the loop completes without finding a match, return false.

This function is lightweight and ensures that only valid player characters are accepted during map validation.

💡 Example Usage

char c = 'N';

if (is_player_char(c))
{
    printf("%c is a valid player character.\n", c);
}
else
{
    printf("%c is NOT a valid player character.\n", c);
}