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Counting number of moves on a grid

I'm trying to solve this computer programming problem on Project Euler: http://projecteuler.net/index.php?section=problems&id=15

Starting in the top left corner of a $2\times2$ grid, there are 6 routes (without backtracking) to the bottom right corner.

How many routes are there through a $20\times20$ grid?

I've seen a solution using nCr, where n = 40 and r = 20.

Could someone explain to me how this work, please?

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marked as duplicate by Arturo Magidin, leonbloy, mixedmath, Hans Lundmark, amWhy Jul 27 '11 at 2:52


1 Answer 1

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Consider the general problem of the number of paths in a rectangular grid $m\times n$. Call $P(m,n)$ this number.

You should be able to figure out a formula for $P(m,n)$ observing that $P(1,n)=P(m,1)=1$ and $P(m,n)=P(m-1,n)+P(m,n-1)$ when both $m$ and $n$ are $>1$.

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The same hint in different language: Tilt the rectangles/squares 45 degrees, so that the (1,1) position is at the top. Do you see Pascal's triangle forming? –  Jyrki Lahtonen Jul 26 '11 at 18:29
