Matrix formed with numbers but all the consecutive numbers are place on adjancent positions

Question

Hi Solo Learn. I have been struggling with a coding problem for a long time and I have decided to ask for help.

Given a number n and a number k, create a matrix nxn filled with the first n^2 numbers (1,2,3,4,5,...,n*n), where all of the consecutive numbers are placed on adjacent positions. Also number 1 must be on k-th line. Adjacent means: up,down,left,right.

e.g: n=4, k=1
1 2 3 4
12 13 14 5
11 16 15 6
10 9 8 7

I tried to use backtracking, but I feel like there is something simple that I can't see.

https://code.sololearn.com/cZ043fpsEof4/#cpp

Thank you for your time!

Answer 1

Can one of the sort algorithms (I think on cmath) do that?