Sudoku initialize functions

sudoku-initialize-functions.js

const newSolvedBoard = _ => {
  startTime = new Date
  
  // Create an unaffiliated clone of a fresh board
  const newBoard = BLANK_BOARD.map(row => row.slice() ) 
  
  // Populate the board using backtracking algorithm
  fillPuzzle(newBoard) 
  return newBoard
}

function newStartingBoard  (holes) {
  // Reset global iteration counter to 0 and Try to generate a new game. 
  // If counter reaches its maximum limit in the fillPuzzle function, current attemp will abort
  // To prevent the abort from crashing the script, the error is caught and used to re-run
  // this function
  try {
    counter = 0
    let solvedBoard = newSolvedBoard()  

    // Clone the populated board and poke holes in it. 
    // Stored the removed values for clues
    let [removedVals, startingBoard] = pokeHoles( solvedBoard.map ( row => row.slice() ), holes)

    return [removedVals, startingBoard, solvedBoard]
    
  } catch (error) 
    return newStartingBoard(holes)
  }
}