Binary Search without if-else statements - scala

I want to write a binary search program in Scala without using any if-else statements at all. Basic strategy which i have devised uses the return value of comparison between array[mid] and search_key. In short :
1) Generate return value based on comparison between array[mid] and search_key
2) Create a unique string using that return value.
3) Call function using 'reflection' with help of that string
So my question is ...is there any computational logic which returns different values in this case ? How can i achieve this ? For example :
if array[mid] == search_key , return 0
if array[mid] > search_key , return 1
if array[mid] < search_key , return 2
If anyone have any better solution for this problem, please also suggest that.

The easy way that does something similar is
array(mid) compareTo search_key
This line is equivalent to
if (array(mid) == search_key) 0
else if (array(mid) < search_key) -1
else 1 // if (array(mid) > search_key)
As for the best way to do it, you could make a sequence of actions to take, and compute an index into that sequence. If you are interested you can see the full code in https://gist.github.com/kolmar/bcfc94ee4051ee7eb3a1

Related

GEN_NO_GENERATABLE_NOTIF

I want to choose index from list, so the element[index] complies my condition.
MyList[index].num==0
I tried the code bellow:
gen DescIdx2Choose keeping {
it < MyList.size();
MyList[it].num==0;//I tried a few way of read_only
};
How can I do it without using all_indices?
Thanks
Since you generating DescIdx2Choose then MyList will be input to the problem.
Therefore,
If seeking for the first index (if exists) then using random generation isn't required. Use the procedural code "first_index" as user3467290 suggested which is much more efficient:
var fidx := MyList.first_index(.num == 0);
if ( fidx != UNDEF ) {
DescIdx2Choose = fidx;
} else {
// error handling
};
If there are multiple indices and it is required to choose a random one, the most efficient way would be using "all_indices" as Thorsten suggested:
gen DescIdx2Choose keeping {
it in read_only( MyList.all_indices(.num == 0) );
};
The reason is the random generator doesn't need to read all possible values of "MyList.num" only a shorter list of valid indices.
This should do it, but MyList must fulfill the condition otherwise you get a contradiction. Pseudo-method first_index() is not bi-directional which is what we need here.
gen DescIdx2Choose keeping {
MyList.first_index(.num == 0) == it;
};
Maybe i missed something in the question, but If you always want the index of the first element that its num == 0, then why use constraints? can assign DescIdx2Choose == MyList.first_index(.num == 0).
To ensure that there is at least one such element, can constrain MyList.has(.num == 0).
Do you have additional constraints on DescIdx2Choose ?

Pyspark - dynamic where clause in Data Frame

Is it possible to perform a dynamic "where/filter" in a dataframe ?
I am running a "like" operation to remove items that match specific strings
eventsDF.where(
~eventsDF.myColumn.like('FirstString%') &
~eventsDF.myColumn.like('anotherString%')
).count()
However I need to filter based on strings that come from another dataframe/list.
The solution that I was going for (which doesn't really work) involves a function that receives an index
#my_func[0] = "FirstString"
#my_func[1] = "anotherString"
def my_func(n):
return str(item[n])
newDf.where(
~newDf.useragent.like(str(my_func(1))+'%')
).count()
but I'm struggling to make it work by passing a range (mainly because it's a list instead of an integer)
newDf.where(
~newDf.useragent.like(str(my_func([i for i in range(2)])+'%'))
).count()
I don't want to go down the path of using "exec" or "eval" to perform it
str_likes = [~df.column.like(s) for s in strings] then reduce it into one expression reduce(lambda x, y: x & y, str_likes)
It's a little bit ugly but does what you want. You can also do this in a for loop like so
bool_expr = ~df.column.like(strings[0])
for s in strings[1:]:
bool_expr &= ~df.column.like(s)
df.where(bool_expr).count()

Finding the block using row and column indices - Sudoku Scala

I am new to Scala and am implementing a Sudoku solver. I have a method which returns the set of all possible values a particular element int the grid can take and it works. However, I think that there is a much better way to do this. The problem arises when I try to check the values of other elements in the same block. Is there any other way (than the one shown below) I can find a relationship between the row, column and block to result in cleaner code?
Note that r and c are the row and column indices, respectively, and are given as parameters to the function.
val i=
if(r==0|r==1|r==2){
if(c==0||c==1||c==2)
0
else if(c==3|c==4|c==5)
1
else
2
} else if (r==3|r==4|r==5){
if(c==0||c==1||c==2)
3
else if(c==3||c==4||c==5)
4
else
5
} else {
if(c==0||c==1||c==2)
6
else if(c==3||c==4||c==5)
7
else
8
}
def i(r:Int,c:Int) = r/3*3 + c/3
Although you'll probably want to find a better name/ add comments, it's not really the most intuitive function...

In Linq to EF 4.0, I want to return rows matching a list or all rows if the list is empty. How do I do this in an elegant way?

This sort of thing:
Dim MatchingValues() As Integer = {5, 6, 7}
Return From e in context.entity
Where MatchingValues.Contains(e.Id)
...works great. However, in my case, the values in MatchingValues are provided by the user. If none are provided, all rows ought to be returned. It would be wonderful if I could do this:
Return From e in context.entity
Where (MatchingValues.Length = 0) OrElse (MatchingValues.Contains(e.Id))
Alas, the array length test cannot be converted to SQL. I could, of course, code this:
If MatchingValues.Length = 0 Then
Return From e in context.entity
Else
Return From e in context.entity
Where MatchingValues.Contains(e.Id)
End If
This solution doesn't scale well. My application needs to work with 5 such lists, which means I'd need to code 32 queries, one for every situation.
I could also fill MatchingValues with every existing value when the user doesn't want to use the filter. However, there could be thousands of values in each of the five lists. Again, that's not optimal.
There must be a better way. Ideas?
Give this a try: (Sorry for the C# code, but you get the idea)
IQueryable<T> query = context.Entity;
if (matchingValues.Length < 0) {
query = query.Where(e => matchingValues.Contains(e.Id));
}
You could do this with the other lists aswell.

What is the preferred order for operands in boolean expressions?

Is there any benefit to structuring boolean expressions like:
if (0 < x) { ... }
instead of
if (x > 0) { ... }
I have always used the second way, always putting the variable as the first operand and using whatever boolean operator makes sense, but lately I have read code that uses the first method, and after getting over the initial weirdness I am starting to like it a lot more.
Now I have started to write all my boolean expressions to only use < or <= even if this means the variable isn't the first operand, like the above example. To me it seems to increase readability, but that might just be me :)
What do other people think about this?
Do whatever is most natural for whatever expression you are trying to compare.
If you're wondering about other operations (like ==) there are previous topics comparing the orderings of operands for those comparisons (and the reasons why).
It is mostly done to avoid the problem of using = instead of == in if conditions. To keep the consistency many people use the same for with other operators also. I do not see any problem in doing it.
Use whatever 'reads' best. One thing I'd point out is that if I'm testing to see if a value is within bounds, I try to write it so the bounds are on the 'outside' just like they might be in a mathematical expression:
So, to test that (0 < x <= 10):
if ((0 < x) && (x <= 10)) { ... }
instead of
if ((0 < x) && (10 >= x)) { ... }
or
if ((x > 0) && (10 >= x)) { ... }
I find this pattern make is somewhat easier to follow the logic.
An advantage for putting the number first is that it can prevent bug of using = when == is wanted.
if ( 0 == x ) // ok
if ( 0 = x ) //is a compiler error
compare to the subtle bug:
if ( x = 0 ) // assignment and not comparison. most likely a typo
To be honest it's unusual to write expressions with the variable on the right-side, and as a direct consequence of that unusualness readability suffers. Coding conventions have intrinsic value merely by virtue of being conventions; people are used to code being written in particular standard ways, x >= 0 being one example. Unnecessarily deviating from simple norms like these should be avoided without good cause.
The fact that you had to "get over the initial weirdness" should perhaps be a red flag.
I would not write 0 < x just as I would not use Hungarian notation in Java. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The Romans write x >= 0. No, it's not a huge deal, it just seems like an unnecessary little quirk.