Using Scala's foldRight to evaluate polynomial - scala

I am having difficulty understanding why this code does not work. I have a polynomial 1 + 3x + 2x^2, which I represent as a list (1.0, 3.0, 2.0). To avoid powering up numbers with decimals to high indexes, I evaluate the polynomial as follows:
1 + x(3 + x(2))
For higher polynomials it would be a0 + x (a1 + x (a2 + x (a3 + ...)))...)
This can be conveniently evaluated right to left, and while I can easily write a loop, I thought Scala's fold operator might be useful. So I tried this on the Scala prompt but got the wrong answer (it should be 28.0)
scala> List(1.0, 3.0, 2.0).tail.foldRight(0.0)((a,x) => 3.0 * a + x)
res53: Double = 15.0
Here is how I expect the calculation on the fold to go:
3 * 0 + 2 = 2
3 * 2 + 3 = 9
3 * 9 + 1 = 28
Have I misunderstood the fold operator, or is there something trivial I missed? Thanks!
Edit; got it:
scala> List(1.0, 3.0, 2.0).foldRight(0.0)((a,x) => 3.0 * x + a)
res68: Double = 28.0

Using tail doesn't fold it as you describe in the steps above since it skips 1.0. Also, swap the arguments x and a.
scala> List(1.0, 3.0, 2.0).foldRight(0.0)((x,a) => 3.0 * a + x)
res34: Double = 28.0

Related

Calculating the sum of integers from x to y with a while loop

I'm trying to write a code in Scala to calculate the sum of elements from x to y using a while loop.
I initialize x and y to for instance :
val x = 1
val y = 10
then I write a while loop to increment x :
while (x<y) x = x + 1
But println(x) gives the result 10 so I'm assuming the code basically does 1 + 1 + ... + 1 10 times, but that's not what I want.
One option would be to find the sum via a range, converted to a list:
val x = 1
val y = 10
val sum = (x to y).toList.sum
println("sum = " + sum)
Output:
sum = 55
Demo here:
Rextester
Here's how you would do it using a (yak!) while loop with vars:
var x = 1 // Note that is a "var" not a "val"
val y = 10
var sum = 0 // Must be a "var"
while(x <= y) { // Note less than or equal to
sum += x
x += 1
}
println(s"Sum is $sum") // Sum = 55 (= 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10)
Here's another, more functional, approach using a recursive function. Note the complete lack of var types.
val y = 10
#scala.annotation.tailrec // Signifies add must be tail recursive
def add(x: Int, sum: Int): Int = {
// If x exceeds y, then return the current sum value.
if(x > y) sum
// Otherwise, perform another iteration adding 1 to x and x to sum.
else add(x + 1, sum + x)
}
// Start things off and get the result (55).
val result = add(1, 0)
println(s"Sum is $result") // Sum is 55
Here's a common functional approach that can be used with collections. Firstly, (x to y) becomes a Range of values between 1 and 10 inclusive. We then use the foldLeft higher-order function to sum the members:
val x = 1
val y = 10
val result = (x to y).foldLeft(0)(_ + _)
println(s"Sum is $result") // Sum is 55
The (0) is the initial sum value, and the (_ + _) adds the current sum to the current value. (This is Scala shorthand for ((sum: Int, i: Int) => sum + i)).
Finally, here's a simplified version of the elegant functional version that #TimBiegeleisen posted above. However, since a Range already implements a .sum member, there is no need to convert to a List first:
val x = 1
val y = 10
val result = (x to y).sum
println(s"Sum is $result") // Sum is 55
(sum can be thought of as being equivalent to the foldLeft example above, and is typically implemented in similar fashion.)
BTW, if you just want to sum values from 1 to 10, the following code does this very succinctly:
(1 to 10).sum
Although you can use Scala to write imperative code (which uses vars, while loops, etc. and which inherently leads to shared mutable state), I strongly recommend that you consider functional alternatives. Functional programming avoids the side-effects and complexities of shared mutable state and often results in simpler, more elegant code. Note that all but the first examples are all functional.
var x = 1
var y = 10
var temp = 0
while (x < y) {
temp = temp+x
x = x + 1
}
println(temp)
This gives required result

how to modify self-defined scala operators' precedence

Is it possible to modify the precedence of any self-defined operators?
For example, I implement elementary arithmetic with totally self-defined operators.
case class Memory(name:String){
var num:Num = null
def <<=(x:Num): Unit = {
println(s"assign ${x.value}")
this.num = x
}
}
case class Num(var value:Int) {
def +|+(x:Num) = {
println("%d + %d = %d".format( value,x.value,x.value + value ))
Num(value + x.value)
}
def *|*(x:Num) = {
println("%d * %d = %d".format( value,x.value,x.value * value ))
Num(value * x.value)
}
}
val m1 = Memory("R")
val a = Num(1)
val b = Num(3)
val c = Num(9)
val d = Num(12)
m1 <<= a *|* b +|+ c +|+ d *|* a
println("final m1 ",m1.num.value)
The results are
1 * 3 = 3
3 + 9 = 12
12 * 1 = 12
12 + 12 = 24
assign 24
(final m1 ,24)
Apparently the precedence is correct. I want *|* be the same precedence as * and +|+ the same as +, <<= is equivalent as = as well. How scala figure it out?
Answering the question about modyfing operator precedence - to change it you basically just have to change the first character of your custom operator - this is how scala figures out precedense for infix operators, by just looking at the first character. So if you eg. add an operator *|+:
It will have same precedence as *|*, like with * and *.
"Bigger" precedence than +|+, just like with * and +.
Unfortunately there is no other way to deal with it right now. No custom annotations/weights and so on to avoid making reading code too fuzzy.
The precedence rules are very well summarized here - Operator precedence in Scala.
About your issue though - you get the right results.
*|*, as well as * are left-associative operators and their first character is *, so they have equal precedense.
Your operation:
a *|* b +|+ c +|+ d *|* a
Translates to
a * b + c + d * a, which is 1 * 3 + 9 + 12 * 1.
Applying standard precedence rules - (a*b) + c + (d*a) result is 24.

understanding aggregate in Scala

I am trying to understand aggregate in Scala and with one example, i understood the logic, but the result of second one i tried confused me.
Please let me know, where i went wrong.
Code:
val list1 = List("This", "is", "an", "example");
val b = list1.aggregate(1)(_ * _.length(), _ * _)
1 * "This".length = 4
1 * "is".length = 2
1 * "an".length = 2
1 * "example".length = 7
4 * 2 = 8 , 2 * 7 = 14
8 * 14 = 112
the output also came as 112.
but for the below,
val c = list1.aggregate(1)(_ * _.length(), _ + _)
I Thought it will be like this.
4, 2, 2, 7
4 + 2 = 6
2 + 7 = 9
6 + 9 = 15,
but the output still came as 112.
It is ideally doing whatever the operation i mentioned at seqop, here _ * _.length
Could you please explain or correct me where i went wrong.?
aggregate should be used to compute only associative and commutative operations. Let's look at the signature of the function :
def aggregate[B](z: ⇒ B)(seqop: (B, A) ⇒ B, combop: (B, B) ⇒ B): B
B can be seen as an accumulator (and will be your output). You give an initial output value, then the first function is how to add a value A to this accumulator and the second is how to merge 2 accumulators. Scala "chooses" a way to aggregate your collection but if your aggregation is not associative and commutative the output is not deterministic because the order matter. Look at this example :
val l = List(1, 2, 3, 4)
l.aggregate(0)(_ + _, _ * _)
If we create one accumulator and then aggregate all the values we get 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10 but if we decide to parallelize the process by splitting the list in halves we could have (1 + 2) * (3 + 4) = 21.
So now what happens in reality is that for List aggregate is the same as foldLeft which explains why changing your second function didn't change the output. But where aggregate can be useful is in Spark for example or other distributed environments where it may be useful to do the folding on each partition independently and then combine the results with the second function.

Difference between fold and foldLeft or foldRight?

NOTE: I am on Scala 2.8—can that be a problem?
Why can't I use the fold function the same way as foldLeft or foldRight?
In the Set scaladoc it says that:
The result of folding may only be a supertype of this parallel collection's type parameter T.
But I see no type parameter T in the function signature:
def fold [A1 >: A] (z: A1)(op: (A1, A1) ⇒ A1): A1
What is the difference between the foldLeft-Right and fold, and how do I use the latter?
EDIT: For example how would I write a fold to add all elements in a list? With foldLeft it would be:
val foo = List(1, 2, 3)
foo.foldLeft(0)(_ + _)
// now try fold:
foo.fold(0)(_ + _)
>:7: error: value fold is not a member of List[Int]
foo.fold(0)(_ + _)
^
Short answer:
foldRight associates to the right. I.e. elements will be accumulated in right-to-left order:
List(a,b,c).foldRight(z)(f) = f(a, f(b, f(c, z)))
foldLeft associates to the left. I.e. an accumulator will be initialized and elements will be added to the accumulator in left-to-right order:
List(a,b,c).foldLeft(z)(f) = f(f(f(z, a), b), c)
fold is associative in that the order in which the elements are added together is not defined. I.e. the arguments to fold form a monoid.
fold, contrary to foldRight and foldLeft, does not offer any guarantee about the order in which the elements of the collection will be processed. You'll probably want to use fold, with its more constrained signature, with parallel collections, where the lack of guaranteed processing order helps the parallel collection implements folding in a parallel way. The reason for changing the signature is similar: with the additional constraints, it's easier to make a parallel fold.
You're right about the old version of Scala being a problem. If you look at the scaladoc page for Scala 2.8.1, you'll see no fold defined there (which is consistent with your error message). Apparently, fold was introduced in Scala 2.9.
For your particular example you would code it the same way you would with foldLeft.
val ns = List(1, 2, 3, 4)
val s0 = ns.foldLeft (0) (_+_) //10
val s1 = ns.fold (0) (_+_) //10
assert(s0 == s1)
Agree with other answers. thought of giving a simple illustrative example:
object MyClass {
def main(args: Array[String]) {
val numbers = List(5, 4, 8, 6, 2)
val a = numbers.fold(0) { (z, i) =>
{
println("fold val1 " + z +" val2 " + i)
z + i
}
}
println(a)
val b = numbers.foldLeft(0) { (z, i) =>
println("foldleft val1 " + z +" val2 " + i)
z + i
}
println(b)
val c = numbers.foldRight(0) { (z, i) =>
println("fold right val1 " + z +" val2 " + i)
z + i
}
println(c)
}
}
Result is self explanatory :
fold val1 0 val2 5
fold val1 5 val2 4
fold val1 9 val2 8
fold val1 17 val2 6
fold val1 23 val2 2
25
foldleft val1 0 val2 5
foldleft val1 5 val2 4
foldleft val1 9 val2 8
foldleft val1 17 val2 6
foldleft val1 23 val2 2
25
fold right val1 2 val2 0
fold right val1 6 val2 2
fold right val1 8 val2 8
fold right val1 4 val2 16
fold right val1 5 val2 20
25
There is two way to solve problems, iterative and recursive. Let's understand by a simple example.let's write a function to sum till the given number.
For example if I give input as 5, I should get 15 as output, as mentioned below.
Input: 5
Output: (1+2+3+4+5) = 15
Iterative Solution.
iterate through 1 to 5 and sum each element.
def sumNumber(num: Int): Long = {
var sum=0
for(i <- 1 to num){
sum+=i
}
sum
}
Recursive Solution
break down the bigger problem into smaller problems and solve them.
def sumNumberRec(num:Int, sum:Int=0): Long = {
if(num == 0){
sum
}else{
val newNum = num - 1
val newSum = sum + num
sumNumberRec(newNum, newSum)
}
}
FoldLeft: is a iterative solution
FoldRight: is a recursive solution
I am not sure if they have memoization to improve the complexity.
And so, if you run the foldRight and FoldLeft on the small list, both will give you a result with similar performance.
However, if you will try to run a FoldRight on Long List it might throw a StackOverFlow error (depends on your memory)
Check the following screenshot, where foldLeft ran without error, however foldRight on same list gave OutofMemmory Error.
fold() does parallel processing so does not guarantee the processing order.
where as foldLeft and foldRight process the items in sequentially for left to right (in case of foldLeft) or right to left (in case of foldRight)
Examples of sum the list -
val numList = List(1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
val r1 = numList.par.fold(0)((acc, value) => {
println("adding accumulator=" + acc + ", value=" + value + " => " + (acc + value))
acc + value
})
println("fold(): " + r1)
println("#######################")
/*
* You can see from the output that,
* fold process the elements of parallel collection in parallel
* So it is parallel not linear operation.
*
* adding accumulator=0, value=4 => 4
* adding accumulator=0, value=3 => 3
* adding accumulator=0, value=1 => 1
* adding accumulator=0, value=5 => 5
* adding accumulator=4, value=5 => 9
* adding accumulator=0, value=2 => 2
* adding accumulator=3, value=9 => 12
* adding accumulator=1, value=2 => 3
* adding accumulator=3, value=12 => 15
* fold(): 15
*/
val r2 = numList.par.foldLeft(0)((acc, value) => {
println("adding accumulator=" + acc + ", value=" + value + " => " + (acc + value))
acc + value
})
println("foldLeft(): " + r2)
println("#######################")
/*
* You can see that foldLeft
* picks elements from left to right.
* It means foldLeft does sequence operation
*
* adding accumulator=0, value=1 => 1
* adding accumulator=1, value=2 => 3
* adding accumulator=3, value=3 => 6
* adding accumulator=6, value=4 => 10
* adding accumulator=10, value=5 => 15
* foldLeft(): 15
* #######################
*/
// --> Note in foldRight second arguments is accumulated one.
val r3 = numList.par.foldRight(0)((value, acc) => {
println("adding value=" + value + ", acc=" + acc + " => " + (value + acc))
acc + value
})
println("foldRight(): " + r3)
println("#######################")
/*
* You can see that foldRight
* picks elements from right to left.
* It means foldRight does sequence operation.
*
* adding value=5, acc=0 => 5
* adding value=4, acc=5 => 9
* adding value=3, acc=9 => 12
* adding value=2, acc=12 => 14
* adding value=1, acc=14 => 15
* foldRight(): 15
* #######################
*/

Suggest a cleaner functional way

Here is some imperative code:
var sum = 0
val spacing = 6
var x = spacing
for(i <- 1 to 10) {
sum += x * x
x += spacing
}
Here are two of my attempts to "functionalize" the above code:
// Attempt 1
(1 to 10).foldLeft((0, 6)) {
case((sum, x), _) => (sum + x * x, x + spacing)
}
// Attempt 2
Stream.iterate ((0, 6)) { case (sum, x) => (sum + x * x, x + spacing) }.take(11).last
I think there might be a cleaner and better functional way to do this. What would be that?
PS: Please note that the above is just an example code intended to illustrate the problem; it is not from the real application code.
Replacing 10 by N, you have spacing * spacing * N * (N + 1) * (2 * N + 1) / 6
This is by noting that you're summing (spacing * i)^2 for the range 1..N. This sum factorizes as spacing^2 * (1^2 + 2^2 + ... + N^2), and the latter sum is well-known to be N * (N + 1) * (2 * N + 1) / 6 (see Square Pyramidal Number)
I actually like idea of lazy sequences in this case. You can split your algorithm in 2 logical steps.
At first you want to work on all natural numbers (ok.. not all, but up to max int), so you define them like this:
val naturals = 0 to Int.MaxValue
Then you need to define knowledge about how numbers, that you want to sum, can be calculated:
val myDoubles = (naturals by 6 tail).view map (x => x * x)
And putting this all together:
val naturals = 0 to Int.MaxValue
val myDoubles = (naturals by 6 tail).view map (x => x * x)
val mySum = myDoubles take 10 sum
I think it's the way mathematician will approach this problem. And because all collections are lazily evaluated - you will not get out of memory.
Edit
If you want to develop idea of mathematical notation further, you can actually define this implicit conversion:
implicit def math[T, R](f: T => R) = new {
def ∀(range: Traversable[T]) = range.view map f
}
and then define myDoubles like this:
val myDoubles = ((x: Int) => x * x) ∀ (naturals by 6 tail)
My personal favourite would have to be:
val x = (6 to 60 by 6) map {x => x*x} sum
Or given spacing as an input variable:
val x = (spacing to 10*spacing by spacing) map {x => x*x} sum
or
val x = (1 to 10) map (spacing*) map {x => x*x} sum
There are two different directions to go. If you want to express yourself, assuming that you can't use the built-in range function (because you actually want something more complicated):
Iterator.iterate(spacing)(x => x+spacing).take(10).map(x => x*x).foldLeft(0)(_ + _)
This is a very general pattern: specify what you start with and how to get the next given the previous; then take the number of items you need; then transform them somehow; then combine them into a single answer. There are shortcuts for almost all of these in simple cases (e.g. the last fold is sum) but this is a way to do it generally.
But I also wonder--what is wrong with the mutable imperative approach for maximal speed? It's really quite clear, and Scala lets you mix the two styles on purpose:
var x = spacing
val last = spacing*10
val sum = 0
while (x <= last) {
sum += x*x
x += spacing
}
(Note that the for is slower than while since the Scala compiler transforms for loops to a construct of maximum generality, not maximum speed.)
Here's a straightforward translation of the loop you wrote to a tail-recursive function, in an SML-like syntax.
val spacing = 6
fun loop (sum: int, x: int, i: int): int =
if i > 0 then loop (sum+x*x, x+spacing, i-1)
else sum
val sum = loop (0, spacing, 10)
Is this what you were looking for? (What do you mean by a "cleaner" and "better" way?)
What about this?
def toSquare(i: Int) = i * i
val spacing = 6
val spaceMultiples = (1 to 10) map (spacing *)
val squares = spaceMultiples map toSquare
println(squares.sum)
You have to split your code in small parts. This can improve readability a lot.
Here is a one-liner:
(0 to 10).reduceLeft((u,v)=>u + spacing*spacing*v*v)
Note that you need to start with 0 in order to get the correct result (else the first value 6 would be added only, but not squared).
Another option is to generate the squares first:
(1 to 2*10 by 2).scanLeft(0)(_+_).sum*spacing*spacing