Eliminating Recursion - java

I've just been looking at the following piece of code
package test;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;
public class Main {
public static void main(final String[] args) {
final int sizeA = 3;
final int sizeB = 5;
final List<int[]> combos = getAllCombinations(sizeA-1, sizeB);
int counter = 1;
for(final int[] combo : combos) {
System.out.println("Combination " + counter);
System.out.println("--------------");
for(final int value : combo) {
System.out.print(value + " ");
}
System.out.println();
System.out.println();
++counter;
}
}
private static List<int[]> getAllCombinations(final int maxIndex, final int size) {
if(maxIndex >= size)
throw new IllegalArgumentException("The maximum index must be smaller than the array size.");
final List<int[]> result = new ArrayList<int[]>();
if(maxIndex == 0) {
final int[] array = new int[size];
Arrays.fill(array, maxIndex);
result.add(array);
return result;
}
//We'll create one array for every time the maxIndex can occur while allowing
//every other index to appear, then create every variation on that array
//by having every possible head generated recursively
for(int i = 1; i < size - maxIndex + 1; ++i) {
//Generating every possible head for the array
final List<int[]> heads = getAllCombinations(maxIndex - 1, size - i);
//Combining every head with the tail
for(final int[] head : heads) {
final int[] array = new int[size];
System.arraycopy(head, 0, array, 0, head.length);
//Filling the tail of the array with i maxIndex values
for(int j = 1; j <= i; ++j)
array[size - j] = maxIndex;
result.add(array);
}
}
return result;
}
}
I'm wondering, how do I eliminate recursion from this, so that it returns a single random combination, rather than a list of all possible combinations?
Thanks

If I understand your code correctly your task is as follows: give a random combination of numbers '0' .. 'sizeA-1' of length sizeB where
the combination is sorted
each number occurs at least once
i.e. in your example e.g. [0,0,1,2,2].
If you want to have a single combination only I'd suggest another algorithm (pseudo-code):
Randomly choose the step-up positions (e.g. for sequence [0,0,1,1,2] it would be steps (1->2) & (3->4)) - we need sizeA-1 steps randomly chosen at sizeB-1 positions.
Calculate your target combination out of this vector
A quick-and-dirty implementation in java looks like follows
// Generate list 0,1,2,...,sizeB-2 of possible step-positions
List<Integer> steps = new ArrayList<Integer>();
for (int h = 0; h < sizeB-1; h++) {
steps.add(h);
}
// Randomly choose sizeA-1 elements
Collections.shuffle(steps);
steps = steps.subList(0, sizeA - 1);
Collections.sort(steps);
// Build result array
int[] result = new int[sizeB];
for (int h = 0, o = 0; h < sizeB; h++) {
result[h] = o;
if (o < steps.size() && steps.get(o) == h) {
o++;
}
}
Note: this can be optimized further - the first step generates a random permutation and later strips this down to desired size. Therefore it is just for demonstration purpose that the algorithm itself works as desired.

This appears to be homework. Without giving you code, here's an idea. Call getAllCombinations, store the result in a List, and return a value from a random index in that list. As Howard pointed out in his comment to your question, eliminating recursion, and returning a random combination are separate tasks.

Related

Find different index in arrays compare

I'm trying to learn a bit Java with tutorials and currently I'm struggling with piece of code where I should find on which index is difference between arrays (if there is difference at all)
My code
Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
int[] arrOne = Arrays.stream(scanner.nextLine().split(" ")).mapToInt(Integer::parseInt).toArray();
int[] arrTwo = Arrays.stream(scanner.nextLine().split(" ")).mapToInt(Integer::parseInt).toArray();
int sumArrOne = 0;
int index = 0;
boolean diff = false;
for (int k : arrOne) {
if (Arrays.equals(arrOne, arrTwo)) {
sumArrOne += k;
} else {
for (int i : arrTwo) {
if (k != i) {
index = i;
diff = true;
break;
}
}
}
}
if (diff) {
System.out.println("Found difference at " + index + " index.");
} else {
System.out.println("Sum: " + sumArrOne);
}
So, if arrays are identical I'm sum array elements in arrOne. If they are not identical -> must show at which index they are not.
With this code when I input
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 4 3 5
I should get that difference is at index 2 instead I've got index 1.
I'm not quite sure why and would be glad if someone point me out where is my mistake.
I updated your code. Looks like you're misunderstanding the concept of indexes yet.
Use one common index to check with in both arrays, in my example it's simply called i:
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Scanner;
public class BadArray {
static private final int INVALID_INDEX = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
public static void main(final String[] args) {
try (final Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);) {
final int[] arrOne = Arrays.stream(scanner.nextLine().split(" ")).mapToInt(Integer::parseInt).toArray();
final int[] arrTwo = Arrays.stream(scanner.nextLine().split(" ")).mapToInt(Integer::parseInt).toArray();
int sumArrOne = 0;
int diffIndex = INVALID_INDEX;
final int minLen = Math.min(arrOne.length, arrTwo.length);
for (int i = 0; i < minLen; i++) {
sumArrOne += arrOne[i];
if (arrOne[i] != arrTwo[i]) {
diffIndex = i;
break;
}
}
if (diffIndex != INVALID_INDEX) {
System.out.println("Found difference at " + diffIndex + " index.");
} else if (arrOne.length != arrTwo.length) {
System.out.println("Arrays are equal but have different length!");
} else {
System.out.println("Sum: " + sumArrOne);
}
}
}
}
I also put the scanner into a try-resource-catch to handle resource releasing properly.
Note you could also do the array lengths comparison right at the start if different array lengths play a more crucial role.
You are trying to find out which index has the first difference so you should iterate via the index rather than using a for-each loop (aka enhanced for loop). The following method should work for this.
/**
* Returns the index of the first element of the two arrays that are not the same.
* Returns -1 if both arrays have the same values in the same order.
* #param left an int[]
* #param right an int[]
* #return index of difference or -1 if none
*/
public int findIndexOfDifference(int[] left, int[] right) {
// short-circuit if we're comparing an array against itself
if (left == right) return -1;
for (int index = 0 ; index < left.length && index < right.length ; ++index) {
if (left[index] != right[index]) {
return index;
}
}
return -1;
}
In your code you compare, where the indexes are different, not the values at the indexes. Also your code has several other issues. I'll try to go through them step by step:
// compare the whole array only once, not inside a loop:
diff = !Arrays.equals(arrOne, arrTwo));
if (!diff) {
// do the summing without a loop
sumArrOne = Arrays.stream(arrOne).sum();
} else {
// find the difference
// it could be the length
index = Math.min(arrOne.length, arrTwo.length);
// or in some different values
for (int i = 0; i < index; i++) { // do a loop with counter
if (arrOne[i] != arrTwo[i]) {
index = i;
break;
}
}
}
It doesn't matter that I set index here above the loop as it's value will be overwritten anyways inside the loop, if relevant.

How to build a random integer array of distinct elements? [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Generating Unique Random Numbers in Java
(21 answers)
Closed 1 year ago.
I am trying to create a method that fills an array with random integers with no duplicate elements. I'm having trouble making sure each element that is put into the new array is distinct.
Ex. if numOfDigits is 5, then I'd like something like [3][8][2][6][1]. At the moment it either outputs something like [9][0][1][0][0] or infinitely loops.
private static int[] hiddenSet(int numOfDigits){
int[] numArray = new int[numOfDigits];
int temp;
for (int i = 0; i < numArray.length; i++){
do {
temp = getRandomNum(10);
numArray[i] = temp;
} while (isDigitNew(numArray, temp));
//Each random num must be unique to the array
}
return numArray;
}
private static boolean isDigitNew(int[] numArray, int index){
for (int i = 0; i < numArray.length; i++) {
if (numArray[i] == index) {
return false;
}
}
return true;
}
One easy approach is to fill the array with distinct digits then shuffle it.
public static int[] getRandomDistinct(int length) {
Random rand = new Random();
int[] array = new int[length];
// Fill with distinct digits
for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) {
array[i] = i;
}
// Swap every element with a random index
for (int i = 0; i < length - 1; i++) {
int swapWith = i + rand.nextInt(length - i);
int tmp = array[i];
array[i] = array[swapWith];
array[swapWith] = tmp;
}
return array;
}
Your algorithm takes quadratic time at best. When the choice of random numbers becomes less looping may take ages. Even infinite might be possible.
Add a positive random number + 1 to the previous generated number. The desired range of numbers needs a bit of care.
At he end shuffle. If you start with a List, you can use Collections. shuffle.
You can use IntStream like this.
private static int[] hiddenSet(int numOfDigits) {
return IntStream.iterate(getRandomNum(10), i -> getRandomNum(10))
.distinct()
.limit(numOfDigits)
.toArray();
}
and
public static void main(String[] args) {
int[] a = hiddenSet(5);
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(a));
}
output:
[7, 4, 5, 0, 1]

Creating multiple nested loops to generate two numbers that move through the length of a Array

As the title reads, I have been thinking about creating multiple nested loops that aim to achieve one purpose. Move two generated random numbers between 0-9 through each possible possition of an array.
For example, App generates first number (fNum) 1 and second number (sNum) 6. It then moves these numbers in the array which containts ABC. However firstNum and secondNum will need to also try all the possible combinations, so each one will need to be different with each loop.
-1ABC6
-A1BC6
-AB1C6
-ABC16
-ABC61
-AB6C1
-A6BC1
-6ABC1
-A6B1C
-A61BC
-A16BC
-A1B6C
-A1BC6
and so on...
I beleive the best way will be to create a method for generating a counter, which increments the numbers which I can call.
private int getNextNumber(int num) {
if (num == 0) {
return num;
} else {
num++;
}
if (num < 10) {
return num;
} else {
return -1;
}
}
Then I will need multiple nested loops... I have decided to go for several loops which will go infinitly.
while (j < maxlen) {
//J = 0 and maxlen = length of text so in this case 3 as it is ABC
//Add two numbers and check against answer
while (fNum != -1 || sNum != -1) {
//incrememnt numbers
fNum = getNextNumber(fNum);
System.out.println(fNum);
sNum = getNextNumber(sNum);
System.out.println(fNum);
}
String textIni = "ABC";
int lenOfText = textIni.length();
char[] split = textIni.toCharArray();
for (int i = 0; i < lenOfText; i++) {
//here it will look at the length of the Text and
//try the possible positions it could be at....
//maybe wiser to do a longer loop but I am not too sure
}
}
Since you don't need to store all possible combinations, we will save some memory using only O(n) storage with an iterative solution. I propose you a basic implementation but don't expect to use it on large arrays since it has a O(n³) complexity.
public static void generateCombinationsIterative(List<Integer> original, int fnum, int snum) {
int size = original.size();
for (int i=0 ; i<=size ; i++) {
List<Integer> tmp = new ArrayList<>(original);
tmp.add(i,fnum);
for (int j=0 ; j<=size + 1 ; j++) {
tmp.add(j,snum);
System.out.print(tmp + (i == size && j == size + 1 ? "" : ", "));
tmp.remove(j);
}
}
}
For your culture, here is an example of a recursive solution, which takes a lot of memory so don't use it if you don't need to generate the lists of results. Nevertheless, this is a more general solution that can deal with any number of elements to insert.
public static List<List<Integer>> generateCombinations(List<Integer> original, Deque<Integer> toAdd) {
if (toAdd.isEmpty()) {
List<List<Integer>> res = new ArrayList<>();
res.add(original);
return res;
}
int element = toAdd.pop();
List<List<Integer>> res = new LinkedList<>();
for (int i=0 ; i<=original.size() ; i++)
// you must make a copy of toAdd, otherwise each recursive call will perform
// a pop() on it and the result will be wrong
res.addAll(generateCombinations(insertAt(original,element,i),new LinkedList<>(toAdd)));
return res;
}
// a helper function for a clear code
public static List<Integer> insertAt(List<Integer> input, int element, int index) {
List<Integer> result = new ArrayList<>(input);
result.add(index,element);
return result;
}
Note that I did not use any array in order to benefit from dynamic data structures, however you can call the methods like this :
int[] arr = { 1,2,3 };
int fnum = 4, snum = 5;
generateCombinationsIterative(Arrays.asList(arr),fnum,snum);
generateCombinations(Arrays.asList(arr),new LinkedList<>(Arrays.asList(fnum,snum));
Note that both methods generate the combinations in the same order.

How to display the combination of some values in array? [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Algorithm to return all combinations of k elements from n
(77 answers)
Closed 9 years ago.
For example, I have an array ["Sam", "Mary", "John"].
I would like to display the combination of choose 2 out of 3.
The results should be:
[Sam, Mary]
[Sam, John]
[Mary, John]
I have researched a lot but still dun know how to do it.
Of course, this example only contain 3 people.
In fact, the number of total people will be larger, e.g. 15
Here is what I found:
Algorithm to return all combinations of k elements from n
What is a good way to implement choose notation in Java?
Some of them is only display the value of nCr, but not giving out the combination.
public static int width;
public static void main(String [] args){
String[] array = {"one", "two", "three", "four", "five"};
width = 3;
List<String> list = new ArrayList<String>();
for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++){
method(array, list, i, 1, "[" + array[i]);
}
System.out.println(list);
}
public static void method(String[] array, List<String> list, int i, int depth, String string){
if (depth == width){
list.add(string + "]");
return;
}
for (int j = i+1; j < array.length; j++){
method(array, list, j, depth+1, string + ", " + array[j]);
}
}
Simple recursive function to print out combination(nCr) of a given string array (named array):
String[] array = {"Sam", "Mary", "John"};
public void function(int counter, String comb_Str, int r) {
if (r == 0) {
System.out.println(comb_Str);
} else {
for (; counter < array.length; ++counter) {
function(counter + 1, comb_Str + " " + array[counter], r - 1);
}
}
}
called using function(0, "", #r value#)
r value should be <= n value (array length)
Here's some pseudocode to get you started with a recursive solution. Lists will be easier to work with than string arrays, as you can change their size easily. Also, once you get your combos, you can iterate over them to display them however you want. However, though it's a good problem to think about, the number of combos will get out of hand pretty quickly, so displaying them all to a user will become a bad idea if you are working with more than a handful of results...
/**
* #param list The list to create all combos for
* #param comboSize The size of the combo lists to build (e.g. 2 for 2 items combos)
* #param startingIndex The starting index to consider (used mainly for recursion). Set to 0 to consider all items.
*/
getAllCombos(list, comboSize, startingIndex){
allCombos;
itemsToConsider = list.length - startingIndex;
if(itemsToConsider >= comboSize){
allCombos = getAllCombos(list, comboSize, startingIndex + 1);
entry = list[startingIndex];
if(comboSize == 1){
singleList;
singleList.add(entry);
allCombos.add(singleList);
} else {
subListCombos = getAllCombos(list, comboSize - 1, i+1);
for(int i = 0; i < subListCombos.length; i++){
subListCombo = subListCombos[i];
subListCombo.add(entry);
allCombos.add(subListCombo);
}
}
}
return allCombos;
}
This probably isn't perfect, but it should get you on the right track. Create a function to get combinations for each element. Then you just have to loop through each element and call your function on each of them.
int num = 2; //Number of elements per combination
for(int i=0; i <= (array.length - num); i++) {
String comb = "[" + array[i];
comb += getComb(i,num);
comb += "]";
println(comb);
}
String getComb(int i, int num) {
int counter = 1;
String s = "";
while(counter < num) {
s += ", " + array[i+counter];
counter++;
}
return s;
}

Arrays.sort not filling array, overwriting values that are already in the array

I need to generate an array int[] randomNumbers of random numbers with no duplicates. To do this, I make an array with all values that can go into randomNumbers, then use a random number generator to pick one out of the list, check if it's already in randomNumbers, and if it isn't, put it in randomNumbers.
(I want numbers between 1 and max, not 0 and max-1)
To be able to use Arrays.sort(int[]), the list needs to be sorted. So I use a third array, with the same values as randomNumbers called sortedNumbers, and sort it on every iteration:
public int[] uniqueRandom(int max, int numRequired) {
if (max < numRequired) {
numRequired = max;
}
int[] randomNumbers = new int[numRequired];
int[] sortedNumbers = new int[numRequired];
int[] sequentialNumbers = new int[max];
for (int i = 1; i < max; i++) {
sequentialNumbers[i] = i;
System.out.println(sequentialNumbers[i]);
}
int p = 0;
while (p < numRequired) {
int j = r.nextInt(max) + 1;
System.out.println("J:" + j);
if (Arrays.binarySearch(sortedNumbers, j) >= 0) {
System.out.println("Number Found:" + Arrays.binarySearch(randomNumbers, j));
} else {
randomNumbers[p] = j;
sortedNumbers[p] = j;
Arrays.sort(sortedNumbers);
for (int i = 0; i < randomNumbers.length; i++) {
System.out.println("rNum[" + i + "]:" + randomNumbers[i]);
}
System.out.println("\n");
for (int i = 0; i < randomNumbers.length; i++) {
System.out.println("sNum[" + i + "]:" + sortedNumbers[i]);
}
p++;
}
}
return randomNumbers;
}
My issue is that I'm getting an output where sortedNumbers is overwriting values. For uniqueRandom(5, 5) the output is:
J:2
rNum[0]:2
rNum[1]:0
rNum[2]:0
rNum[3]:0
rNum[4]:0
sNum[0]:0
sNum[1]:0
sNum[2]:0
sNum[3]:0
sNum[4]:2
J:2 // 2 already in the list, try again
J:2
J:4
rNum[0]:2
rNum[1]:4
rNum[2]:0
rNum[3]:0
rNum[4]:0
sNum[0]:0
sNum[1]:0
sNum[2]:0
sNum[3]:2
sNum[4]:4
J:5
rNum[0]:2
rNum[1]:4
rNum[2]:5
rNum[3]:0
rNum[4]:0
sNum[0]:0
sNum[1]:0
sNum[2]:2
sNum[3]:4
sNum[4]:5
J:2
J:3
rNum[0]:2
rNum[1]:4
rNum[2]:5
rNum[3]:3
rNum[4]:0
sNum[0]:0 // Should be:
sNum[1]:0 // 2
sNum[2]:2 // 3
sNum[3]:3 // 4
sNum[4]:5 // 5
J:4
rNum[0]:2
rNum[1]:4
rNum[2]:5
rNum[3]:3
rNum[4]:4
sNum[0]:0
sNum[1]:0
sNum[2]:2
sNum[3]:3
sNum[4]:4
So you can see the issue. I'm using java 1.7, and have no idea why it's doing this!
To solve your problem I would use a Set, that assure us to have unique results.
Below snipest will generate array with required number of unique integers.
Set<Integer> uniqueNumbers = new HashSet<Integer>();
Random r = new Random();
while(uniqueNumbers.size() < numRequired) {
uniqueNumbers.add(r.nextInt(maxRandom) + 1);
}
return uniqueNumbers.toArray(new Integer[0]);
You are putting the new number into both arrays using the same index. Your rNum array is filling from top down, but the sorted array is not: Each time you sort it, the new value moves down in the array and the zeros are always at the top. I think you could fix it by always putting the new number in the first position of the sorted array:
sortedNumbers[0] = j;
When you input J=5
the sortedNUm[] is
sNum[0]:0
sNum[1]:0
sNum[2]:2
sNum[3]:4
sNum[4]:5
next when you input J=3 (your p=3)
after
sortedNumbers[p] = j;
your sNUM[3] which is 4 is replaced by 3
hence after sorting it becomes
sNum[0]:0 // Should be:
sNum[1]:0 // 2
sNum[2]:2 // 3
sNum[3]:3 // 4
sNum[4]:5 // 5
notice 4 is not present
I suggest you initialize the array to -1 or 0 and add the variables at the start of array
like
sortedNumbers[0]=j;
and after Arrays.sort(); the first position will always be empty to add more numbers
While it doesn't answer the question, here is an alternative which is O(n) and work well provided max is not large.
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(uniqueRandom(20, 10)));
}
public static int[] uniqueRandom(int max, int numRequired) {
int[] possible = new int[max];
int[] ret = new int[numRequired];
for (int i = 0; i < max; i++)
possible[i] = i + 1;
Random r = new Random();
int numLeft = max;
for (int i = 0; i < numRequired; i++) {
int idx = r.nextInt(numLeft);
ret[i] = possible[idx];
if (idx < --numLeft)
possible[idx] = possible[numLeft];
}
return ret;
}
prints
[4, 10, 12, 19, 8, 3, 15, 1, 14, 7]
What I am trying to say is that perhaps you could make it simpler.
There are a few issues with your code:
since you only increment p when the new number j doesn't already exist in the arrays, that, combined with the fact that you sort the sortedArray first leads to the value actually being placed sometimes over an existing value (which shifted position due to the sort)
I don't understand what's the use of the sequentialNumbers array...
Here's an example which should work:
private static Random r = new Random();
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(uniqueRandom(10, 10)));
}
public static int[] uniqueRandom(int max, int numRequired) {
if (max < numRequired) {
numRequired = max;
}
int[] randomNumbers = new int[numRequired];
int[] sortedNumbers = new int[numRequired];
Arrays.sort(sortedNumbers);
int p = 0;
while (p < numRequired) {
int j = r.nextInt(max) + 1;
if(Arrays.binarySearch(sortedNumbers, j)<0) {
randomNumbers[p] = j;
System.arraycopy(randomNumbers, 0, sortedNumbers, 0, randomNumbers.length);
Arrays.sort(sortedNumbers);
p++;
}
}
return randomNumbers;
}

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