Using for-loop to add numbers together - ruby

If I randomly put in two numbers (first number is smaller), how do I use a for-loop to add all the numbers between and itself?
ex:
first number: 3
second number: 5
the computer should give an answer of '12'.
How do I do that using a for-loop?

In Ruby we seldom use a for loop because it leaves litter behind. Instead, you can very simply do what you want using inject:
(3..5).inject(:+) # => 12
This is using some of the deeper Ruby magic (:+), which is a symbol for the + method and is passed into inject. How it works is a different question and is something you'll need to learn later.
Don't insist on doing something in a language using a particular construct you learned in another language. That will often force non-idiomatic code and will keep you from learning how to do it as other programmers in that language would do it. That creates maintenance issues and makes you less desirable in the workplace.

Simple for loop across the range you defined:
puts "Enter first number: "
first = gets.to_i
puts "Enter second number: "
second = gets.to_i
total = 0
for i in (first..second) do
total += i
end
puts total
Note that if you don't enter a valid number, it will converted to 0. Also this assumes the second number is larger than the first.

In Rails, or in plain-vanilla Ruby with ActiveSupport, you can do something even simpler than a for loop, or than what other people wrote.
(first_num..second_num).sum
This is shorthand for sum in Ruby:
sum = 0
(first_num..second_num).each { |num| sum += num }

first, second = [3,5]
for x in (0..0) do
p (first + second)*(second - first + 1) / 2
end

I know you said for loop, but why not use what Ruby gives you?
> a = 3
> b = 5
> a.upto(b).inject(0) {|m,o| m += o}
=> 12
If you insist on a for loop...
> m = 0
=> 0
> for i in 3..5
* m += i
* end
=> 3..5
> m
=> 12

Since Ruby 2.4 you directly call sum on an Enumerable.
For Example [1, 2, 3].sum #=> 6

In Ruby it's very rare to see a for loop. In this instance a more idiomatic method would be upto:
x = 3
y = 5
total = 0
x.upto(y) do |n|
total += n
end
puts total
# => 12
Another method would be to use reduce:
total = x.upto(y).reduce do |sum, n|
sum += n
end
...which can be shortened to this:
total = x.upto(y).reduce(&:+)

Related

Ruby prime number sum

I am trying to take the sum of the n first prime numbers. I found a way of showing the first 100, but I don't know how to get rid of 1 and how to make a sum with the numbers. I was thinking about storing them into an array, but I can not figure it out.
num = 1
last = 100
while (num <= last)
condition = true
x = 2
while (x <= num / 2)
if (num % x == 0)
condition = false
break
end
x = x + 1
end
primes = [] # Here
if condition
puts num.to_s
primes << num.to_s # Here
end
num = num + 1
end
puts primes.inject(:+) # Here
Based on what I understood from what you guys are saying I added these lines (the ones commented # Here). It still does not print the sum of them. What I meant with getting rid of 1 is that I know that 1 is not considered a prime number, and I do not get how to make it without 1. Thank you very much guys for your time and answers, and please understand that I am just starting to study this.
If you want to add a list of numbers together you can use the following:
list_of_prime_numbers.inject(0) {|total,prime| total + prime}
This will take the list of numbers, and add them one by one to an accumulator (total) that was injected into the loop (.inject(0)), add it to the current number (prime) and then return the total which then becomes the value of total in the next iteration.
I'm not quite sure what you mean by:
I don't know how to get rid of 1
but if you mean to not use the first number (which is 1 in a list of primes starting from 0)
then you could do:
list_of_prime_numbers[1...list_of_prime_numbers.length].
inject(0) {|total,prime| total + prime}
Which would only get all the numbers except the first up to but not including the length of the array
and as for getting the number into the array you could push it into the array like so:
list_of_prime_numbers << prime_number
You can make use of Prime Enumerable in ruby
require 'prime'
((1..100).select { |number| Prime.prime?(number) }).inject(:+)
OR
Prime.each(100).inject(:+)
Hope this helps.

I don't understand this method

I'm a beginner in Ruby and I don't understand what this code is doing, could you explain it to me, please?
def a(n)
s = 0
for i in 0..n-1
s += i
end
s
end
def defines a method. Methods can be used to run the same code on different values. For example, lets say you wanted to get the square of a number:
def square(n)
n * n
end
Now I can do that with different values and I don't have to repeat n * n:
square(1) # => 1
square(2) # => 4
square(3) # => 9
= is an assignment.
s = 0 basically says, behind the name s, there is now a zero.
0..n-1 - constructs a range that holds all numbers between 0 and n - 1. For example:
puts (0..3).to_a
# 0
# 1
# 2
# 3
for assigns i each consecutive value of the range. It loops through all values. So first i is 0, then 1, then ... n - 1.
s += i is a shorthand for s = s + i. In other words, increments the existing value of s by i on each iteration.
The s at the end just says that the method (remember the thing we opened with def) will give you back the value of s. In other words - the sum we accumulated so far.
There is your programming lesson in 5 minutes.
This example isn't idiomatic Ruby code even if it is syntactically valid. Ruby hardly ever uses the for construct, iterators are more flexible. This might seem strange if you come from another language background where for is the backbone of many programs.
In any case, the program breaks down to this:
# Define a method called a which takes an argument n
def a(n)
# Assign 0 to the local variable s
s = 0
# For each value i in the range 0 through n minus one...
for i in 0..n-1
# ...add that value to s.
s += i
end
# The result of this method is s, the sum of those values.
s
end
The more Ruby way of expressing this is to use times:
def a(n)
s = 0
# Repeat this block n times, and in each iteration i will represent
# a value in the range 0 to n-1 in order.
n.times do |i|
s += i
end
s
end
That's just addressing the for issue. Already the code is more readable, mind you, where it's n.times do something. The do ... end block represents a chunk of code that's used for each iteration. Ruby blocks might be a little bewildering at first but understanding them is absolutely essential to being effective in Ruby.
Taking this one step further:
def a(n)
# For each element i in the range 0 to n-1...
(0..n-1).reduce |sum, i|
# ...add i to the sum and use that as the sum in the next round.
sum + i
end
end
The reduce method is one of the simple tools in Ruby that's quite potent if used effectively. It allows you to quickly spin through lists of things and compact them down to a single value, hence the name. It's also known as inject which is just an alias for the same thing.
You can also use short-hand for this:
def a(n)
# For each element in the range 0 to n-1, combine them with +
# and return that as the result of this method.
(0..n-1).reduce(&:+)
end
Where here &:+ is shorthand for { |a,b| a + b }, just as &:x would be short for { |a,b| a.x(b) }.
As you are a beginner in Ruby, let's start from the small slices.
0..n-1 => [0, n-1]. E.g. 0..3 => 0, 1, 2, 3 => [0, 3]
for i in 0.. n-1 => this is a for loop. i traverses [0, n-1].
s += i is same as s = s + i
So. Method a(n) initializes s = 0 then in the for loop i traverse [0, n - 1] and s = s + i
At the end of this method there is an s. Ruby omits key words return. so you can see it as return s
def a(n)
s = 0
for i in 0..n-1
s += i
end
s
end
is same as
def a(n)
s = 0
for i in 0..n-1
s = s + i
end
return s
end
a(4) = 0 + 1 + 2 + 3 = 6
Hope this is helpful.
The method a(n) calculates the sums of the first n natural numbers.
Example:
when n=4, then s = 0+1+2+3 = 6
Let's go symbol by symbol!
def a(n)
This is the start of a function definition, and you're defining the function a that takes a single parameter, n - all typical software stuff. Notably, you can define a function on other things, too:
foo = "foo"
def foo.bar
"bar"
end
foo.bar() # "bar"
"foo".bar # NoMethodError
Next line:
s = 0
In this line, you're both declaring the variable s, and setting it's initial value to 0. Also typical programming stuff.
Notably, the value of the entire expression; s = 0, is the value of s after the assignment:
s = 0
r = t = s += 1 # You can think: r = (t = (s += 1) )
# r and t are now 1
Next line:
for i in 0..n-1
This is starting a loop; specifically a for ... in ... loop. This one a little harder to unpack, but the entire statement is basically: "for each integer between 0 and n-1, assign that number to i and then do something". In fact, in Ruby, another way to write this line is:
(0..n-1).each do |i|
This line and your line are exactly the same.
For single line loops, you can use { and } instead of do and end:
(0..n-1).each{|i| s += i }
This line and your for loop are exactly the same.
(0..n-1) is a range. Ranges are super fun! You can use a lot of things to make up a range, particularly, time:
(Time.now..Time.new(2017, 1, 1)) # Now, until Jan 1st in 2017
You can also change the "step size", so that instead of every integer, it's, say, every 1/10:
(0..5).step(0.1).to_a # [0.0, 0.1, 0.2, ...]
Also, you can make the range exclude the last value:
(0..5).to_a # [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
(0...5).to_a # [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]
Next line!
s += i
Usually read aloud a "plus-equals". It's literally the same as: s = s + 1. AFAIK, almost every operator in Ruby can be paired up this way:
s = 5
s -= 2 # 3
s *= 4 # 12
s /= 2 # 6
s %= 4 # 2
# etc
Final lines (we'll take these as a group):
end
s
end
The "blocks" (groups of code) that are started by def and for need to be ended, that's what you're doing here.
But also!
Everything in Ruby has a value. Every expression has a value (including assignment, as you saw with line 2), and every block of code. The default value of a block is the value of the last expression in that block.
For your function, the last expression is simply s, and so the value of the expression is the value of s, after all is said and done. This is literally the same as:
return s
end
For the loop, it's weirder - it ends up being the evaluated range.
This example may make it clearer:
n = 5
s = 0
x = for i in (0..n-1)
s += i
end
# x is (0..4)
To recap, another way to write you function is:
def a(n)
s = 0
(0..n-1).each{ |i| s = s + i }
return s
end
Questions?

The 'upto' method in Ruby

I'm learning Ruby, and there has been a bit of talk about the upto method in the book from which I am learning. I'm confused. What exactly does it do?
Example:
grades = [88,99,73,56,87,64]
sum = 0
0.upto(grades.length - 1) do |loop_index|
sum += grades[loop_index]
end
average = sum/grades.length
puts average
Let's try an explanation:
You define an array
grades = [88,99,73,56,87,64]
and prepare a variable to store the sum:
sum = 0
grades.length is 6 (there are 6 elements in the array), (grades.length - 1) is 5.
with 0.upto(5) you loop from 0 to 5, loop_index will be 0, then 1...
The first element of the array is grades[0] (the index in the array starts with 0).
That's why you have to subtract 1 from the number of elements.
0.upto(grades.length - 1) do |loop_index|
Add the loop_index's value to sum.
sum += grades[loop_index]
end
Now you looped on each element and have the sum of all elements of the array.
You can calculate the average:
average = sum/grades.length
Now you write the result to stdout:
puts average
This was a non-ruby-like syntax. Ruby-like you would do it like this:
grades = [88,99,73,56,87,64]
sum = 0
grades.each do |value|
sum += value
end
average = sum/grades.length
puts average
Addendum based on Marc-Andrés comment:
You may use also inject to avoid to define the initial sum:
grades = [88,99,73,56,87,64]
sum = grades.inject do |sum, value|
sum + value
end
average = sum / grades.length
puts average
Or even shorter:
grades = [88,99,73,56,87,64]
average = grades.inject(:+) / grades.length
puts average
From http://www.ruby-doc.org/docs/ProgrammingRuby/html/ref_c_integer.html#upto:
upto int.upto( anInteger ) {| i | block }
Iterates block, passing in integer values from int up to and
including anInteger.
5.upto(10) { |i| print i, " " }
produces:
5 6 7 8 9 10
Upto executes the block given once for each number from the original number "upto" the argument passed. For example:
1.upto(10) {|x| puts x}
will print out the numbers 1 through 10.
It is just another way to do a loop/iterator in Ruby. It says do this action n times based on i being the first number the the number in parens as the limit.
My example would have been this:
1.upto(5) { |i| puts "Countup: #{i}" }
So what you're actually doing here is saying, I want to count up from 1 to the number 5, that's specifically what this part is saying:
1.upto(5)
The latter part of code (a block) is just outputting the iteration of going through the count from 1 up to 5. This is the output you might expect to see:
Countup: 1
Countup: 2
Countup: 3
Countup: 4
Countup: 5
Note: This can be written is another way if you're using multilines:
1.upto(5) do |i|
puts "Countup: #{i}"
end
Hope this helps.
An alternative that looks more like Ruby to me is
require 'descriptive_statistics'
grades=[88,99,73,56,87,64]
sum = grades.sum
average = grades.mean
sd = grades.standard_deviation
Of course it depends what you're doing.

Iterate over an infinite sequence in Ruby

I am trying to solve Project Euler problem #12:
The sequence of triangle numbers is generated by adding the natural
numbers. So the 7th triangle number
would be 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 =
28. The first ten terms would be:
1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28, 36, 45, 55, ...
Let us list the factors of the first seven triangle numbers:
1: 1
3: 1,3
6: 1,2,3,6
10: 1,2,5,10
15: 1,3,5,15
21: 1,3,7,21
28: 1,2,4,7,14,28
We can see that 28 is the first triangle number to have over five
divisors.
What is the value of the first triangle number to have over five
hundred divisors?
Here's the solution that I came up with using Ruby:
triangle_number = 1
(2..9_999_999_999_999_999).each do |i|
triangle_number += i
num_divisors = 2 # 1 and the number divide the number always so we don't iterate over the entire sequence
(2..( i/2 + 1 )).each do |j|
num_divisors += 1 if i % j == 0
end
if num_divisors == 500 then
puts i
break
end
end
I shouldn't be using an arbitrary huge number like 9_999_999_999_999_999. It would be better if we had a Math.INFINITY sequence like some functional languages. How can I generate a lazy infinite sequence in Ruby?
Several answers are close but I don't actually see anyone using infinite ranges. Ruby supports them just fine.
Inf = Float::INFINITY # Ruby 1.9
Inf = 1.0/0 # Ruby before 1.9
(1..Inf).include?(2305843009213693951)
# => true
(1..Inf).step(7).take(3).inject(&:+)
# => 24.0
In your case
(2..Inf).find {|i| ((2..( i/2 + 1 )).select{|j| i % j == 0}.count+2)==42 }
=> 2880
Your brute force method is crude and can, potentially, take a very long time to finish.
In Ruby >= 1.9, you can create an Enumerator object that yields whatever sequence you like. Here's one that yields an infinite sequence of integers:
#!/usr/bin/ruby1.9
sequence = Enumerator.new do |yielder|
number = 0
loop do
number += 1
yielder.yield number
end
end
5.times do
puts sequence.next
end
# => 1
# => 2
# => 3
# => 4
# => 5
Or:
sequence.each do |i|
puts i
break if i >= 5
end
Or:
sequence.take(5).each { |i| puts i }
Programming Ruby 1.9 (aka "The Pickaxe Book"), 3rd. ed., p. 83, has an example of an Enumerator for triangular numbers. It should be easy to modify the Enumerator above to generate triangular numbers. I'd do it here, but that would reproduce the example verbatim, probably more than "fair use" allows.
Infinity is defined on Float (Ruby 1.9)
a = Float::INFINITY
puts a #=> Infinity
b = -a
puts a*b #=> -Infinity, just toying
1.upto(a) {|x| break if x >10; puts x}
Currrent versions of Ruby support generators heavily:
sequence = 1.step
In Ruby 2.6 this becomes much easier:
(1..).each {|n| ... }
Source: https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/12912
This would be best as a simple loop.
triangle_number = 1
i = 1
while num_divisors < 500
i += 1
triangle_number += i
# ...
end
puts i
As Amadan mentioned you can use closures:
triangle = lambda { t = 0; n = 1; lambda{ t += n; n += 1; t } }[]
10.times { puts triangle[] }
Don't really think it is much slower than a loop. You can save state in class object too, but you will need more typing:
class Tri
def initialize
#t = 0
#n = 1
end
def next
#t += n
#n += 1
#t
end
end
t = Tri.new
10.times{ puts t.next }
Added:
For those who like longjmps:
require "generator"
tri =
Generator.new do |g|
t, n = 0, 1
loop do
t += n
n += 1
g.yield t
end
end
puts (0..19).map{ tri.next }.inspect
Building on Wayne's excellent answer and in the Ruby spirit of doing things with the least number of characters here is a slightly updated version:
sequence = Enumerator.new { |yielder| 1.step { |num| yielder.yield num } }
Obviously, doesn't solve the original Euler problem but is good for generating an infinite sequence of integers. Definitely works for Ruby > 2.0. Enjoy!
On Christmas Day 2018, Ruby introduced the endless range, providing a simple new approach to this problem.
This is implemented by ommitting the final character from the range, for example:
(1..)
(1...)
(10..)
(Time.now..)
Or to update using Jonas Elfström's solution:
(2..).find { |i| ((2..( i / 2 + 1 )).select { |j| i % j == 0 }.count + 2) == 42 }
Hope this proves useful to someone!
I believe that fibers (added in Ruby 1.9 I believe) may be close to what you want. See here for some information or just search for Ruby Fibers

More ruby-like solution to this problem?

I am learning ruby and practicing it by solving problems from Project Euler.
This is my solution for problem 12.
# Project Euler problem: 12
# What is the value of the first triangle number to have over five hundred divisors?
require 'prime'
triangle_number = ->(num){ (num *(num + 1)) / 2 }
factor_count = ->(num) do
prime_fac = Prime.prime_division(num)
exponents = prime_fac.collect { |item| item.last + 1 }
fac_count = exponents.inject(:*)
end
n = 2
loop do
tn = triangle_number.(n)
if factor_count.(tn) >= 500
puts tn
break
end
n += 1
end
Any improvements that can be made to this piece of code?
As others have stated, Rubyists will use methods or blocks way more than lambdas.
Ruby's Enumerable is a very powerful mixin, so I feel it pays here to build an enumerable in a similar way as Prime. So:
require 'prime'
class Triangular
class << self
include Enumerable
def each
sum = 0
1.upto(Float::INFINITY) do |i|
yield sum += i
end
end
end
end
This is very versatile. Just checking it works:
Triangular.first(4) # => [1, 3, 7, 10]
Good. Now you can use it to solve your problem:
def factor_count(num)
prime_fac = Prime.prime_division(num)
exponents = prime_fac.collect { |item| item.last + 1 }
exponents.inject(1, :*)
end
Triangular.find{|t| factor_count(t) >= 500} # => 76576500
Notes:
Float::INFINITY is new to 1.9.2. Either use 1.0/0, require 'backports' or do a loop if using an earlier version.
The each could be improved by first checking that a block is passed; you'll often see things like:
def each
return to_enum __method__ unless block_given?
# ...
Rather than solve the problem in one go, looking at the individual parts of the problem might help you understand ruby a bit better.
The first part is finding out what the triangle number would be. Since this uses sequence of natural numbers, you can represent this using a range in ruby. Here's an example:
(1..10).to_a => [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
An array in ruby is considered an enumerable, and ruby provides lots of ways to enumerate over data. Using this notion you can iterate over this array using the each method and pass a block that sums the numbers.
sum = 0
(1..10).each do |x|
sum += x
end
sum => 55
This can also be done using another enumerable method known as inject that will pass what is returned from the previous element to the current element. Using this, you can get the sum in one line. In this example I use 1.upto(10), which will functionally work the same as (1..10).
1.upto(10).inject(0) {|sum, x| sum + x} => 55
Stepping through this, the first time this is called, sum = 0, x = 1, so (sum + x) = 1. Then it passes this to the next element and so sum = 1, x = 2, (sum + x) = 3. Next sum = 3, x = 3, (sum + x) = 6. sum = 6, x = 4, (sum + x) = 10. Etc etc.
That's just the first step of this problem. If you want to learn the language in this way, you should approach each part of the problem and learn what is appropriate to learn for that part, rather than tackling the entire problem.
REFACTORED SOLUTION (though not efficient at all)
def factors(n)
(1..n).select{|x| n % x == 0}
end
def triangle(n)
(n * (n + 1)) / 2
end
n = 2
until factors(triangle(n)).size >= 500
puts n
n += 1
end
puts triangle(n)
It looks like you are coming from writing Ocaml, or another functional language. In Ruby, you would want to use more def to define your methods. Ruby is about staying clean. But that might also be a personal preference.
And rather than a loop do you could while (faction_count(traingle_number(n)) < 500) do but for some that might be too much for one line.

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