Best practice to evaluate permutations - algorithm

I came across this question, where the OP wanted to improve the following if-block. I open this as a new question because I'm searching a more general solution to this kind of problem.
public int fightMath(int one, int two) {
if(one == 0 && two == 0) { result = 0; }
else if(one == 0 && two == 1) { result = 0; }
else if(one == 0 && two == 2) { result = 1; }
else if(one == 0 && two == 3) { result = 2; }
else if(one == 1 && two == 0) { result = 0; }
else if(one == 1 && two == 1) { result = 0; }
else if(one == 1 && two == 2) { result = 2; }
else if(one == 1 && two == 3) { result = 1; }
else if(one == 2 && two == 0) { result = 2; }
else if(one == 2 && two == 1) { result = 1; }
else if(one == 2 && two == 2) { result = 3; }
else if(one == 2 && two == 3) { result = 3; }
else if(one == 3 && two == 0) { result = 2; }
else if(one == 3 && two == 1) { result = 1; }
else if(one == 3 && two == 2) { result = 3; }
else if(one == 3 && two == 3) { result = 3; }
return result;
}
Now there are n^k possibilities to get a result, where n = 2 and k = 4.
Some answers are suggesting to use an multi-array as a table to reduce the if-jungle.
But I would like to know how to solve such a problem with big n and k? Because a solution with if, switch and the suggested array approach will not scale well and to type things like that in code should be avoided.
If I think about combinatoric problems, there have to be a way to evaluate them easy.

It's just a table of data. The answer to the question is found by multiple keys. It is no different to returning some data held in a database table which could itself be huge and perhaps span multiple tables.

There are two ways to solve this:
Data-based. For example you could create a HashMap mapping the pair of values to the result.
class Pair {
int one, two;
//Generate hashcode and equals
}
Map<Pair, Integer> counts = new HashMap<>();
Pattern-based. Identify a rule/formula that can be used to determine the new value.
This is obviously better but relies on being able to identify a rule that covers all cases.

I would like to know how to solve such a problem with big n and k.
Since the output is determined arbitrarily (a game designer's whims) instead of mathematically (a formula), there's no guarantee of any pattern. Therefore the only general solution is some kind of lookup table.
Essentially, the question is similar to asking for a program that does f(a,b) -> c mapping, but you don't know any of the data beforehand -- instead it's provided at runtime. That program could process the data and find a pattern/formula (which might not exist) or it could build a lookup table.
Personally, I think it's clearer to change the logic to operate on intent (so reading the code explains how the attack works) instead of the actual outcomes (enumerating the list of inputs and matching outputs). Instead of building an if-jungle or a lookup table, structure your code based on how you want the logic to work. JAB's enum-based solution expresses the fight logic explicitly which makes it easier to see where to add new functionality and easier to see bugs (an off by one error in a lookup table isn't obviously wrong on inspection). A lookup table is a likely optimization, but that's only necessary if a profiler says so.

Looking at your question and the original one there appears to be no deducible pattern between the input from the two players and the output (perhaps I'm wrong). Given this the only options are the "if-jungle" you mention or to use a data structure.
To solve such a problem for big n and k values my suggestion would be to create a rule to determine the output (either none, one or both players hit), but ensuring that this rule isn't easily deducible to the players. You could do this by making the rule a function of turn number (e.g. if both players press button 1 on turn #1 the output will be different to if they take the same action on turn #2).

Related

ArrayIndexOutofBoundsException in Knapsack Scala

I am trying to solve Knapsack problem in Scala using dynamic programming .As a part of requirement I also need to show which items are picked to be filled in Knapsack.But I am getting "ArrayIndexOutOfBoundException".
And so far what I have code is like :
availableMoney is equivalent to weight of knapsack.products.channels is equivalent to value[] in knapsack.products.price is equivalent to weight[] in knapsack.
def knapSack(availableMoney: Int, products: List[Product]) : Int = {
var wt = List[Int](products.length)
var value = List[Int](products.length)
for (product <- products) {
value ::= product.channels.length
wt ::= product.price
}
val matrix = Array.fill(2, 2)(0)
val picks = Array.fill(2, 2)(0)
for (i <- 1 to products.length){
for (j <- 0 to availableMoney){
if (wt(i-1)<=j){
matrix(i)(j) = max(matrix(i-1)(j),value(i-1)+matrix(i-1)(j-wt(i-1)));
if (value(i-1)+matrix(i-1)(j-wt(i-1))>matrix(i-1)(j))
picks(i)(j)= 1;
else
picks(i)(j)= -1;
}
else{
picks(i)(j) = -1;
matrix(i)(j) = matrix(i-1)(j);
}
}
}
matrix(products.length)(availableMoney)
}
There are a couple of issues I think:
j runs from 0 to availableMoney, and is then used as an index into picks and matrix which have been initialised to specific sizes, so if availableMoney exceeds those dimensions, it will fail
i runs from 1 to products.length but is also used as an index into picks and matrix, so will miss 0 and if there are more products than the second dimension size, it will fail
Use some println debugging to check more closely what is going on. Looks like an interesting algorithm. Post us a solution once you get it working :)

what would be the equivalent this for loop in linq

I have this for loop that searches a list for specific values and replaces them with new ones.
for (int i = 0; i < Data.Count; i++) {
if (Data[i] > 0 && Data[i] <= 10) {Data[i] = 1;}
else if (Data[i] > 10 && Data[i] < 20) {Data[i] = 2;}
...
}
I've been trying to write this function in linq and I know it can be written this way:
var Data2 = Data.Where(x=> x > 0 && x <= 10).Select(y=> y=1).ToList();
My question is that is there any way to convert this for loop into linq form without the need to declare new lists? I mean a linq form which searches for these values inside the list and when it finds them it replaces them accordingly.
I would suggest against doing this with LINQ, anyway:
Enumerable.Range(0,Data.Count)
.ForEach(x=>{
if (Data[x] > 0 && Data[x] <= 10) {Data[x] = 1;}
else if (Data[x] > 10 && Data[i] < 20) {Data[x] = 2;}
});
this way you don't have to declare a second list, but the code looks less readeable than your original one.
The exact equivalent would be:
Data
.Select((e,i) => new { Element = e, Index = i })
.Where(ei => ei.Element > 0 && ei.Element < 20)
.ToList()
.ForEach(ei => Data[ei.Index] = (ei.Element <= 10) ? 1 : 2);
or second possibility: look at Save's answer.
However it's still creating a List in-between (ForEach comes only for List<T>). It's not very readable, better to use non-mutable approach and just generate new list basing on given criteria.
A lot simpler than the other solutions:
Data = Data.Select(d => (d / 10) + 1)
If you want a top limit, just use Math.Min((d / 10) + 1, topLimit) instead.
Modifying data in-place is not Linq's strength. Linq methods generally are side-effects free. That is why the .ForEach() method is not a Linq method and is only defined for lists.
However there is nothing preventing you from making Linq functions with side-effects.
So I would not recommend this solution, but you can do anything within a select statement, even modifying the underlying list. There is also a select overload that uses the element and its index as parameters ( Select( (element,index) => ... ).
So you can do anything with select you can do in a for loop. But I would recommend the for loop for readability.
data.Select((d,i)=>
{if (d > 0 && d <= 10) data[i]=1 else if (d>10 && d<20 data[i]=2;})
.All(d=>true); // <-- note that you do need some way to consume the IEnumerable
// in order to execute the .Select(). You can use ToList(), Count(), ..

Trouble implementing North-East Paths with recursion

I'm supposed to use recursion to output the total number of unique north-east paths ne(x, y) to get from point A to point B, where B is x rows north and y columns east of A. In addition, I am required to print the possible unique NE paths.
I know how to use recursion to get the total number of unique paths. However, I am stuck with using recursion to print all the NE paths correctly.
This is the given output of some test cases:
image of output
Anyway, here's a screenshot of my faulty recursive code.
Please do give me advice where I went wrong. I have been burning a lot of time on this, but still I can't reach a solution.
I think you should print if( rows == 0 && cols == 0 ), because it's the case when you've reached point B.
Why are you using path+="N" in the first ne call in return? this will add "N" to original path and then you'll get path+"N"+"E" in the second call.
Try following:
public static int ne( int rows, int cols, String path )
{
if( rows == 0 && cols == 0 )
{
System.out.println(path);
return 1;
}
int npats = 0, wpaths = 0;
if( rows != 0 )
npaths = ne( rows-1, cols, path+"N" );
if( cols != 0 )
wpaths = ne( rows, cols-1, path+"E" );
return npaths + wpaths;
}

Scala PriorityQueue on Array[Int] performance issue with complex comparison function (caching is needed)

The problem involves the Scala PriorityQueue[Array[Int]] performance on large data set. The following operations are needed: enqueue, dequeue, and filter. Currently, my implementation is as follows:
For every element of type Array[Int], there is a complex evaluation function: (I'm not sure how to write it in a more efficient way, because it excludes the position 0)
def eval_fun(a : Array[Int]) =
if(a.size < 2) 3
else {
var ret = 0
var i = 1
while(i < a.size) {
if((a(i) & 0x3) == 1) ret += 1
else if((a(i) & 0x3) == 3) ret += 3
i += 1
}
ret / a.size
}
The ordering with a comparison function is based on the evaluation function: (Reversed, descendent order)
val arr_ord = new Ordering[Array[Int]] {
def compare(a : Array[Int], b : Array[Int]) = eval_fun(b) compare eval_fun(a) }
The PriorityQueue is defined as:
val pq: scala.collection.mutable.PriorityQueue[Array[Int]] = PriorityQueue()
Question:
Is there a more elegant and efficient way to write such a evaluation function? I'm thinking of using fold, but fold cannot exclude the position 0.
Is there a data structure to generate a priorityqueue with unique elements? Applying filter operation after each enqueue operation is not efficient.
Is there a cache method to reduce the evaluation computation? Since when adding a new element to the queue, every element may need to be evaluated by eval_fun again, which is not necessary if evaluated value of every element can be cached. Also, I should mention that two distinct element may have the same evaluated value.
Is there a more efficient data structure without using generic type? Because if the size of elements reaches 10,000 and the size of size reaches 1,000, the performance is terribly slow.
Thanks you.
(1) If you want maximum performance here, I would stick to the while loop, even if it is not terribly elegant. Otherwise, if you use a view on Array, you can easily drop the first element before going into the fold:
a.view.drop(1).foldLeft(0)( (sum, a) => sum + ((a & 0x03) match {
case 0x01 => 1
case 0x03 => 3
case _ => 0
})) / a.size
(2) You can maintain two structures, the priority queue, and a set. Both combined give you a sorted-set... So you could use collection.immutable.SortedSet, but there is no mutable variant in the standard library. Do want equality based on the priority function, or the actual array contents? Because in the latter case, you won't get around comparing arrays element by element for each insertion, undoing the effect of caching the priority function value.
(3) Just put the calculated priority along with the array in the queue. I.e.
implicit val ord = Ordering.by[(Int, Array[Int]), Int](_._1)
val pq = new collection.mutable.PriorityQueue[(Int, Array[Int])]
pq += eval_fun(a) -> a
Well, you can use a tail recursive loop (generally these are more "idiomatic":
def eval(a: Array[Int]): Int =
if (a.size < 2) 3
else {
#annotation.tailrec
def loop(ret: Int = 0, i: Int = 1): Int =
if (i >= a.size) ret / a.size
else {
val mod3 = (a(i) & 0x3)
if (mod3 == 1) loop(ret + 1, i + 1)
else if (mod3 == 3) loop(ret + 3, i + 1)
else loop(ret, i + 1)
}
loop()
}
Then you can use that to initialise a cached priority value:
case class PriorityArray(a: Array[Int]) {
lazy val priority = if (a.size < 2) 3 else {
#annotation.tailrec
def loop(ret: Int = 0, i: Int = 1): Int =
if (i >= a.size) ret / a.size
else {
val mod3 = (a(i) & 0x3)
if (mod3 == 2) loop(ret, i + 1)
else loop(ret + mod3, i + 1)
}
loop()
}
}
You may note also that I removed a redundant & op and have only the single conditional (for when it equals 2, rather than two checks for 1 && 3) – these should have some minimal effect.
There is not a huge difference from 0__'s proposal that just came though.
My answers:
If evaluation is critical, keep it as it is. You might get better performance with recursion (not sure why, but it happens), but you'll certainly get worse performance with pretty much any other approach.
No, there isn't, but you can come pretty close to it just modifying the dequeue operation:
def distinctDequeue[T](q: PriorityQueue[T]): T = {
val result = q.dequeue
while (q.head == result) q.dequeue
result
}
Otherwise, you'd have to keep a second data structure just to keep track of whether an element has been added or not. Either way, that equals sign is pretty heavy, but I have a suggestion to make it faster in the next item.
Note, however, that this requires that ties on the the cost function get solved in some other way.
Like 0__ suggested, put the cost on the priority queue. But you can also keep a cache on the function if that would be helpful. I'd try something like this:
val evalMap = scala.collection.mutable.HashMapWrappedArray[Int], Int
def eval_fun(a : Array[Int]) =
if(a.size < 2) 3
else evalMap.getOrElseUpdate(a, {
var ret = 0
var i = 1
while(i < a.size) {
if((a(i) & 0x3) == 1) ret += 1
else if((a(i) & 0x3) == 3) ret += 3
i += 1
}
ret / a.size
})
import scala.math.Ordering.Implicits._
val pq = new collection.mutable.PriorityQueue[(Int, WrappedArray[Int])]
pq += eval_fun(a) -> (a : WrappedArray[Int])
Note that I did not create a special Ordering -- I'm using the standard Ordering so that the WrappedArray will break the ties. There's little cost to wrap the Array, and you get it back with .array, but, on the other hand, you'll get the following:
Ties will be broken by comparing the array themselves. If there aren't many ties in the cost, this should be good enough. If there are, add something else to the tuple to help break ties without comparing the arrays.
That means all equal elements will be kept together, which will enable you to dequeue all of them at the same time, giving the impression of having kept only one.
And that equals will actually work, because WrappedArray compare like Scala sequences do.
I don't understand what you mean by that fourth point.

Determining valid adjacent cells of a square stored as an array

I have an array (of 9 elements, say) which I must treat as a (3 by 3) square.
For the sake of simplifying the question, this is a one-based array (ie, indexing starts at 1 instead of 0).
My goal is to determine valid adjacent squares relative to a starting point.
In other words, how it's stored in memory: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
How I'm treating it:
7 8 9
4 5 6
1 2 3
I already know how to move up and down and test for going out of bounds (1 >= current_index <= 9)
edit: I know the above test is overly general but it's simple and works.
//row_size = 3, row_step is -1, 0 or 1 depending on if we're going left,
//staying put or going right respectively.
current_index += (row_size * row_step);
How do I test for an out of bounds condition when going left or right? Conceptually I know it involves determining if 3 (for example) is on the same row as 4 (or if 10 is even within the same square as 9, as an alternate example, given that multiple squares are in the same array back to back), but I can't figure out how to determine that. I imagine there's a modulo in there somewhere, but where?
Thanks very much,
Geoff
Addendum:
Here's the resulting code, altered for use with a zero-based array (I cleaned up the offset code present in the project) which walks adjacent squares.
bool IsSameSquare(int index0, int index1, int square_size) {
//Assert for square_size != 0 here
return (!((index0 < 0) || (index1 < 0))
&& ((index0 < square_size) && (index1 < square_size)))
&& (index0 / square_size == index1 / square_size);
}
bool IsSameRow(int index0, int index1, int row_size) {
//Assert for row_size != 0 here
return IsSameSquare(index0, index1, row_size * row_size)
&& (index0 / row_size == index1 / row_size);
}
bool IsSameColumn(int index0, int index1, int row_size) {
//Assert for row_size != 0 here
return IsSameSquare(index0, index1, row_size * row_size)
&& (index0 % row_size == index1 % row_size);
}
//for all possible adjacent positions
for (int row_step = -1; row_step < 2; ++row_step) {
//move up, down or stay put.
int row_adjusted_position = original_position + (row_size * row_step);
if (!IsSameSquare(original_position, row_adjusted_position, square_size)) {
continue;
}
for (int column_step = -1; column_step < 2; ++column_step) {
if ((row_step == 0) & (column_step == 0)) { continue; }
//hold on to the position that has had its' row position adjusted.
int new_position = row_adjusted_position;
if (column_step != 0) {
//move left or right
int column_adjusted_position = new_position + column_step;
//if we've gone out of bounds again for the column.
if (IsSameRow(column_adjusted_position, new_position, row_size)) {
new_position = column_adjusted_position;
} else {
continue;
}
} //if (column_step != 0)
//if we get here we know it's safe, do something with new_position
//...
} //for each column_step
} //for each row_step
This is easier if you used 0-based indexing. These rules work if you subtract 1 from all your indexes:
Two indexes are in the same square if (a/9) == (b/9) and a >= 0 and b >= 0.
Two indexes are in the same row if they are in the same square and (a/3) == (b/3).
Two indexes are in the same column if they are in the same square and (a%3) == (b%3).
There are several way to do this, I'm choosing a weird one just for fun. Use modulus.
Ase your rows are size 3 just use modulus of 3 and two simple rules.
If currPos mod 3 = 0 and (currPos+move) mod 3 = 1 then invalid
If currPos mod 3 = 1 and (currPos+move) mod 3 = 0 then invalid
this check for you jumping two a new row, you could also do one rule like this
if (currPos mod 3)-((currPos+move) mod 3)> 1 then invalid
Cheers
You should be using a multidimensional array for this.
If your array class doesn't support multidimensional stuff, you should write up a quick wrapper that does.

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