Homework 3

Due by 11:59pm on Tuesday, 7/7

Instructions

Download hw03.zip. Inside the archive, you will find a file called hw03.py, along with a copy of the OK autograder.

Submission: When you are done, submit with python3 ok --submit. You may submit more than once before the deadline; only the final submission will be scored. See Lab 1 for instructions on submitting assignments.

Using OK: If you have any questions about using OK, please refer to this guide.

Readings: You might find the following references useful:

Composition questions (required)

One of the most important aspects of writing code is readability, or composition; it is often the case that a fellow programmer needs to read and understand your code. A program is composed well if it is

  • concise
  • uses well-named variables
  • understandable and easy to follow

Programs that have poor composition are often difficult to understand, needlessly verbose, or difficult to maintain. For more details, see this article about composition.

For each of the following questions, decide which version of the question's code has better composition explain why. See each question for further instructions.

Question 1: Composition: keep_if

Consider these two versions of the keep_if function:

Version 1 
def keep_if(cond, n):
    """Prints out all integers from 1 to n that
    satisfy the cond function.
    """
    i = 1
    while i <= n:
        if cond(i):
            print(i)
        i += 1
Version 2 
def keep_if(cond, n):
    """Prints out all integers from 1 to n that
    satisfy the cond function.
    """
    i = 1
    while i <= n:
        if cond(i):
            print(i)
            i += 1
        else:
            i += 1

Decide which of version (1 or 2) has better composition:

  • assign the variable better_keep_if to the number of your choice (either 1 or 2)
  • assign the variable better_keep_if_explanation to a (multi-line) string explaining your decision

in your homework file.

better_keep_if = None  # REPLACE None WITH 1 or 2

better_keep_if_explanation = """
YOUR EXPLANATION HERE
"""

Required questions

Question 2: G function

A mathematical function G on positive integers is defined by two cases:

G(n) = n,                                       if n <= 3
G(n) = G(n - 1) + 2 * G(n - 2) + 3 * G(n - 3),  if n > 3

Write a recursive function g that computes G(n). Then, write an iterative function g_iter that also computes G(n):

def g(n):
    """Return the value of G(n), computed recursively.

    >>> g(1)
    1
    >>> g(2)
    2
    >>> g(3)
    3
    >>> g(4)
    10
    >>> g(5)
    22
    """
    "*** YOUR CODE HERE ***"

def g_iter(n):
    """Return the value of G(n), computed iteratively.

    >>> g_iter(1)
    1
    >>> g_iter(2)
    2
    >>> g_iter(3)
    3
    >>> g_iter(4)
    10
    >>> g_iter(5)
    22
    """
    "*** YOUR CODE HERE ***"

Use OK to test your code:

python3 ok -q g
python3 ok -q g_iter

Question 3: Ping pong

The ping-pong sequence counts up starting from 1 and is always either counting up or counting down. At element k, the direction switches if k is a multiple of 7 or contains the digit 7. The first 30 elements of the ping-pong sequence are listed below, with direction swaps marked using brackets at the 7th, 14th, 17th, 21st, 27th, and 28th elements:

1 2 3 4 5 6 [7] 6 5 4 3 2 1 [0] 1 2 [3] 2 1 0 [-1] 0 1 2 3 4 [5] [4] 5 6

Implement a function pingpong that returns the nth element of the ping-pong sequence. Do not use any assignment statements; however, you may use def statements.

Hint: If you're stuck, try implementing pingpong first using assignment and a while statement, then try a recursive implementation without assignment:

def pingpong(n):
    """Return the nth element of the ping-pong sequence.

    >>> pingpong(7)
    7
    >>> pingpong(8)
    6
    >>> pingpong(15)
    1
    >>> pingpong(21)
    -1
    >>> pingpong(22)
    0
    >>> pingpong(30)
    6
    >>> pingpong(68)
    2
    >>> pingpong(69)
    1
    >>> pingpong(70)
    0
    >>> pingpong(71)
    1
    >>> pingpong(72)
    0
    >>> pingpong(100)
    2
    """
    "*** YOUR CODE HERE ***"

Use OK to test your code:

python3 ok -q pingpong

You may use the function has_seven, which returns True if a number k contains the digit 7 at least once.

def has_seven(k):
    """Returns True if at least one of the digits of k is a 7, False otherwise.

    >>> has_seven(3)
    False
    >>> has_seven(7)
    True
    >>> has_seven(2734)
    True
    >>> has_seven(2634)
    False
    >>> has_seven(734)
    True
    >>> has_seven(7777)
    True
    """
    if k % 10 == 7:
        return True
    elif k < 10:
        return False
    else:
        return has_seven(k // 10)

Question 4: Count change

Once the machines take over, the denomination of every coin will be a power of two: 1-cent, 2-cent, 4-cent, 8-cent, 16-cent, etc. There will be no limit to how much a coin can be worth.

A set of coins makes change for n if the sum of the values of the coins is n. For example, the following sets make change for 7:

  • 7 1-cent coins
  • 5 1-cent, 1 2-cent coins
  • 3 1-cent, 2 2-cent coins
  • 3 1-cent, 1 4-cent coins
  • 1 1-cent, 3 2-cent coins
  • 1 1-cent, 1 2-cent, 1 4-cent coins

Thus, there are 6 ways to make change for 7. Write a function count_change that takes a positive integer n and returns the number of ways to make change for n using these coins of the future:

def count_change(amount):
    """Return the number of ways to make change for amount.

    >>> count_change(7)
    6
    >>> count_change(10)
    14
    >>> count_change(20)
    60
    >>> count_change(100)
    9828
    """
    "*** YOUR CODE HERE ***"

Use OK to test your code:

python3 ok -q count_change

Question 5: Towers of Hanoi

A classic puzzle called the Towers of Hanoi is a game that consists of three rods, and a number of disks of different sizes which can slide onto any rod. The puzzle starts with n disks in a neat stack in ascending order of size on a start rod, the smallest at the top, forming a conical shape.

Towers of Hanoi

The objective of the puzzle is to move the entire stack to an end rod, obeying the following rules:

  • Only one disk may be moved at a time.
  • Each move consists of taking the top (smallest) disk from one of the rods and sliding it onto another rod, on top of the other disks that may already be present on that rod.
  • No disk may be placed on top of a smaller disk.

Complete the definition of towers_of_hanoi which prints out the steps to solve this puzzle for any number of n disks starting from the start rod and moving them to the end rod:

def towers_of_hanoi(n, start, end):
    """Print the moves required to solve the towers of hanoi game, starting
    with n disks on the start pole and finishing on the end pole.

    The game is to assumed to have 3 poles.

    >>> towers_of_hanoi(1, 1, 3)
    Move the top disk from rod 1 to rod 3
    >>> towers_of_hanoi(2, 1, 3)
    Move the top disk from rod 1 to rod 2
    Move the top disk from rod 1 to rod 3
    Move the top disk from rod 2 to rod 3
    >>> towers_of_hanoi(3, 1, 3)
    Move the top disk from rod 1 to rod 3
    Move the top disk from rod 1 to rod 2
    Move the top disk from rod 3 to rod 2
    Move the top disk from rod 1 to rod 3
    Move the top disk from rod 2 to rod 1
    Move the top disk from rod 2 to rod 3
    Move the top disk from rod 1 to rod 3
    """
    assert 0 < start <= 3 and 0 < end <= 3 and start != end, "Bad start/end"
    "*** YOUR CODE HERE ***"

Use OK to test your code:

python3 ok -q towers_of_hanoi

Extra questions

Question 6: Anonymous factorial

The recursive factorial function can be written as a single expression by using a conditional expression.

>>> fact = lambda n: 1 if n == 1 else mul(n, fact(sub(n, 1)))
>>> fact(5)
120

However, this implementation relies on the fact (no pun intended) that fact has a name, to which we refer in the body of fact. To write a recursive function, we have always given it a name using a def or assignment statement so that we can refer to the function within its own body. In this question, your job is to define fact recursively without giving it a name!

Write an expression that computes n factorial using only call expressions, conditional expressions, and lambda expressions (no assignment or def statements). Note in particular that you are not allowed to use make_anonymous_factorial in your return expression. The sub and mul functions from the operator module are the only built-in functions required to solve this problem:

from operator import sub, mul

def make_anonymous_factorial():
    """Return the value of an expression that computes factorial.

    >>> make_anonymous_factorial()(5)
    120
    """
    return 'YOUR_EXPRESSION_HERE'

Use OK to test your code:

python3 ok -q make_anonymous_factorial