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Add binary-search exercise (#229)
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BNAndras authored Apr 2, 2024
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8 changes: 8 additions & 0 deletions config.json
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"practices": [],
"prerequisites": [],
"difficulty": 2
},
{
"slug": "binary-search",
"name": "Binary Search",
"uuid": "adb6cf56-528a-4462-8377-5b654cf48fbd",
"practices": [],
"prerequisites": [],
"difficulty": 2
}
]
},
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29 changes: 29 additions & 0 deletions exercises/practice/binary-search/.docs/instructions.md
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# Instructions

Your task is to implement a binary search algorithm.

A binary search algorithm finds an item in a list by repeatedly splitting it in half, only keeping the half which contains the item we're looking for.
It allows us to quickly narrow down the possible locations of our item until we find it, or until we've eliminated all possible locations.

~~~~exercism/caution
Binary search only works when a list has been sorted.
~~~~

The algorithm looks like this:

- Find the middle element of a _sorted_ list and compare it with the item we're looking for.
- If the middle element is our item, then we're done!
- If the middle element is greater than our item, we can eliminate that element and all the elements **after** it.
- If the middle element is less than our item, we can eliminate that element and all the elements **before** it.
- If every element of the list has been eliminated then the item is not in the list.
- Otherwise, repeat the process on the part of the list that has not been eliminated.

Here's an example:

Let's say we're looking for the number 23 in the following sorted list: `[4, 8, 12, 16, 23, 28, 32]`.

- We start by comparing 23 with the middle element, 16.
- Since 23 is greater than 16, we can eliminate the left half of the list, leaving us with `[23, 28, 32]`.
- We then compare 23 with the new middle element, 28.
- Since 23 is less than 28, we can eliminate the right half of the list: `[23]`.
- We've found our item.
13 changes: 13 additions & 0 deletions exercises/practice/binary-search/.docs/introduction.md
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# Introduction

You have stumbled upon a group of mathematicians who are also singer-songwriters.
They have written a song for each of their favorite numbers, and, as you can imagine, they have a lot of favorite numbers (like [0][zero] or [73][seventy-three] or [6174][kaprekars-constant]).

You are curious to hear the song for your favorite number, but with so many songs to wade through, finding the right song could take a while.
Fortunately, they have organized their songs in a playlist sorted by the title — which is simply the number that the song is about.

You realize that you can use a binary search algorithm to quickly find a song given the title.

[zero]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0
[seventy-three]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/73_(number)
[kaprekars-constant]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6174_(number)
19 changes: 19 additions & 0 deletions exercises/practice/binary-search/.meta/config.json
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{
"authors": [
"BNAndras"
],
"files": {
"solution": [
"source/binary_search.d"
],
"test": [
"source/binary_search.d"
],
"example": [
"example/binary_search.d"
]
},
"blurb": "Implement a binary search algorithm.",
"source": "Wikipedia",
"source_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_search_algorithm"
}
43 changes: 43 additions & 0 deletions exercises/practice/binary-search/.meta/tests.toml
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# This is an auto-generated file.
#
# Regenerating this file via `configlet sync` will:
# - Recreate every `description` key/value pair
# - Recreate every `reimplements` key/value pair, where they exist in problem-specifications
# - Remove any `include = true` key/value pair (an omitted `include` key implies inclusion)
# - Preserve any other key/value pair
#
# As user-added comments (using the # character) will be removed when this file
# is regenerated, comments can be added via a `comment` key.

[b55c24a9-a98d-4379-a08c-2adcf8ebeee8]
description = "finds a value in an array with one element"

[73469346-b0a0-4011-89bf-989e443d503d]
description = "finds a value in the middle of an array"

[327bc482-ab85-424e-a724-fb4658e66ddb]
description = "finds a value at the beginning of an array"

[f9f94b16-fe5e-472c-85ea-c513804c7d59]
description = "finds a value at the end of an array"

[f0068905-26e3-4342-856d-ad153cadb338]
description = "finds a value in an array of odd length"

[fc316b12-c8b3-4f5e-9e89-532b3389de8c]
description = "finds a value in an array of even length"

[da7db20a-354f-49f7-a6a1-650a54998aa6]
description = "identifies that a value is not included in the array"

[95d869ff-3daf-4c79-b622-6e805c675f97]
description = "a value smaller than the array's smallest value is not found"

[8b24ef45-6e51-4a94-9eac-c2bf38fdb0ba]
description = "a value larger than the array's largest value is not found"

[f439a0fa-cf42-4262-8ad1-64bf41ce566a]
description = "nothing is found in an empty array"

[2c353967-b56d-40b8-acff-ce43115eed64]
description = "nothing is found when the left and right bounds cross"
2 changes: 2 additions & 0 deletions exercises/practice/binary-search/dub.sdl
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name "binary-search"
buildRequirements "disallowDeprecations"
40 changes: 40 additions & 0 deletions exercises/practice/binary-search/example/binary_search.d
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module binary_search;

class BinarySearch
{
public:
this(immutable int[] values)
{
this.values = values;
}

final int find(immutable int value)
{
int start = 0;
int stop = cast(int) this.values.length - 1;

while (start <= stop)
{
int index = (start + stop) / 2;
int median = this.values[index];
if (median == value)
{
return index;
}

if (median < value)
{
start = index + 1;
}
else
{
stop = index - 1;
}
}

throw new Exception("value not in list");
}

private:
immutable int[] values;
}
92 changes: 92 additions & 0 deletions exercises/practice/binary-search/source/binary_search.d
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module binary_search;

class BinarySearch
{
this(immutable int[] values)
{
// Implement this function
}

final int find(immutable int value)
{
// implement this function
}
}

unittest
{
const int allTestsEnabled = 0;

// Finds a value in an array with one element
{
BinarySearch bs = new BinarySearch([6]);
assert(bs.find(6) == 0);
}

static if (allTestsEnabled)
{

import std.exception : assertThrown;

// Finds a value in the middle of an array
{
BinarySearch bs = new BinarySearch([1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11]);
assert(bs.find(6) == 3);
}

// Finds a value at the beginning of an array
{
BinarySearch bs = new BinarySearch([1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11]);
assert(bs.find(1) == 0);
}

// Finds a value at the end of an array
{
BinarySearch bs = new BinarySearch([1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11]);
assert(bs.find(11) == 6);
}

// Finds a value in an array of odd length
{
BinarySearch bs = new BinarySearch([1, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 634]);
assert(bs.find(144) == 9);
}

// Finds a value in an array of even length
{
BinarySearch bs = new BinarySearch([1, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377]);
assert(bs.find(21) == 5);
}

// Identifies that a value is not included in the array
{
BinarySearch bs = new BinarySearch([1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11]);
assertThrown(bs.find(7));
}

// A value smaller than the array's smallest value is not found
{
BinarySearch bs = new BinarySearch([1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11]);
assertThrown(bs.find(0));
}

// A value larger than the array's largest value is not found
{
BinarySearch bs = new BinarySearch([1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11]);
assertThrown(bs.find(13));
}

// Nothing is found in an empty array
{
BinarySearch bs = new BinarySearch([]);
assertThrown(bs.find(1));
}

// Nothing is found when the left and right bounds cross
{
BinarySearch bs = new BinarySearch([1, 2]);
assertThrown(bs.find(0));
}

}
}

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