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Recursion sum numbers *with rule* - Recursion only

So the exercise is:
Using recursion only (no loops)
Find if there is sub ground of numbers that are equal to the given number in an array and follow the rule.
Let's say I have this array, I give the function a number for sum and it must adhere to this rule:
you cannot repeat the same number, and you can't sum 3 numbers in a row (can't do i+1 and i+2)
int[] a = {5,4,2,1,3};
So in this case:
num 8 = true (4+3+1) ( 5+3)
num 11 = false (4+5+2 are 3 but are three in a row) (5+2+1+3 also three in a row)
My attempt is:
public static boolean sumRule(int[] a , int num){
if (num == 0){
return true;
} else {
return sumRule(a,num,0,a.length);
}
}
private static boolean sumRule(int[] a, int num, int low,int high){
if(low >= high || low < 0){
return false;
}
if (a[low] == -1){
return false;
}
if(a[low] == num || num-a[low] == 0 ){
return true;
}
int temp = a[low];
a[low] = -1;
return sumRule(a,num,low,high) || sumRule(a,num-temp,low+3,high) || sumRule(a,num-temp,low+1,high) ;
}
But when I send 11 to this, it still returns true, anyone has an idea what am i missing here?
Thanks,

I have the full code answer below, and here's the explanation:
Essentially you need to break this problem down to a recurrence. What that means is, you look at the choice at each step (i.e. whether to use a number or not in the sum) and recursively calculate both options.
The base case:
If num == 0 then we know it's true. But if num != 0 and the array has length 0, then we know it's false
Recursive case:
We check if the first number in the array is less than or equal to num. If not, then we can't use it. So we do a recursive call with all the same parameters except the array is now the original array minus the first number
If we CAN use the number (i.e. a[0] <= num) then the true answer might use this or it may not use it. We make a recursive call for each case, and return true if either of the recursive calls return true.
The consecutive number rule:
This is easy to enforce. We add a parameter called 'left' which tells us the number of elements we can consecutively take from the beginning of the array. To start with, left is 2 because at most we can take 2 consecutive numbers. Then in the cases where we DO use the first number in the array in our sum, we decrement left. If we don't use the first number in the array, we reset left to 2. In the cases where left becomes 0, we have no choice but to skip the current number at the top of the array.
class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int[] a = new int[] {5,4,2,1,3};
System.out.println(sumRule(a, 8));
System.out.println(sumRule(a, 11));
}
public static boolean sumRule(int[] a , int num){
if (num == 0){
return true;
} else {
return sumRule(a,num,2);
}
}
private static boolean sumRule(int[] a, int num, int left){
if (num == 0) {
return true;
}
if (a.length == 0) {
return false;
}
int[] a_new = new int[a.length-1];
for (int i = 1; i < a.length; i++) a_new[i-1] = a[i];
if (left == 0) {
return sumRule(a_new, num, 2);
}
boolean using_a0 = false;
if (a[0] <= num) {
using_a0 = sumRule(a_new, num-a[0], left-1);
}
boolean not_using_a0 = sumRule(a_new, num, 2);
return (not_using_a0 || using_a0);
}
}
Edit - A variation on the code above without copying the array:
class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int[] a = new int[] {5,4,2,1,3};
System.out.println(sumRule(a, 8));
System.out.println(sumRule(a, 11));
}
public static boolean sumRule(int[] a , int num){
if (num == 0){
return true;
} else {
return sumRuleNoLoop(a,num,2,0);
}
}
private static boolean sumRuleNoLoop(int[] a, int num, int left, int startIdx){
if (num == 0) {
return true;
}
if (startIdx >= a.length) {
return false;
}
if (left == 0) {
return sumRuleNoLoop(a, num, 2, startIdx+1);
}
boolean using_a0 = false;
if (a[startIdx] <= num) {
using_a0 = sumRuleNoLoop(a, num-a[startIdx], left-1, startIdx+1);
}
boolean not_using_a0 = sumRuleNoLoop(a, num, 2, startIdx+1);
return (not_using_a0 || using_a0);
}
}

First thing you can add is a check to see not 3 numbers in a row being added. Also replacing a number in the array with -1 would have unintended side effects within recursive calls. Below is something I have. You can ignore the index param I have used to see the values used.
Explanation:
The recursive sumRule method divides the problem into two parts:
First part takes the value of current index and adds with the sum of values starting from next index.
Second part assumes, current value can’t be taken for the sum. It only checks if there is a sum within the subset starting from next value of the array.
In the method, lastIndex is keeping track of the index of last value picked up for the sum. So, in the first call the value is 0, 1 in second and so on.
(start - lastIndex <= 1 ? consecutive + 1 : 1) is to check whether value of consecutive should be increased or not. consecutive = 1 means, current value is added to the sum.
public static boolean sumRule(int[] a, int num) {
if (num == 0) {
return true;
} else {
return sumRule(a, num, 0, 0, 0, 0, "");
}
}
public static boolean sumRule(final int[] a, int num, int sum, int start, int consecutive, int lastIndex,
String index) {
if (consecutive == 3) {
return false;
}
if (sum == num) {
System.out.println(index);
return true;
}
if (start >= a.length) {
return false;
}
return sumRule(a, num, sum + a[start], start + 1, (start - lastIndex <= 1 ? consecutive + 1 : 1), start,
index + ", " + start) || sumRule(a, num, sum, start + 1, consecutive, lastIndex, index);
}

Here is my implementation. It contains comments explaining what the different parts do.
public class RecurSum {
/**
* Determines whether 'sum' equals 'target'.
*
* #param arr - its elements are summed
* #param sum - sum of some elements in 'arr'
* #param target - required value of 'sum'
* #param index - index in 'arr'
* #param consecutive - number of consecutive indexes summed to ensure don't exceed 3
* #param start - starting element in 'arr' which is used for back-tracking
*
* #return "true" if 'sum' equals 'target'
*/
private static boolean sumRule(int[] arr, int sum, int target, int index, int consecutive, int start) {
if (sum == target) {
return true;
}
else {
if (index >= arr.length) {
// if we have reached last element in 'arr' then back-track and start again
if (start < arr.length) {
return sumRule(arr, 0, target, start + 1, 0, start + 1);
}
// we have reached last element in 'arr' and cannot back-track
return false;
}
else {
consecutive++;
if (consecutive == 3) {
// skip 3rd consecutive element (because of the rule)
consecutive = 0;
return sumRule(arr, sum, target, index + 2, consecutive, start);
}
else {
if (sum + arr[index] > target) {
// recursive call but don't add current element of 'arr'
return sumRule(arr, sum, target, index + 1, 0, start);
}
// recursive call: add current element of 'arr' to 'sum' and proceed to next element
return sumRule(arr, sum + arr[index], target, index + 1, consecutive, start);
}
}
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
int[] arr = new int[]{5, 4, 2, 1, 3};
// initial call to recursive method with target = 11 (eleven)
System.out.println(sumRule(arr, 0, 11, 0, 0, 0));
// initial call to recursive method with target = 8
System.out.println(sumRule(arr, 0, 8, 0, 0, 0));
}
}

Recursively finding the average of even numbers in an array

I'm trying to find the average of all even numbers in an array using recursion and I'm stuck.
I realize that n will have to be decremented for each odd number so I divide by the correct value, but I can't wrap my mind around how to do so with recursion.
I don't understand how to keep track of n as I go, considering it will just revert when I return.
Is there a way I'm missing to keep track of n, or am I looking at this the wrong way entirely?
EDIT: I should have specified, I need to use recursion specifically. It's an assignment.
public static int getEvenAverage(int[] A, int i, int n)
{
// first element
if (i == 0)
if (A[i] % 2 == 0)
return A[0];
else
return 0;
// last element
if (i == n - 1)
{
if (A[i] % 2 == 0)
return (A[i] + getEvenAverage(A, i - 1, n)) / n;
else
return (0 + getEvenAverage(A, i - 1, n)) / n;
}
if (A[i] % 2 == 0)
return A[i] + getEvenAverage(A, i - 1, n);
else
return 0 + getEvenAverage(A, i - 1, n);
}

In order to keep track of the number of even numbers you have encountered so far, just pass an extra parameter.
Moreover, you can also pass an extra parameter for the sum of even numbers and when you hit the base case you can return the average, that is, sum of even numbers divided by their count.
One more thing, your code has two base cases for the first as well as last element which is unneeded.
You can either go decrementing n ( start from size of array and go till the first element ), or
You can go incrementing i starting from 0 till you reach size of array, that is, n.
Here, is something I tried.
public static int getEvenAvg(int[] a, int n, int ct, int sum) {
if (n == -1) {
//make sure you handle the case
//when count of even numbers is zero
//otherwise you'll get Runtime Error.
return sum/ct;
}
if (a[n]%2 == 0) {
ct++;
sum+=a[n];
}
return getEvenAvg(a, n - 1, ct, sum);
}
You can call the function like this getEvenAvg(a, size_of_array - 1, 0, 0);
Example

When dealing with recursive operations, it's often useful to start with the terminating conditions. So what are our terminating conditions here?
There are no more elements to process:
if (index >= a.length) {
// To avoid divide-by-zero
return count == 0 ? 0 : sum / count;
}
... okay, now how do we reduce the number of elements to process? We should probably increment index?
index++;
... oh, but only when going to the next level:
getEvenAverage(elements, index++, sum, count);
Well, we're also going to have to add to sum and count, right?
sum += a[index];
count++;
.... except, only if the element is even:
if (a[index] % 2 == 0) {
sum += a[index];
count++;
}
... and that's about it:
static int getEvenAverage(int[] elements, int index, int sum, int count) {
if (index >= a.length) {
// To avoid divide-by-zero
return count == 0 ? 0 : sum / count;
}
if (a[index] % 2 == 0) {
sum += a[index];
count++;
}
return getEvenAverage(elements, index + 1, sum, count);
}
... although you likely want a wrapper function to make calling it prettier:
static int getEvenAverage(int[] elements) {
return getEvenAverage(elements, 0, 0, 0);
}

Java is not a good language for this kind of thing but here we go:
public class EvenAverageCalculation {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int[] array = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10};
System.out.println(getEvenAverage(array));
}
public static double getEvenAverage(int[] values) {
return getEvenAverage(values, 0, 0);
}
private static double getEvenAverage(int[] values, double currentAverage, int nrEvenValues) {
if (values.length == 0) {
return currentAverage;
}
int head = values[0];
int[] tail = new int[values.length - 1];
System.arraycopy(values, 1, tail, 0, tail.length);
if (head % 2 != 0) {
return getEvenAverage(tail, currentAverage, nrEvenValues);
}
double newAverage = currentAverage * nrEvenValues + head;
nrEvenValues++;
newAverage = newAverage / nrEvenValues;
return getEvenAverage(tail, newAverage, nrEvenValues);
}
}
You pass the current average and the number of even elements so far to each the recursive call. The new average is calculated by multiplying the average again with the number of elements so far, add the new single value and divide it by the new number of elements before passing it to the next recursive call.
The way of recreating new arrays for each recursive call is the part that is not that good with Java. There are other languages that have syntax for splitting head and tail of an array which comes with a much smaller memory footprint as well (each recursive call leads to the creation of a new int-array with n-1 elements). But the way I implemented that is the classical way of functional programming (at least how I learned it in 1994 when I had similar assignments with the programming language Gofer ;-)

Explanation
The difficulties here are that you need to memorize two values:
the amount of even numbers and
the total value accumulated by the even numbers.
And you need to return a final value for an average.
This means that you need to memorize three values at once while only being able to return one element.
Outline
For a clean design you need some kind of container that holds those intermediate results, for example a class like this:
public class Results {
public int totalValueOfEvens;
public int amountOfEvens;
public double getAverage() {
return totalValueOfEvens + 0.0 / amountOfEvens;
}
}
Of course you could also use something like an int[] with two entries.
After that the recursion is very simple. You just need to recursively traverse the array, like:
public void method(int[] values, int index) {
// Abort if last element
if (index == values.length - 1) {
return;
}
method(array, index + 1);
}
And while doing so, update the container with the current values.
Collecting backwards
When collecting backwards you need to store all information in the return value.
As you have multiple things to remember, you should use a container as return type (Results or a 2-entry int[]). Then simply traverse to the end, collect and return.
Here is how it could look like:
public static Results getEvenAverage(int[] values, int curIndex) {
// Traverse to the end
if (curIndex != values.length - 1) {
results = getEvenAverage(values, curIndex + 1);
}
// Update container
int myValue = values[curIndex];
// Whether this element contributes
if (myValue % 2 == 0) {
// Update the result container
results.totalValueOfEvens += myValue;
results.amountOfEvens++;
}
// Return accumulated results
return results;
}
Collecting forwards
The advantage of this method is that the caller does not need to call results.getAverage() by himself. You store the information in the parameters and thus be able to freely choose the return type.
We get our current value and update the container. Then we call the next element and pass him the current container.
After the last element was called, the information saved in the container is final. We now simply need to end the recursion and return to the first element. When again visiting the first element, it will compute the final output based on the information in the container and return.
public static double getEvenAverage(int[] values, int curIndex, Results results) {
// First element in recursion
if (curIndex == 0) {
// Setup the result container
results = new Results();
}
int myValue = values[curIndex];
// Whether this element contributes
if (myValue % 2 == 0) {
// Update the result container
results.totalValueOfEvens += myValue;
results.amountOfEvens++;
}
int returnValue = 0;
// Not the last element in recursion
if (curIndex != values.length - 1) {
getEvenAverage(values, curIndex + 1, results);
}
// Return current intermediate average,
// which is the correct result if current element
// is the first of the recursion
return results.getAverage();
}
Usage by end-user
The backward method is used like:
Results results = getEvenAverage(values, 0);
double average results.getAverage();
Whereas the forward method is used like:
double average = getEvenAverage(values, 0, null);
Of course you can hide that from the user using a helper method:
public double computeEvenAverageBackward(int[] values) {
return getEvenAverage(values, 0).getAverage();
}
public double computeEvenAverageForward(int[] values) {
return getEvenAverage(values, 0, null);
}
Then, for the end-user, it is just this call:
double average = computeEvenAverageBackward(values);

Here's another variant, which uses a (moderately) well known recurrence relationship for averages:
avg0 = 0
avgn = avgn-1 + (xn - avgn-1) / n
where avgn refers to the average of n observations, and xn is the nth observation.
This leads to:
/*
* a is the array of values to process
* i is the current index under consideration
* n is a counter which is incremented only if the current value gets used
* avg is the running average
*/
private static double getEvenAverage(int[] a, int i, int n, double avg) {
if (i >= a.length) {
return avg;
}
if (a[i] % 2 == 0) { // only do updates for even values
avg += (a[i] - avg) / n; // calculate delta and update the average
n += 1;
}
return getEvenAverage(a, i + 1, n, avg);
}
which can be invoked using the following front-end method to protect users from needing to know about the parameter initialization:
public static double getEvenAverage(int[] a) {
return getEvenAverage(a, 0, 1, 0.0);
}

And now for a completely different approach.
This one draws on the fact that if you have two averages, avg1 based on n1 observations and avg2 based on n2 observations, you can combine them to produce a pooled average:
avgpooled = (n1 * avg1 + n2 * avg2) / (n1 + n2).
The only issue here is that the recursive function should return two values, the average and the number of observations on which that average is based. In many other languages, that's not a problem. In Java, it requires some hackery in the form of a trivial, albeit slightly annoying, helper class:
// private helper class because Java doesn't allow multiple returns
private static class Pair {
public double avg;
public int n;
public Pair(double avg, int n) {
super();
this.avg = avg;
this.n = n;
}
}
Applying a divide and conquer strategy yields the following recursion:
private static Pair getEvenAverage(int[] a, int first, int last) {
if (first == last) {
if (a[first] % 2 == 0) {
return new Pair(a[first], 1);
}
} else {
int mid = (first + last) / 2;
Pair p1 = getEvenAverage(a, first, mid);
Pair p2 = getEvenAverage(a, mid + 1, last);
int total = p1.n + p2.n;
if (total > 0) {
return new Pair((p1.n * p1.avg + p2.n * p2.avg) / total, total);
}
}
return new Pair(0.0, 0);
}
We can deal with empty arrays, protect the end-user from having to know about the book-keeping arguments, and return just the average by using the following public front-end:
public static double getEvenAverage(int[] a) {
return a.length > 0 ? getEvenAverage(a, 0, a.length - 1).avg : 0.0;
}
This solution has the benefit of O(log n) stack growth for an array of n items, versus O(n) for the various other solutions that have been proposed. As a result, it can deal with much larger arrays without fear of a stack overflow.

How to find max int in an array, while ignoring all numbers greater than first value?

Having trouble with this problem on an assignment I'm working on. I believe the problem is that the method will never return a negative value, but I'm not sure why that is or how to fix it. (Also, this has to be done using recursion, even though that is probably the worst way to accomplish it.
private static int findMaxOfLessThanFirst(int[] numList, int startIndex, int endIndex, int firstNum) {
if(startIndex>-1&&startIndex<100){
if(startIndex==endIndex){
if(numList[startIndex]<=firstNum){
return numList[startIndex];
} else {
return 222; //number used for testing
}
}
if(numList[startIndex]>=
findMaxOfLessThanFirst(numList,startIndex+1,endIndex,firstNum) &&
numList[startIndex]<=firstNum){
return numList[startIndex];
} else {
return findMaxOfLessThanFirst(numList,startIndex+1,endIndex,firstNum);
}
} return 333; //number used for testing
}
The goal is to return the integer in the array that is largest while ignoring all of the numbers that are larger than numList[0].

private static int findMaxOfLessThanFirst(int[] numList, int currentIndex, int len, int currentMax) {
// when you reach the end of the array, return the currentMax
if (currentIndex == len - 1) {
return currentMax;
}
int firstElement = numList[0];
// if the current element we are looking at in this stage of the recursion is greater
// than the first element, ignore it and recurse on the next element
if (numList[currentIndex] >= firstElement) {
return findMaxOfLessThanFirst(numList, currentIndex + 1, len, currentMax);
}
int newMax;
// if none of the previous conditions were true, and this current value is greater than
// the currentMax, update the currentMax
if (numList[currentIndex] > currentMax) {
newMax = numList[currentIndex];
}
return findMaxOfLessThanFirst(numList, currentIndex + 1, len, newMax);
}
When you call this function, set your currentMax to something like the minimum integer value. This way you can check the return value at the end to see if you did, in fact, have an element less than the first element.

Find the sum of all elements in array recursively in java language

Here is my code:
public int sum(int[] array, int index)
{
//int index is the number of elements in the array.
//Here is my base case:
if (index == 0)
return 0;
//Now it's time for the recursion
else
return array[index] + sum(array, index + 1);
}
I keep on getting an out of bounds error, but I don't what I am doing wrong.

Your base condition is faulty. It should be:
if (index == array.length)
Note, you need to pass index = 0 on first call. If you are passing index = array.length - 1, then keep the base case as it is, and change the recursive method invocation to pass index - 1, instead of index + 1.
However, do you really need recursion? I would seriously give it hundreds of thoughts before reaching out for recursion instead of loop for this task.

Try,
public static void main(String[] args){
int arr[] = {3, 4, 6, 7};
System.out.println(sum(arr, arr.length-1));
}
public static int sum(int[] array, int index) {
if (index == 0) {
return array[0];
} else {
return array[index] + sum(array, index - 1);
}
}

instead of going from 0 to highest index , go from highest index to 0, i did (index -1) because you said index is total elements, so if array has 10 elements, last element has index 9
public int sum(int[] array, int index)
{
//int index is the number of elements in the array.
//Here is my base case:
if (index == 0)
return 0;
//Now it's time for the recursion
else
return array[index-1] + sum(array, (index - 1);
}

# Masud - you're code has a logical error though (i'm beginner Java so sorry if i'm incorrect).
return array[index] + sum(array, index - 1);
array[index]
will receive a out-of-bounds error as index starts at 0 - hence meaning there won't be an index there.
'index - 1' would work.
Also, this would change your base case to return '0' as returning array[0] will have array[0] added twice and an incorrect sum.
This is my code:
public static int sumArrayRecursion(int array[], int n){
if (n == 0){
return 0;
}
else {
return array[n-1] + sumArrayRecursion(array, n-1);
}
}

If you are using Java 1.8 you can do the following
public int sum(int[] array)
{
return (int)array.stream().sum();
}
or even
public int sum(int[] array)
{
return (int)array.sum();
}

Numbers Divisible by 3 recursion

I am writting a program that takes input using a series of numbers. Using recursion and Arrays I am trying to add all the numbers entered that are divisible by 3 and add them together. Ex. 3 4 5 6
Output should be 9. My current output keeps giving me 3 as the output for my entries. Any help or suggestions?
import java.io.*;
import java.text.*;
public class Assignment9 {
public static void main (String args[]) throws IOException{
int i = 0;
int [] nums;
nums = new int [100];
InputStreamReader inRead = new InputStreamReader(System.in);
BufferedReader buffRead = new BufferedReader(inRead);
String line = buffRead.readLine();
try {
while (line.equals("0") == false && i<100) {
i++;
line = buffRead.readLine();
nums[i]=(int) Double.parseDouble(line);
}
} catch(IOException e) {
System.out.println("Array index out of bound");
}
int endIndex = computeSumDivisibleBy3(nums, 0, nums.length-1);
System.out.print ("The minimum number is " + min + ('\n'));
System.out.print ("The sum of the numbers divisible by 3 is " + endIndex + ('\n'));
}
}
public static int computeSumDivisibleBy3(int [] numbers, int startIndex, int endIndex) {
if(startIndex == endIndex) {
if(numbers[endIndex] %3 == 0){
return (int) numbers[endIndex];
} else {
return 0;
}
} else {
if(numbers[endIndex] %3 == 0) {
return (int) (computeSumDivisibleBy3(numbers, startIndex, endIndex - 1) + numbers
}
else {
return computeSumDivisibleBy3(numbers, startIndex, endIndex - 1);
}
}
}

Ok a few things here:
1) A number n is divisible by three if: n%3 == 0 not n%3 == 1
2) When you check to see if a number is divisible by 3, you are checking if the INDEX is divisible by 3, not the actually number in the array (use numbers[endIndex])
Sort those two things out and it should work. This seems like homework, so I'm wary to just give you the correct code rather than letting you work through it and understand it.
Once you get it working, I have two recommendations:
1) You should use an int[] instead of double[] for the array. Any number that isn't an integer won't cleanly divide by 3. When you are reading the file and adding to the array of numbers, use n%1==0 in an if statement to check if the number read is in fact an integer and should be added to your array. This will reduce the amount of recursive calls as the array will be potentially shorter assuming that you were able to dispose of some non integer values.
2) You can make a recursive method with just two parameters, the array of ints and one index. Probably not necessary, but saves you the headache of worrying about passing indices. HINT: startIndex never gets changed, your base case can be improved by knowing the length of the array.
Please feel free to ask me more questions in the comments if you want clarification/more hints.

...
String line = buffRead.readLine();
try {
while (line.equals("0") == false && i < 100) {
nums[i] = Double.parseDouble(line);
i++;
line = buffRead.readLine();
}
} catch (IOException e) {
System.out.println("Array index out of bound");
}
int sum = computeSumDivisibleBy3(nums);
System.out.print("The sum of the numbers divisible by 3 is " + sum + ('\n'));
.....
public static int computeSumDivisibleBy3(double[] numbers) {
return _computeSumDivisibleBy3(numbers, 0);
}
private static int _computeSumDivisibleBy3(double[] numbers, int currentIndex ) {
int sum = 0;
if (currentIndex != numbers.length) {
int currentNumber = (int)numbers[currentIndex];
sum = (currentNumber % 3) == 0 ? currentNumber : 0;
sum += _computeSumDivisibleBy3(numbers, ++currentIndex );
}
return sum;
}