.. raw:: html

   <script>ODSA.SETTINGS.MODULE_SECTIONS = ['', 'using-helpers-to-write-reverse-and-split-functions', 'using-the-split-function-to-develop-a-sorting-function', 'additional-practice-with-the-accumulator-pattern'];</script>

.. _FP4:


.. raw:: html

   <script>ODSA.SETTINGS.DISP_MOD_COMP = true;ODSA.SETTINGS.MODULE_NAME = "FP4";ODSA.SETTINGS.MODULE_LONG_NAME = "Using Helper Functions with Accumulators";ODSA.SETTINGS.MODULE_CHAPTER = "modules"; ODSA.SETTINGS.BUILD_DATE = "2022-11-29 16:52:11"; ODSA.SETTINGS.BUILD_CMAP = false;JSAV_OPTIONS['lang']='en';JSAV_EXERCISE_OPTIONS['code']='java';</script>


.. |--| unicode:: U+2013   .. en dash
.. |---| unicode:: U+2014  .. em dash, trimming surrounding whitespace
   :trim:



.. odsalink:: AV/PL/FP/FP4CON.css
.. This file is part of the OpenDSA eTextbook project. See
.. http://opendsa.org for more details.
.. Copyright (c) 2012-2020 by the OpenDSA Project Contributors, and
.. distributed under an MIT open source license.

.. avmetadata:: 
   :author: David Furcy and Tom Naps

=================================================================
Using Helper Functions with Accumulators
=================================================================

.. _reverse:

Using Helpers to Write reverse and split Functions
--------------------------------------------------

How would you design a *reverse* function that takes in a list of integers
and returns a list containing the same elements as the input list but in
reverse order?

::

    > reverse( [1,2,3] )   // we could start with [ ] and insert 1 into it to get [ 1 ]
    [ 3, 2, 1 ]            // then insert 2 into [ 1 ] to get [ 2, 1 ]
                           // then insert 3 into [ 2, 1 ] to get [ 3, 2, 1 ]
    > reverse( [ ] )
    [ ]



The essence of using the *accumulator pattern* is to add an extra
argument, called an *accumulator*, to a helper function for the
function we are trying to develop.  For *reverse*, we could use a recursive helper
function that takes in the input list *ns* and the list *acc* that is being built.
This is illustrated in the slide show below.


.. inlineav:: FP4Code1CON ss
   :points: 0.0
   :required: False
   :threshold: 1.0
   :long_name: Illustrate Use of Accumulator in Developing Reverse Function
   :output: show



As another example of using an accumulator, consider how you would
design a split function that takes in an integer :math:`n` and a list
:math:`ns` of integers and returns two lists, the first one of which
contains all of the elements of :math:`ns` that are smaller than
:math:`n` and the second one contains the remaining elements of
:math:`ns`?

::

    > split(5, [1,9,2,8,3,7])
    [ [ 3, 2, 1 ], [ 7, 8, 9 ] ]  
    > split(5,[ ])
    [ [ ], [ ] ]

We call the first argument of split the *pivot* because of a famous
algorithm that uses split (see the second review problem below).


.. inlineav:: FP4Code2CON ss
   :points: 0.0
   :required: False
   :threshold: 1.0
   :long_name: Illustrate Use of Accumulator in Developing Split Function
   :output: show


The first review problem will test your understanding of *split* and
another function called *join*, which is also developed using an
accumulator.


.. avembed:: Exercises/PL/SplitAndJoin.html ka
   :module: FP4
   :points: 1.0
   :required: True
   :threshold: 1
   :exer_opts: JXOP-debug=true&amp;JOP-lang=en&amp;JXOP-code=java
   :long_name: Split and Join with accumulators

Using the split Function to Develop a Sorting Function
------------------------------------------------------

This problem will have you use the ``split`` function to implement an
efficient sorting algorithm.

.. avembed:: Exercises/PL/QuickSort.html ka
   :module: FP4
   :points: 1.0
   :required: True
   :threshold: 1
   :exer_opts: JXOP-debug=true&amp;JOP-lang=en&amp;JXOP-code=java
   :long_name: Using split to define quick sort

Additional Practice with the Accumulator Pattern
------------------------------------------------

This problem will give you a lot more practice with the accumulator pattern.
It is a randomized problem. You have to solve it three times in a row.

.. avembed:: Exercises/PL/AccumulatorPatternPractice.html ka
   :module: FP4
   :points: 1.0
   :required: True
   :threshold: 3
   :exer_opts: JXOP-debug=true&amp;JOP-lang=en&amp;JXOP-code=java
   :long_name: Accumulator Pattern Practice

.. odsascript:: AV/PL/FP/FP4Code1CON.js
.. odsascript:: AV/PL/FP/FP4Code2CON.js