Trying to solve symmetric difference using Javascript
As with all problems, it's best to start off writing an algorithm:
Concatenate versions of the arrays, where each array is filtered to contain those elements which no array other than the current one contains
Then just write that down in JS:
function sym() {
var arrays = [].slice.apply(arguments);
return [].concat.apply([], // concatenate
arrays.map( // versions of the arrays
function(array, i) { // where each array
return array.filter( // is filtered to contain
function(elt) { // those elements which
return !arrays.some( // no array
function(a, j) { //
return i !== j // other than the current one
&& a.indexOf(elt) >= 0 // contains
;
}
);
}
);
}
)
);
}
Non-commented version, written more succinctly using ES6:
function sym(...arrays) {
return [].concat(arrays .
map((array, i) => array .
filter(elt => !arrays .
some((a, j) => i !== j && a.indexOf(elt) >= 0))));
}
Here's a version that uses the Set object to make for faster lookup. Here's the basic logic:
- It puts each array passed as an argument into a separate Set object (to faciliate fast lookup).
- Then, it iterates each passed in array and compares it to the other Set objects (the ones not made from the array being iterated).
- If the item is not found in any of the other Sets, then it is added to the result.
So, it starts with the first array [1, 1, 2, 6]. Since 1 is not found in either of the other arrays, each of the first two 1 values are added to the result. Then 2 is found in the second set so it is not added to the result. Then 6 is not found in either of the other two sets so it is added to the result. The same process repeats for the second array [2, 3, 5] where 2 and 3 are found in other Sets, but 5 is not so 5 is added to the result. And, for the last array, only 4 is not found in the other Sets. So, the final result is [1,1,6,5,4].
The Set objects are used for convenience and performance. One could use .indexOf() to look them up in each array or one could make your own Set-like lookup with a plain object if you didn't want to rely on the Set object. There's also a partial polyfill for the Set object that would work here in this answer.
function symDiff() {
var sets = [], result = [];
// make copy of arguments into an array
var args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments, 0);
// put each array into a set for easy lookup
args.forEach(function(arr) {
sets.push(new Set(arr));
});
// now see which elements in each array are unique
// e.g. not contained in the other sets
args.forEach(function(array, arrayIndex) {
// iterate each item in the array
array.forEach(function(item) {
var found = false;
// iterate each set (use a plain for loop so it's easier to break)
for (var setIndex = 0; setIndex < sets.length; setIndex++) {
// skip the set from our own array
if (setIndex !== arrayIndex) {
if (sets[setIndex].has(item)) {
// if the set has this item
found = true;
break;
}
}
}
if (!found) {
result.push(item);
}
});
});
return result;
}
var r = symDiff([1, 1, 2, 6], [2, 3, 5], [2, 3, 4]);
log(r);
function log(x) {
var d = document.createElement("div");
d.textContent = JSON.stringify(x);
document.body.appendChild(d);
}One key part of this code is how it compares a given item to the Sets from the other arrays. It just iterates through the list of Set objects, but it skips the Set object that has the same index in the array as the array being iterated. That skips the Set made from this array so it's only looking for items that exist in other arrays. That allows it to retain duplicates that occur in only one array.
Here's a version that uses the Set object if it's present, but inserts a teeny replacement if not (so this will work in more older browsers):
function symDiff() {
var sets = [], result = [], LocalSet;
if (typeof Set === "function") {
try {
// test to see if constructor supports iterable arg
var temp = new Set([1,2,3]);
if (temp.size === 3) {
LocalSet = Set;
}
} catch(e) {}
}
if (!LocalSet) {
// use teeny polyfill for Set
LocalSet = function(arr) {
this.has = function(item) {
return arr.indexOf(item) !== -1;
}
}
}
// make copy of arguments into an array
var args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments, 0);
// put each array into a set for easy lookup
args.forEach(function(arr) {
sets.push(new LocalSet(arr));
});
// now see which elements in each array are unique
// e.g. not contained in the other sets
args.forEach(function(array, arrayIndex) {
// iterate each item in the array
array.forEach(function(item) {
var found = false;
// iterate each set (use a plain for loop so it's easier to break)
for (var setIndex = 0; setIndex < sets.length; setIndex++) {
// skip the set from our own array
if (setIndex !== arrayIndex) {
if (sets[setIndex].has(item)) {
// if the set has this item
found = true;
break;
}
}
}
if (!found) {
result.push(item);
}
});
});
return result;
}
var r = symDiff([1, 1, 2, 6], [2, 3, 5], [2, 3, 4]);
log(r);
function log(x) {
var d = document.createElement("div");
d.textContent = JSON.stringify(x);
document.body.appendChild(d);
}I came across this question in my research of the same coding challenge on FCC. I was able to solve it using for and while loops, but had some trouble solving using the recommended Array.reduce(). After learning a ton about .reduce and other array methods, I thought I'd share my solutions as well.
This is the first way I solved it, without using .reduce.
function sym() {
var arrays = [].slice.call(arguments);
function diff(arr1, arr2) {
var arr = [];
arr1.forEach(function(v) {
if ( !~arr2.indexOf(v) && !~arr.indexOf(v) ) {
arr.push( v );
}
});
arr2.forEach(function(v) {
if ( !~arr1.indexOf(v) && !~arr.indexOf(v) ) {
arr.push( v );
}
});
return arr;
}
var result = diff(arrays.shift(), arrays.shift());
while (arrays.length > 0) {
result = diff(result, arrays.shift());
}
return result;
}
After learning and trying various method combinations, I came up with this that I think is pretty succinct and readable.
function sym() {
var arrays = [].slice.call(arguments);
function diff(arr1, arr2) {
return arr1.filter(function (v) {
return !~arr2.indexOf(v);
});
}
return arrays.reduce(function (accArr, curArr) {
return [].concat( diff(accArr, curArr), diff(curArr, accArr) )
.filter(function (v, i, self) { return self.indexOf(v) === i; });
});
}
That last .filter line I thought was pretty cool to dedup an array. I found it here, but modified it to use the 3rd callback parameter instead of the named array due to the method chaining.
This challenge was a lot of fun!
// Set difference, a.k.a. relative compliment
const diff = (a, b) => a.filter(v => !b.includes(v))
const symDiff = (first, ...rest) =>
rest.reduce(
(acc, x) => [
...diff(acc, x),
...diff(x, acc),
],
first,
)
/* - - - */
console.log(symDiff([1, 3], ['Saluton', 3])) // [1, 'Saluton']
console.log(symDiff([1, 3], [2, 3], [2, 8, 5])) // [1, 8, 5]Just use _.xor or copy lodash code.