interactive-coding-challenges/arrays_strings/unique_chars/unique_chars_challenge.ipynb

{
 "cells": [
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "<small><i>This notebook was prepared by [Donne Martin](http://donnemartin.com). Source and license info is on [GitHub](https://github.com/donnemartin/interactive-coding-challenges).</i></small>"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "# Challenge Notebook"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "## Problem: Implement an algorithm to determine if a string has all unique characters\n",
    "\n",
    "* [Constraints](#Constraints)\n",
    "* [Test Cases](#Test-Cases)\n",
    "* [Algorithm](#Algorithm)\n",
    "* [Code](#Code)\n",
    "* [Unit Test](#Unit-Test)\n",
    "* [Solution Notebook](#Solution-Notebook)"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "## Constraints\n",
    "\n",
    "*Problem statements are sometimes ambiguous.  Identifying constraints and stating assumptions can help to ensure you code the intended solution.*\n",
    "\n",
    "* Can you assume the string is ASCII?\n",
    "    * Yes\n",
    "    * Note: Unicode strings could require special handling depending on your language\n",
    "* Can we assume this is case sensitive?\n",
    "    * Yes\n",
    "* Can you use additional data structures?\n",
    "    * Yes"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "## Test Cases\n",
    "\n",
    "*It is important to identify and run through general and edge cases by hand.*\n",
    "\n",
    "* '' -> True\n",
    "* 'foo' -> False\n",
    "* 'bar' -> True"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "## Algorithm\n",
    "\n",
    "Refer to the [Solution Notebook](http://nbviewer.ipython.org/github/donnemartin/interactive-coding-challenges/blob/master/arrays_strings/compress/unique_chars_solution.ipynb).  If you are stuck and need a hint, the solution notebook's algorithm discussion might be a good place to start."
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "## Code"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "code",
   "execution_count": null,
   "metadata": {
    "collapsed": false
   },
   "outputs": [],
   "source": [
    "def unique_chars(string):\n",
    "    # TODO: Implement me\n",
    "    pass"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "## Unit Test"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "**The following unit test is expected to fail until you solve the challenge.**"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "code",
   "execution_count": null,
   "metadata": {
    "collapsed": false
   },
   "outputs": [],
   "source": [
    "# %load test_unique_chars.py\n",
    "from nose.tools import assert_equal\n",
    "\n",
    "\n",
    "class TestUniqueChars(object):\n",
    "\n",
    "  def test_unique_chars(self, func):\n",
    "        assert_equal(func(''), True)\n",
    "        assert_equal(func('foo'), False)\n",
    "        assert_equal(func('bar'), True)\n",
    "        print('Success: test_unique_chars')\n",
    "\n",
    "def main():\n",
    "    test = TestUniqueChars()\n",
    "    test.test_unique_chars(unique_chars)\n",
    "    try:\n",
    "        test.test_unique_chars(unique_chars_hash)\n",
    "        test.test_unique_chars(unique_chars_inplace)\n",
    "    except NameError:\n",
    "        # Alternate solutions are only defined\n",
    "        # in the solutions file\n",
    "        pass\n",
    "    \n",
    "if __name__ == '__main__':\n",
    "    main()"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "## Solution Notebook\n",
    "\n",
    "Review the [Solution Notebook](http://nbviewer.ipython.org/github/donnemartin/interactive-coding-challenges/blob/master/arrays_strings/compress/unique_chars_solution.ipynb) for a discussion on algorithms and code solutions."
   ]
  }
 ],
 "metadata": {
  "kernelspec": {
   "display_name": "Python 2",
   "language": "python",
   "name": "python2"
  },
  "language_info": {
   "codemirror_mode": {
    "name": "ipython",
    "version": 2
   },
   "file_extension": ".py",
   "mimetype": "text/x-python",
   "name": "python",
   "nbconvert_exporter": "python",
   "pygments_lexer": "ipython2",
   "version": "2.7.10"
  }
 },
 "nbformat": 4,
 "nbformat_minor": 0
}