{ "cells": [ { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "This notebook was prepared by [Donne Martin](http://donnemartin.com). Source and license info is on [GitHub](https://github.com/donnemartin/interactive-coding-challenges)." ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "# Solution Notebook" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "## Problem: Determine if a linked list is a palindrome.\n", "\n", "* [Constraints](#Constraints)\n", "* [Test Cases](#Test-Cases)\n", "* [Algorithm](#Algorithm)\n", "* [Code](#Code)\n", "* [Unit Test](#Unit-Test)" ] }, { "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", "* Is a single character or number a palindrome?\n", " * No\n", "* Can we assume we already have a linked list class that can be used for this problem?\n", " * Yes" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "## Test Cases\n", "\n", "\n", "* Empty list -> False\n", "* Single element list -> False\n", "* Two or more element list, not a palindrome -> False\n", "* General case: Palindrome with even length -> True\n", "* General case: Palindrome with odd length -> True" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "## Algorithm\n", "\n", "* Reverse the linked list\n", "* Compare the reversed list with the original list\n", " * Only need to compare the first half\n", "\n", "Complexity:\n", "* Time: O(1)\n", "* Space: O(n)\n", "\n", "Note:\n", "* We could also do this iteratively, using a stack to effectively reverse the first half of the string." ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "## Code" ] }, { "cell_type": "code", "execution_count": 1, "metadata": { "collapsed": false }, "outputs": [], "source": [ "%run ../linked_list/linked_list.py" ] }, { "cell_type": "code", "execution_count": 2, "metadata": { "collapsed": false }, "outputs": [], "source": [ "class MyLinkedList(LinkedList):\n", " \n", " def is_palindrome(self):\n", " if self.head is None or self.head.next is None:\n", " return False\n", " curr = self.head\n", " reversed_list = MyLinkedList()\n", " length = 0\n", " \n", " # Reverse the linked list\n", " while curr is not None:\n", " reversed_list.insert_to_front(curr.data)\n", " length += 1\n", " curr = curr.next\n", " \n", " # Compare the reversed list with the original list\n", " # Only need to compare the first half \n", " iterations_to_compare_half = length / 2\n", " curr = self.head\n", " curr_reversed = reversed_list.head\n", " for _ in xrange(0, iterations_to_compare_half):\n", " if curr.data != curr_reversed.data:\n", " return False\n", " curr = curr.next\n", " curr_reversed = curr_reversed.next\n", " return True" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "## Unit Test" ] }, { "cell_type": "code", "execution_count": 3, "metadata": { "collapsed": false }, "outputs": [ { "name": "stdout", "output_type": "stream", "text": [ "Overwriting test_palindrome.py\n" ] } ], "source": [ "%%writefile test_palindrome.py\n", "from nose.tools import assert_equal\n", "\n", "\n", "class TestPalindrome(object):\n", " \n", " def test_palindrome(self):\n", " print('Test: Empty list')\n", " linked_list = MyLinkedList()\n", " assert_equal(linked_list.is_palindrome(), False)\n", "\n", " print('Test: Single element list')\n", " head = Node(1)\n", " linked_list = MyLinkedList(head)\n", " assert_equal(linked_list.is_palindrome(), False)\n", "\n", " print('Test: Two element list, not a palindrome')\n", " linked_list.append(2)\n", " assert_equal(linked_list.is_palindrome(), False)\n", "\n", " print('Test: General case: Palindrome with even length')\n", " head = Node('a')\n", " linked_list = MyLinkedList(head)\n", " linked_list.append('b')\n", " linked_list.append('b')\n", " linked_list.append('a')\n", " assert_equal(linked_list.is_palindrome(), True)\n", "\n", " print('Test: General case: Palindrome with odd length')\n", " head = Node(1)\n", " linked_list = MyLinkedList(head)\n", " linked_list.append(2)\n", " linked_list.append(3)\n", " linked_list.append(2)\n", " linked_list.append(1)\n", " assert_equal(linked_list.is_palindrome(), True)\n", " \n", " print('Success: test_palindrome')\n", "\n", "def main():\n", " test = TestPalindrome()\n", " test.test_palindrome()\n", "\n", "if __name__ == '__main__':\n", " main()" ] }, { "cell_type": "code", "execution_count": 4, "metadata": { "collapsed": false }, "outputs": [ { "name": "stdout", "output_type": "stream", "text": [ "Test: Empty list\n", "Test: Single element list\n", "Test: Two element list, not a palindrome\n", "Test: General case: Palindrome with even length\n", "Test: General case: Palindrome with odd length\n", "Success: test_palindrome\n" ] } ], "source": [ "%run -i test_palindrome.py" ] } ], "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 }