CS 199 EMP

Hosted by Jackie Chan and Akhila Ashokan

Topics: Algorithms, Functions, Loops, and Error Messages

Today's Learning Objectives

Review briefly and practice (might not get to it all):

  • Algorithms
  • Functions
  • While Loop
  • Error Messages

Write code on the homepage or any playground on the site!
https://cs125.cs.illinois.edu/

Slides are on the course site!
https://cs199emp.netlify.app/

"What the heck are algorithms anyways?"

Algorithms sound somewhat spooky, mysterious, and complicated, but honestly they are just recipes to solve a problem, e.g. sort a list, find the shortest path through a maze, reverse my name.

Algorithms are NOT code!

Algorithms are language agnostic descriptions of problem solving steps, i.e. English description to solve a problem.

Why are they important? Well, programmers are lazy and they don't need to solve the same problem over and over again when it's already solved. Instead, programmers use already specified algorithms and convert them into code.

Practice With Algorithms (5 minutes)

Task: You are given a list of prices associated with items, calculate the sum price of all the items on the list and apply a sales tax on it of 4%.

Describe an algorithm that tells me the total price.

Remember NO code. Write some steps you would give a little kid with a calculator to solve this problem. The more specific, the better, remember you're giving these to a kid.

Practice With Algorithms Cont. (5 minutes)

Task: Given two same length arrays of numbers, array1 and array2, print "Found one!" if the two numbers at the same index are the same.

For example, arrayOne = {1, 2, 3} and arrayTwo = {3, 2, 1}, the algorithm should only print "Found one!" when it hits index 2.

Describe the algorithm (which means NO CODE) that solves this problem.

"Conjunction Junction, What's Your Function?": What are functions?

Functions are pretty awesome. They let us reuse code when we have to do something over and over again. In general, functions take in input (called parameters or arguments) and return some output.

Functions have three parts: the name, the return type (i.e. the output type), and the arguments/parameters (i.e. the inputs). Identify those three below.

boolean foo(int[] a) {
    for (int i = 0; i < a.length; i++) {
        if (a[i] < 0) {
            return true;
        }
    }
    return false;
} // Bonus: What does this function do? What's a better name for it?

Practice With Functions (10 minutes)

  1. Remember describing an algorithm to calculate a grocery store total? Fill out the blanks below to make that algorithm a reality.
<blank> calculateTotal(double[] prices) {

    <your code>;

    return <blank>;
}
  1. Implement a function that finds matches in two equal sized arrays of int and return the number of matches.

For and While Loops: "What's the difference?"

The difference between for and while loops. For loops look like this:

for (<initialization>; <condition>; <update>) {
    <code>;
}

While loops on the other hand look like this:

while (<condition>) {
    <code>;
}

When do you think you should use for loops vs. while loops? Not everyone agrees.

Practice With While Loops (5 minutes)

Convert this into a while loop that does the same thing.

for (int i = 4096; i > 0; i = i / 2) {
    System.out.println(i);
}

Do you think the while loop is better here? Or a for loop?

"Computers are so frustrating!": Dealing With Errors

Agreed, but that's somewhat the curse of being a computer scientist. High highs, low lows.

There are three types of errors: checkstyle errors, compiler/syntax errors, and testing errors.

  • checkstyle errors: You wrote some code that was not up to our beauty standards.
  • Compiler/syntax errors: You wrote something that Java does not understand.
  • Testing errors: Your code didn't accomplish its task.

Practice With Errors (5 minutes)

Identify the errors below.

double price = 10.75;
boolean hasCoupon = true;

if (hasCoupon) {
    double price = price * 0.95;
}

for(int i=0; i<10; i++) {
    System.out.println(i);
}

Final Questions? You're Doing Awesome.

boolean empStudent = true;

if (empStudent) {
    System.out.println("You're awesome, and you'll do awesome in the course!");
}

Attendance and feedback links are found on the course site.
https://cs199emp.netlify.app/

Give us feedback! Tell us where we can improve and help you.

Have a good weekend!

Solutions Section

Practice With Algorithms (Solution)

(1) have a variable called total set to zero

(2) go through the list of prices one at a time:
    (2.1) add price p to total

(3) multiply 1.04 to the total and make that the new total

(4) read the total out

Practice With Algorithms Cont. (Solution)

(1) loop through 0 to the length of the list - 1 (because index by 0)
    (1.1) set a to the value stored in list1 at our index
    (1.2) set b to the value stored in list2 at our index
    (1.3) check if a and b are the same thing:
        (1.3.1) if true, then print "Found one!"

Practice With Functions (Solution)

double calculateTotal(double[] prices) {

    double total = 0;

    for (int i = 0; i < prices.length; i++) {
        total += prices[i];
    }

    return total * 1.04;
}

Practice With Functions (Solution Cont.)

int countMatches(int[] firstArr, int[] secondArr) {

    int matches = 0;

    // Remember the arrays are the same length.
    for (int i = 0; i < firstArr.length; i++) {
        if (firstArr[i] == secondArr[i]) {
            matches++;
        }
    }

    return matches;
}

Practice With While Loops (Solution)

int i = 4096;

while (i > 0) {
    System.out.println(i);

    i = i / 2; // or i /= 2;
}

Practice With Errors (Solution)

double price = 10.75;
boolean hasCoupon = true;

if (hasCoupon) {
    // double price = price * 0.95; // Syntax error.
    price = price * 0.95;
}

for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) { // checkstyle error, should have spaces.
    System.out.println(i);
}