Homework 5: Generators
Due by 11:59pm on Thursday, October 16
Instructions
Download hw05.zip. Inside the archive, you will find a file called
hw05.py, along with a copy of the ok autograder.
Submission: When you are done, submit the assignment to Pensieve. You may submit more than once before the deadline; only the final submission will be scored. Check that you have successfully submitted your code on Pensieve. See Lab 0 for more instructions on submitting assignments.
Using Ok: If you have any questions about using Ok, please refer to this guide.
Readings: You might find the following references useful:
Grading: Homework is graded based on correctness. Each incorrect problem will decrease the total score by one point. This homework is out of 2 points.
Required Questions
Getting Started Videos
These videos may provide some helpful direction for tackling the coding problems on this assignment.
To see these videos, you should be logged into your berkeley.edu email.
Midsemester Survey
Q1: Mid-Semester Feedback
As part of this assignment, fill out the Mid-Semester Feedback form.
Once you finish the survey, you will be presented with a passphrase. Put
this passphrase, as a string, on the line that says
passphrase = 'REPLACE_THIS_WITH_PASSPHRASE' in the Python file for this assignment.
E.g. if the passphrase is abc, then the line should be passphrase = 'abc'.
Use Ok to test your code:
python3 ok -q midsem_survey
Generators
If you need a refresher on generators, this may be helpful to read:
yield statements within the body of the function instead of return
statements. Calling a generator function will return a generator object and
will not execute the body of the function.
For example, let's consider the following generator function:
def countdown(n):
print("Beginning countdown!")
while n >= 0:
yield n
n -= 1
print("Blastoff!")
Calling countdown(k) will return a generator object that counts down from k
to 0. Since generators are iterators, we can call iter on the resulting
object, which will simply return the same object. Note that the body is not
executed at this point; nothing is printed and no numbers are outputted.
>>> c = countdown(5)
>>> c
<generator object countdown ...>
>>> c is iter(c)
True
So how is the counting done? Again, since generators are iterators, we call
next on them to get the next element! The first time next is called,
execution begins at the first line of the function body and continues until the
yield statement is reached. The result of evaluating the expression in the
yield statement is returned. The following interactive session continues
from the one above.
>>> next(c)
Beginning countdown!
5
Unlike functions we've seen before in this course, generator functions can
remember their state. On any consecutive calls to next, execution picks up
from the line after the yield statement that was previously executed. Like
the first call to next, execution will continue until the next yield
statement is reached. Note that because of this, Beginning countdown! doesn't
get printed again.
>>> next(c)
4
>>> next(c)
3
The next 3 calls to next will continue to yield consecutive descending
integers until 0. On the following call, a StopIteration error will be
raised because there are no more values to yield (i.e. the end of the function
body was reached before hitting a yield statement).
>>> next(c)
2
>>> next(c)
1
>>> next(c)
0
>>> next(c)
Blastoff!
StopIteration
Separate calls to countdown will create distinct generator objects with their
own state. Usually, generators shouldn't restart. If you'd like to reset the
sequence, create another generator object by calling the generator function
again.
>>> c1, c2 = countdown(5), countdown(5)
>>> c1 is c2
False
>>> next(c1)
5
>>> next(c2)
5
Here is a summary of the above:
- A generator function has a
yieldstatement and returns a generator object. - Calling the
iterfunction on a generator object returns the same object without modifying its current state. - The body of a generator function is not evaluated until
nextis called on a resulting generator object. Calling thenextfunction on a generator object computes and returns the next object in its sequence. If the sequence is exhausted,StopIterationis raised. A generator "remembers" its state for the next
nextcall. Therefore,the first
nextcall works like this:- Enter the function and run until the line with
yield. - Return the value in the
yieldstatement, but remember the state of the function for futurenextcalls.
- Enter the function and run until the line with
And subsequent
nextcalls work like this:- Re-enter the function, start at the line after the
yieldstatement that was previously executed, and run until the nextyieldstatement. - Return the value in the
yieldstatement, but remember the state of the function for futurenextcalls.
- Re-enter the function, start at the line after the
- Calling a generator function returns a brand new generator object (like
calling
iteron an iterable object). - A generator should not restart unless it's defined that way. To start over from the first element in a generator, just call the generator function again to create a new generator.
Another useful tool for generators is the yield from statement. yield from
will yield all values from an iterator or iterable.
>>> def gen_list(lst):
... yield from lst
...
>>> g = gen_list([1, 2, 3, 4])
>>> next(g)
1
>>> next(g)
2
>>> next(g)
3
>>> next(g)
4
>>> next(g)
StopIteration
Q2: Infinite Hailstone
Write a generator function that yields the elements of the hailstone sequence starting at number n.
After reaching the end of the hailstone sequence, the generator should yield the number 1 indefinitely.
Here is a quick reminder of how the hailstone sequence is defined:
- Pick a positive integer
nas the start. - If
nis even, divide it by 2. - If
nis odd, multiply it by 3 and add 1. - Continue this process until
nis 1.
Try to write this generator function recursively. If you are stuck, you can first try writing it iteratively and then seeing how you can turn that implementation into a recursive one.
Hint: Since
hailstonereturns a generator, you canyield froma call tohailstone!
def hailstone(n):
"""
Yields the elements of the hailstone sequence starting at n.
At the end of the sequence, yield 1 infinitely.
>>> hail_gen = hailstone(10)
>>> [next(hail_gen) for _ in range(10)]
[10, 5, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1]
>>> next(hail_gen)
1
"""
"*** YOUR CODE HERE ***"
Use Ok to test your code:
python3 ok -q hailstone
Q3: Merge
Definition: An infinite iterator is a iterator that never stops providing
values when next is called. For example, ones() evaluates to an infinite
iterator:
def ones():
while True:
yield 1
Write a generator function merge(a, b) that takes two infinite iterators, a and b, as inputs. Both iterators yield elements in strictly increasing order with no duplicates. Your generator should produce all unique elements from both input iterators in increasing order, without any duplicates.
Note: The input iterators do not contain duplicates within themselves, but they may have common elements between them.
def merge(a, b):
"""
Return a generator that has all of the elements of generators a and b,
in increasing order, without duplicates.
>>> def sequence(start, step):
... while True:
... yield start
... start += step
>>> a = sequence(2, 3) # 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, ...
>>> b = sequence(3, 2) # 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, ...
>>> result = merge(a, b) # 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15
>>> [next(result) for _ in range(10)]
[2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15]
"""
a_val, b_val = next(a), next(b)
while True:
if a_val == b_val:
"*** YOUR CODE HERE ***"
elif a_val < b_val:
"*** YOUR CODE HERE ***"
else:
"*** YOUR CODE HERE ***"
Use Ok to test your code:
python3 ok -q merge
Q4: Stair Ways
Imagine that you want to go up a staircase that has n steps,
where n is a positive integer. You can take either one or two steps each time you move.
Write a generator function stair_ways that yields all the different ways you can climb the staircase.
Each "way" of climbing a staircase can be represented by a list of 1s and 2s, where each number indicates whether you take one step or two steps at a time.
For example, for a staircase with 3 steps, there are three ways to climb it:
- You can take one step each time:
[1, 1, 1]. - You can take two steps then one step:
[2, 1]. - You can take one step then two steps:
[1, 2]..
Therefore, stair_ways(3) should yield [1, 1, 1], [2, 1], and [1, 2]. These can be yielded in any order.
Hint: Think about the problem recursively. If you're on some step n, which steps could you have just been on?
def stair_ways(n):
"""
Yield all the ways to climb a set of n stairs taking
1 or 2 steps at a time.
>>> list(stair_ways(0))
[[]]
>>> s_w = stair_ways(4)
>>> sorted([next(s_w) for _ in range(5)])
[[1, 1, 1, 1], [1, 1, 2], [1, 2, 1], [2, 1, 1], [2, 2]]
>>> list(s_w) # Ensure you're not yielding extra
[]
"""
"*** YOUR CODE HERE ***"
Use Ok to test your code:
python3 ok -q stair_ways
Q5: Yield Paths
Write a generator function yield_paths that takes a tree t and a target value. It yields each path from the root of t to any node with the label value.
Each path should be returned as a list of labels from the root to the matching node. The paths can be yielded in any order.
Hint: If you are having trouble getting started, think about how you would approach this problem if it was not a generator function. What would the recursive steps look like?
Hint: Remember, you can iterate over generator objects because they are a type of iterator!
def yield_paths(t, value):
"""
Yields all possible paths from the root of t to a node with the label
value as a list.
>>> t1 = tree(1, [tree(2, [tree(3), tree(4, [tree(6)]), tree(5)]), tree(5)])
>>> print_tree(t1)
1
2
3
4
6
5
5
>>> next(yield_paths(t1, 6))
[1, 2, 4, 6]
>>> path_to_5 = yield_paths(t1, 5)
>>> sorted(list(path_to_5))
[[1, 2, 5], [1, 5]]
>>> t2 = tree(0, [tree(2, [t1])])
>>> print_tree(t2)
0
2
1
2
3
4
6
5
5
>>> path_to_2 = yield_paths(t2, 2)
>>> sorted(list(path_to_2))
[[0, 2], [0, 2, 1, 2]]
"""
if label(t) == value:
yield ____
for b in branches(t):
for ____ in ____:
yield ____
Use Ok to test your code:
python3 ok -q yield_paths
Check Your Score Locally
You can locally check your score on each question of this assignment by running
python3 ok --score
This does NOT submit the assignment! When you are satisfied with your score, submit the assignment to Pensieve to receive credit for it.
Submit Assignment
Submit this assignment by uploading any files you've edited to the appropriate Pensieve assignment. Lab 00 has detailed instructions.
Exam Practice
Homework assignments will also contain prior exam questions for you to try. These questions have no submission component; feel free to attempt them if you'd like some practice!
- Summer 2016 Final Q8: Zhen-erators Produce Power
- Spring 2018 Final Q4(a): Apply Yourself