[swift-users] [swift-evolution] Multi dimensional - iterator, Iterator2D, Iterator3D

Ted F.A. van Gaalen tedvgiosdev at gmail.com
Sun Jul 31 13:19:11 CDT 2016


Hi Erica

That would also be a workable solution, but imho still too tedious as 
it has been so for many years, with nested iteration statements…
many times this is for;; for;; for tables and for;;for;;for;; for 3D structuring.
  

Swift offers nice features (like protocols and generics as you know) to improve this. 

- I no longer have to nest for;; s  so, Now I rather do this:  
Your example can already be coded like this:

   iterate2D( 1, 2, { $0 < 64 } ,
              1, 2, { $0 < 64 } ,
                  {outerIndex,innerIndex in
                      print (outerIndex,InnerIndex)
                      
                      return true // Obligatory. return “false" to break
                   }  )

With no chances in Swift, this already works like a charm!
Imho much more readable and compact,

Uses - AFAICS from a programmers’s perspective - no 
underlying deep collection based coding with Sequence. etc.

I am already deploying it in my own apps e.g. l
(replaced for;; for;; for;; in the app)  

By using this new iterator…() functions my coding gets leaner 
and errors are easier to spot. 

Actual working code with Swift 2.x here: 

  func generateTiles()
  {
        let w:      Float =   20  // tile size
        let h:      Float =    5
        let l:      Float =    5
        
        let xstart: Float = -120
        let ystart: Float =  -60
        let zstart: Float =  -10
        
        let xend: Float = 120
        let yend: Float =  60
        let zend: Float =  10
        
        let tolerance:Float = 0.001 // float drift compensation
        
        iterate3D( xstart, w * 1.2, { $0 < xend + tolerance } ,
                   ystart, h * 1.2, { $0 < yend + tolerance } ,
                   zstart, l * 1.2, { $0 < zend + tolerance } ,
                   {
                    x,y,z in
                    self.addTile(x,y,z,  
                                 w,h,l)
                    return true
                   }  )
    }

This generates a group of blocks or tiles in my Apple TV app (under construction)
like the one you can see  in the image “Cloinckz” on my website www.tedvg.com <http://www.tedvg.com/>.

I also prefer the one dimensional iterate(..  too above the for;; or stride()

One could extend these iterator…() functions by adding closures for pre and post iteration handling,
like for printing headers and footers before and/or after a complete [inner] iteration.

Note that breaking with *return false* -which is equivalent to the “break” stmt in
a classical for;; -  does not only leave a nested iteration, but also the outer ones.
(maybe a TODO to make individual level- break possible)  As it is now, If one 
wants to break at the deep iteration level, then one should nest this using 1D iterators.


Anyway, this is just a thought starting to think about multi-dimensional iterators,
and other (encapsulation?) of multi dimensional data as well.
In any case for 2D because table data is used very frequently in many apps. as
most data are in tables.

You won’t believe this :o) but in a sense I might not make so much fuzz anymore
to keep the for;;  as this proves to me that I can solve things much better that I thought.
So, I have to rethink this.

Kind Regards
Ted  
www.ravelnotes.com <http://www.ravelnotes.com/>

 





> On 31.07.2016, at 18:33, Erica Sadun <erica at ericasadun.com> wrote:
> 
> I'm replying on Swift-Users and bcc'ing in Swift-Evolution to comply with the core team's request to focus SE on the current mission statement. 
> 
> At some point soon, Russ Bishop's PR https://github.com/apple/swift/pull/3600 <https://github.com/apple/swift/pull/3600> will be incorporated into Swift 3. This PR adds `prefix(while:)` and `drop(while:)` to finish implementing SE-0045.  Once that's done, you can  combine `sequence(first:, next:)` and `prefix(while:)` to into a single function `sequence(first:, next:, while:)` like this:
> 
> public func sequence<T>(first: T, next: (T) -> T?, while test: (T) -> Bool) -> UnfoldSequence<T, UnfoldSequence<T, (T?, Bool)>> {
>     return sequence(first: first, next: next).prefix(while: test)
> }
> 
> The combined sequence/prefix call allows you to create loops like this:
> 
> for outerIndex in sequence(first: 1, next: { $0 * 2 }, while: { $0 <= 64 }) {
>     for innerIndex in sequence(first: 1, next: { $0 * 2 }, while: { $0 <= 64 }) {
>         print(outerIndex, innerIndex)
>     }
> }
> 
> These loops can be nested. break and continue work.  You can use tuples for multiple arguments. While I'd like to see a combined form adopted into Swift 4b (the deferred "sugar"), it isn't a high priority.
> 
> -- E
> 
> 
>> On Jul 31, 2016, at 7:18 AM, Ted F.A. van Gaalen via swift-evolution <swift-evolution at swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution at swift.org>> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>>> On 31.07.2016, at 04:28, jaden.geller at gmail.com <mailto:jaden.geller at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> What benefit do Iterator2D and Iterator3D provide that nesting does not?
>> Hi Jaden,
>> well, simply because of hiding/enclosing repetitive functionality
>> like with every other programming element is convenient,
>> prevents errors and from writing the same over and over again.
>> That is why there are functions.
>> but you already know that, of course.
>> Kind Regards
>> TedvG
>> 
>>> 
>>> On Jul 30, 2016, at 1:48 PM, Ted F.A. van Gaalen via swift-evolution <swift-evolution at swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution at swift.org>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Hi Chris,
>>>> 
>>>> thanks for the tip about Hirundo app!
>>>> 
>>>> A positive side-effect of removing the classical for;; loop
>>>>  (yes, it’s me saying this :o)  is that it forces me to find
>>>> a good and generic equivalent for it, 
>>>> making the conversion of my for;;s to 3.0 easier.
>>>> which is *not* based on collections or sequences and
>>>> does not rely on deeper calls to Sequence etc.
>>>> 
>>>> so, I’ve made the functions [iterator, iterator2D, iterator3D]  (hereunder)
>>>> wich btw clearly demonstrate the power and flexibility of Swift. 
>>>> 
>>>> Very straightforward, and efficient (i assume) just like the classical for;; loop.  
>>>> It works quite well in my sources.
>>>> 
>>>> As a spin-off,  I’ve extended these to iterators for matrices 2D and cubes? 3D...
>>>> 
>>>> Question: 
>>>> Perhaps implementing “multi dimensional iterator functions
>>>> in Swift might  be a good idea. so that is no longer necessary to nest/nest/nest iterators. 
>>>> 
>>>> Met vriendelijke groeten, sorry for my “intensity” in discussing the classical for;; 
>>>> I'll have to rethink this for;; again..  
>>>> Thanks, Ted.
>>>> 
>>>> Any remarks ( all ), suggestions about the code hereunder:              ? 
>>>> 
>>>> protocol NumericType
>>>> {
>>>>     func +(lhs: Self, rhs: Self) -> Self
>>>>     func -(lhs: Self, rhs: Self) -> Self
>>>>     func *(lhs: Self, rhs: Self) -> Self
>>>>     func /(lhs: Self, rhs: Self) -> Self
>>>>     func %(lhs: Self, rhs: Self) -> Self
>>>> }
>>>> 
>>>> extension Double : NumericType { }
>>>> extension Float  : NumericType { }
>>>> extension CGFloat: NumericType { }
>>>> extension Int    : NumericType { }
>>>> extension Int8   : NumericType { }
>>>> extension Int16  : NumericType { }
>>>> extension Int32  : NumericType { }
>>>> extension Int64  : NumericType { }
>>>> extension UInt   : NumericType { }
>>>> extension UInt8  : NumericType { }
>>>> extension UInt16 : NumericType { }
>>>> extension UInt32 : NumericType { }
>>>> extension UInt64 : NumericType { }
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> /// Simple iterator with generic parameters, with just a few lines of code.
>>>> /// for most numeric types (see above)
>>>> /// Usage Example:
>>>> ///
>>>> ///   iterate(xmax, { $0 > xmin}, -xstep,
>>>> ///    {x in
>>>> ///        print("x = \(x)")
>>>> ///        return true  // returning false acts like a break
>>>> ///     } )
>>>> ///
>>>> ///  -Parameter vstart: Initial value
>>>> ///  -Parameter step:    The iteration stepping value.
>>>> ///  -Parameter test:    A block with iteration test. e.g. {$0 > 10}
>>>> ///
>>>> ///  -Parameter block:   A block to be executed with each step.
>>>> ///       The block must include a return true (acts like "continue")
>>>> ///                                   or false (acts like "break")
>>>> ///  -Please Note: 
>>>> ///  There is minor precision loss ca: 1/1000 ... 1/500 
>>>> ///  when iterating with floating point numbers.
>>>> ///  However, in most cases this can be safely ignored.
>>>> ///  made by ted van gaalen.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> func iterate<T:NumericType> (
>>>>                     vstart:  T,
>>>>                    _ vstep:  T,
>>>>                    _  test: (T) -> Bool,
>>>>                    _ block: (T) -> Bool )
>>>> {
>>>>     var current = vstart
>>>>     
>>>>     while test(current) && block(current)
>>>>     {
>>>>         current = current + vstep
>>>>     }
>>>> }
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> /// X,Y 2D matrix (table) iterator with generic parameters
>>>> func iterate2D<T:NumericType> (
>>>>      xstart:  T,  _ xstep: T, _ xtest: (T) -> Bool,
>>>>    _ ystart:  T,  _ ystep: T, _ ytest: (T) -> Bool,
>>>>    _ block: (T,T) -> Bool )
>>>> {
>>>>     var xcurrent = xstart
>>>>     var ycurrent = ystart
>>>>     
>>>>     var dontStop = true
>>>>     
>>>>     while xtest(xcurrent) && dontStop
>>>>     {
>>>>         ycurrent = ystart
>>>>         while ytest(ycurrent) && dontStop
>>>>         {
>>>>             dontStop = block(xcurrent, ycurrent)
>>>>             ycurrent = ycurrent + ystep
>>>>         }
>>>>         xcurrent = xcurrent + xstep
>>>>     }
>>>> }
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> /// X,Y,Z 3D (cubic) iterator with generic parameters:
>>>> 
>>>> func iterate3D<T:NumericType> (
>>>>     xstart:  T,  _ xstep: T, _ xtest: (T) -> Bool,
>>>>   _ ystart:  T,  _ ystep: T, _ ytest: (T) -> Bool,
>>>>   _ zstart:  T,  _ zstep: T, _ ztest: (T) -> Bool,
>>>>       _ block: (T,T,T) -> Bool )
>>>> {
>>>>     var xcurrent = xstart
>>>>     var ycurrent = ystart
>>>>     var zcurrent = zstart
>>>>     
>>>>     var dontStop = true
>>>>     
>>>>     while xtest(xcurrent) && dontStop
>>>>     {
>>>>         ycurrent = ystart
>>>>         while ytest(ycurrent) && dontStop
>>>>         {
>>>>             zcurrent = zstart
>>>>             while ztest(zcurrent) && dontStop
>>>>             {
>>>>                 dontStop = block(xcurrent, ycurrent, zcurrent)
>>>>                 zcurrent = zcurrent + zstep
>>>>             }
>>>>             ycurrent = ycurrent + ystep
>>>>         }
>>>>         xcurrent = xcurrent + xstep
>>>>     }
>>>> }
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> func testIterator()
>>>> {
>>>>     iterate(0.0, 0.5, {$0 < 1000.00000} ,
>>>>             { value in
>>>>                 print("Value = \(value) ")
>>>>                 return true
>>>>     } )
>>>> 
>>>>     let startv: CGFloat = -20.0
>>>>     let stepv: CGFloat =   0.5
>>>>     
>>>>     iterate(startv, stepv, {$0 < 1000.00000} ,
>>>>             { val in
>>>>                 print("R = \(val)")
>>>>                 return true
>>>>     } )
>>>> 
>>>>     let tolerance = 0.01 // boundary tolerance for floating point type
>>>>     
>>>>     iterate2D( 0.0, 10.0, { $0 < 100.0 + tolerance } ,
>>>>                0.0,  5.0, { $0 <  50.0 + tolerance } ,
>>>>                {x,y in
>>>>                 print("x = \(x) y = \(y)")
>>>>                 return true  // false from block stops iterating ( like break)
>>>>                 } )
>>>> 
>>>>     iterate3D( 0.0,  10.0, { $0 <   30.0 } ,  // x
>>>>                0.0,   5.0, { $0 <   20.0 } ,  // y
>>>>                10.0, -5.0, { $0 >  -10.0 } ,  // z
>>>>                {x,y,z in
>>>>                     print("x = \(x) y = \(y) z = \(z)")
>>>>                     if z < 0.0
>>>>                     {
>>>>                         print ( "** z value \(z) is below zero! **" )
>>>>                         
>>>>                         return false  // (acts as break in for;;)
>>>>                     }
>>>>                     return true  // return stmt is obligatory (continue)
>>>>                } )
>>>> }
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
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>>>> swift-evolution at swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution at swift.org>
>>>> https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution <https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution>
>> 
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> 

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