Recursively splitting a list into two using LISP - recursion

Using LISP, i need to create a function that splits a list into two lists. The first list consists of 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc elements and the second list consists of 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc elements.
Output Examples:
(SPLIT-LIST ( )) => (NIL NIL)
(SPLIT-LIST '(A B C D 1 2 3 4 5)) => ((A C 1 3 5) (B D 2 4))
(SPLIT-LIST '(B C D 1 2 3 4 5)) => ((B D 2 4) (C 1 3 5))
(SPLIT-LIST '(A)) => ((A) NIL)
The function need to be recursive.
This is my code so far.
(defun SPLIT-LIST (L)
(cond
((null L) NIL)
((= 1 (length L)) (list (car L)))
(t (cons (cons (car L) (SPLIT-LIST (cddr L))) (cadr L)))))
);cond
);defun
i'm going to try to use flatten later on so that i end up w/ two lists, but for now, i just can't seem to get the sequence correctly.
MY CODE:
> (SPLIT-LIST '(1 2 3 4))
((1 (3) . 4) . 2)
I just can't seem to make the code print 1 3 2 4 instead of 1 3 4 2.
> (SPLIT-LIST '(1 2 3 4 5 6))
((1 (3 (5) . 6) . 4) . 2)
I can't make the second half of the expected output to print in the correct sequence.

Your code
We typically read Lisp code by indentation, and don't write in all-caps. Since we read by indentation, we don't need to put closing parens (or any parens, really) on their own line. Your code, properly formatted, then, is:
(defun split-list (l)
(cond
((null l) '())
((= 1 (length l)) (list (car l)))
(t (cons (cons (car l)
(split-list (cddr l)))
(cadr l)))))
Getting the base cases right
Split-list is always supposed to return a list of two lists. We should cover those base cases first. When l is empty, then there's nothing in the left list or the right, so we can simply return '(() ()). Then first condition then becomes:
((null l) '(() ())) ; or ((endp l) '(() ()))
Judging by your second case, I gather that you want the second and third cases to be: (i) if there's only one element left, it must be an odd-numbered one, and belongs in the left result; (ii) otherwise, there are at least two elements left, and we can add one to each. Then the second condition should be
((= 1 (length l)) (list (car l) '()))
It's actually kind of expensive to check the length of l at each step. You only care whether there is only one element left. You already know that l isn't empty (from the first case), so you can just check whether the rest oflis the empty list. I find it more readable to usefirstandrest` when working with cons cells as lists, so I'd write the second clause as:
((endp (rest l)) (list (list (first l)) '()))
Handling the recursive case
Now, your final case is where there are at least two elements. That means that l looks like (x y . zs). What you need to do is call split-list on zs to get some result of the form (odd-zs even-zs), and then take it apart and construct ((x . odd-zs) (y . even-zs)). That would look something like this:
(t (let ((split-rest (split-list (rest (rest l)))))
(list (list* (first l) (first split-rest))
(list* (second l) (second split-rest)))))
There are actually some ways you can clean that up. We can use destructuring-bind to pull odd-zs and even-zs out at the same time. Since this is the last clause of the cond, and a clause returns the value of the test if there are no body forms, we don't need the initial t. The last clause can be:
((destructuring-bind (odd-zs even-zs) ; *
(split-list (rest (rest l)))
(list (list* (first l) odd-zs)
(list* (second l) even-zs))))))
*I omitted the t test because if a cond clause has no body forms, then the value of the test is returned. That works just fine here.
Putting that all together, we've reworked your code into
(defun split-list (l)
(cond
((endp l) '(() ()))
((endp (rest l)) (list (list (first l)) '()))
((destructuring-bind (odd-zs even-zs)
(split-list (rest (rest l)))
(list (list* (first l) odd-zs)
(list* (second l) even-zs))))))
CL-USER> (split-list '(a b c 1 2 3))
((A C 2) (B 1 3))
CL-USER> (split-list '(a b c d 1 2 3))
((A C 1 3) (B D 2))
Other approaches
I think it's worth exploring some approaches that are tail recursive, as an implementation that supports tail call optimization can convert them to loops. Tail recursive functions in Common Lisp are also typically easy to translate into do loops, which are much more likely to be implemented as iteration. In these solutions, we'll build up the result lists in reverse, and then reverse them when it's time to return them.
Recursing one element at a time
If the left and right slices are interchangeable
If it doesn't matter which of the two lists is first, you can use something like this:
(defun split-list (list &optional (odds '()) (evens '()))
(if (endp list)
(list (nreverse odds)
(nreverse evens))
(split-list (rest list)
evens
(list* (first list) odds))))
CL-USER> (split-list '(a b c 1 2 3))
((A C 2) (B 1 3))
CL-USER> (split-list '(a b c d 1 2 3))
((B D 2) (A C 1 3))
This can actually be written very concisely using a do loop, but that's typically seen as iterative, not recursive:
(defun split-list (list)
(do ((list list (rest list))
(odds '() evens)
(evens '() (list* (first list) odds)))
((endp list) (list (nreverse odds) (nreverse evens)))))
If they're not interchangable
If you always need the list containing the first element of the original list to be first, you'll need a little bit more logic. One possibility is:
(defun split-list (list &optional (odds '()) (evens '()) (swap nil))
(if (endp list)
(if swap
(list (nreverse evens)
(nreverse odds))
(list (nreverse odds)
(nreverse evens)))
(split-list (rest list)
evens
(list* (first list) odds)
(not swap))))
CL-USER> (split-list '(a b c 1 2 3))
((A C 2) (B 1 3))
CL-USER> (split-list '(a b c d 1 2 3))
((A C 1 3) (B D 2))
I think that (if swap … …) is actually a bit ugly. We can use cond so that we can get multiple forms (or if and progn), and swap the values of odds and evens before returning. I think this is actually a bit easier to read, but if you're aiming for a pure recursive solution (academic assignment?), then you might be avoiding mutation, too, so rotatef wouldn't be available, and using a when just to get some side effects would probably be frowned upon.
(defun split-list (list &optional (odds '()) (evens '()) (swap nil))
(cond
((endp list)
(when swap (rotatef odds evens))
(list (nreverse odds) (nreverse evens)))
((split-list (rest list)
evens
(list* (first list) odds)
(not swap)))))
This lends itself to do as well:
(defun split-list (list)
(do ((list list (rest list))
(odds '() evens)
(evens '() (list* (first list) odds))
(swap nil (not swap)))
((endp list)
(when swap (rotatef odds evens))
(list (nreverse odds) (nreverse evens)))))
Recursing two elements at a time
Another more direct approach would recurse down the list by cddr (i.e., (rest (rest …))) and add elements to the left and right sublists on each recursion. We need to be a little careful that we don't accidentally add an extra nil to the right list when there are an odd number of elements in the input, though.
(defun split-list (list &optional (left '()) (right '()))
(if (endp list)
(list (nreverse left)
(nreverse right))
(split-list (rest (rest list))
(list* (first list) left)
(if (endp (rest list))
right
(list* (second list) right)))))
CL-USER> (split-list '(a b c 1 2 3))
((A C 2) (B 1 3))
CL-USER> (split-list '(a b c d 1 2 3))
((A C 1 3) (B D 2))
And again, a do version:
(defun split-list (list)
(do ((list list (rest (rest list)))
(left '() (list* (first list) left))
(right '() (if (endp (rest list)) right (list* (second list) right))))
((endp list) (list (nreverse left) (nreverse right)))))

Here's what I've got:
(defun split-list (lst)
(if lst
(if (cddr lst)
(let ((l (split-list (cddr lst))))
(list
(cons (car lst) (car l))
(cons (cadr lst) (cadr l))))
`((,(car lst)) ,(cdr lst)))
'(nil nil)))
After reading SICP I'm rarely confused about recursion.
I highly recommend it.

Here's my take, using an inner function:
(defun split-list (lst)
(labels ((sub (lst lst1 lst2 flip)
(if lst
(if flip
(sub (cdr lst) (cons (car lst) lst1) lst2 (not flip))
(sub (cdr lst) lst1 (cons (car lst) lst2) (not flip)))
(list (reverse lst1) (reverse lst2)))))
(sub lst nil nil t)))

As a Common Lisp LOOP:
(defun split-list (list)
"splits a list into ((0th, 2nd, ...) (1st, 3rd, ...))"
(loop for l = list then (rest (rest l))
until (null l) ; nothing to split
collect (first l) into l1 ; first split result
unless (null (rest l))
collect (second l) into l2 ; second split result
finally (return (list l1 l2))))

With internal tail-recursive function building the lists in top-down manner (no reverses, loop code probably compiles to something equivalent), with a head-sentinel trick (for simplicity).
(defun split-list (lst &aux (lst1 (list 1)) (lst2 (list 2)))
(labels ((sub (lst p1 p2)
(if lst
(progn (rplacd p1 (list (car lst)))
(sub (cdr lst) p2 (cdr p1)))
(list (cdr lst1) (cdr lst2)))))
(sub lst lst1 lst2)))

Flatten is fun to define in Lisp. But I've never had a use for it.
So if you think "I could use flatten to solve this problem" it's probably because you're trying to solve the wrong problem.

(defun split-list (L)
(if (endp L)
'(nil nil)
(let ((X (split-list (cdr L))))
(list (cons (car L) (cadr X)) (car X))
)))

Related

Palindrome check with recursion in Lisp

I have developed code to check through input to see if it is a palindrome or not but I am having difficulty figuring out how to print the output. I want the output to return "t" if the input is a palindrome and "nil" if not. Also a challenge that I wanted to give myself was to not use the reverse function so thats why my code is not as simple as it could be. Thanks in advance.
(defun palindromep(l)
(cond ((null l) nil (write nil))
(t (append (list (car l)) (palindromep (cdr l)) (list (car l) )))))
(palindromep '(a b b a))
(terpri)
(palindromep '(a b c b a))
(terpri)
(palindromep '(a b c))
(terpri)
(palindromep '(a (d e) (d e) a))
(terpri)
(palindromep '(a (d e) (e d) a))
Firstly, an empty list is a palindrome! If we reverse it, we get the same empty list.
Secondly, Lisp functions don't print their result values; they return these values.
In an interactive session, it is the listener which prints the resulting value(s) that emerge from the expression being evaluated. That expression itself doesn't have to print anything.
Therefore, we begin like this:
(defun palindromep (l)
(cond
((null l) t) ;; the empty list is a palindrome: yield true.
Note, by the way, that if we write this:
((null l) nil t) ;; the empty list is a palindrome: yield true.
that doesn't do anything. The extra nil expression is evaluated, producing nil, which is thrown away. The Lisp compiler will completely eliminate that.
What if the list is not a list at all, but an atom other than nil? Let's just go with that being a palindrome. A clarification of requirements is needed, though:
((atom l) t)
Now we know we are dealing with a non-empty list. If it has exactly one item, then it is a palindrome:
((null (cdr l)) t)
Now we know we are dealing with a list of two or more items. That is a palindrome if the first and last items are the same, and if the items in between them form a palindrome.
(t (let* ((first (car l))
(rest (cdr l))
(tail (last l))
(interior (ldiff rest tail)))
(and (eql first (car tail)) (palindromep interior))))))
The whole thing:
(defun palindromep (l)
(cond
((null l) t)
((atom l) t)
((null (cdr l)) t)
(t (let* ((first (car l))
(rest (cdr l))
(tail (last l))
(interior (ldiff rest tail)))
(and (eql first (car tail)) (palindromep interior))))))
Code golfing: in the cond construct described by ANSI CL, a clause is permitted to have just one form. If that forms yields a true value, then that value is returned. Thus we can remove the t's:
(defun palindromep (l)
(cond
((null l)) ;; t removed
((atom l)) ;; likewise
((null (cdr l))) ;; likewise
(t (let* ((first (car l))
(rest (cdr l))
(tail (last l))
(interior (ldiff rest tail)))
(and (eql first (car tail)) (palindromep interior))))))
Documentation about the functions ldiff and last can be found here.
Further golfing: if we have this pattern (cond (A) (B) ... (t Z)) we can just replace it by (or A B ... Z):
(defun palindromep (l)
(or (null l)
(atom l)
(let* ((first (car l))
(rest (cdr l))
(tail (last l))
(interior (ldiff rest tail)))
(and (eql first (car tail)) (palindromep interior)))))
cond is like a generalization of or that can specify an alternative result value for the each terminating true case.
To go on with code-golfing, since t or nil is expected, you can use only or and nil to express conditionals (and using short-circuitry of or and nil expressions).
Also it is good to be able to determine a :test keyword - since you want to control the crucial testing behavior.
To be able to use also inner lists, one could e.g. use equalp or even a custom comparison function.
(defun palindromep (l &key (test #'equalp))
(or (null l) (and (funcall test (car l) (car (last l)))
(palindromep (butlast (cdr l)) :test test))))
This evaluates
(palindromep '(a (d e) (d e) a))
as t but
(palindromep '(a (d e) (e d) a))
as nil.
Well, it is maybe a philosophical question, whether the latter should be t and the former nil.
To revert that behavior, we could write a custom testing function.
Like this:
(defun reverse* (l &optional (acc '()))
(cond ((null l) acc)
((atom (car l)) (reverse* (cdr l) (cons (car l) acc)))
(t (reverse* (cdr l) (cons (reverse* (car l) '()) acc)))))
(defun to-each-other-symmetric-p (a b)
(cond ((and (atom a) (atom b)) (equalp a b))
(t (equalp a (reverse* b)))))
Well, I use here some kind of a reverse*.
Then if one does:
(palindromep '(a (d e) (d e) a) :test #'to-each-other-symmetric-p) ;; NIL
;; and
(palindromep '(a (d e) (e d) a) :test #'to-each-other-symmetric-p) ;; T
Just to complete the other answers, I would like to point out that not using reverse will not only complicate your code enormously, but also make it far more inefficient. Just compare the above answers with the classic one:
(defun palindromep (l)
(equal l (reverse l)))
reverse is o(l), i.e. it takes time proportional to the length of the list l, and so does equal. So this function will run in o(l). You can't get faster than this.

Counting occurrence of a word in LISP lists

So I have to count the occurrence of a word(or character, to be more specific) in a list in lisp. For example, the input:
(freq 'c '(a c c c c (c c c e)))
should produce a count of 7, since there are 7 c's in the list argument. The code I have is the following but it does not work. I can count the 4 c's that are base elements and the 3 c's that are in the sublist, but I dont know how to add them together. Also, I'm using only primitive data types.
(defun freq (a L)
(cond
((null L) 0)
((listp (car L)) ( (freq a (car L))) ((freq a (cdr L))))
((eq a (car L))(+ 1 (freq a (cdr L))))
(t ((freq a (cdr L))))))
If it's a character then it's should be written with this prefix -> #\
and the sequence would be a string so there is no need recursion here.
(count #\c "(a c c c c (c c c e))") => 7
What you're dealing with in your example is symbol (with a single quote) through a list which contains other symbols or cons. So if you need to count all the same symbol you could write something like that :
(defparameter *nb* 0)
(defun look-deeper (test seq)
(loop for i in seq do
(compare test i)))
(defun compare (test item)
(let ((type (type-of item)))
(case type
(symbol (when (eql test item) (incf *nb*)))
(cons (look-deeper test item)))))
(look-deeper 'c '(a c c c c (c c c e))) => NIL
*nb* => 7
Or something better..
(defun count-occurences (obj lst)
(let ((acc 0))
(labels ((test (obj-2)
(eq obj obj-2)))
(dolist (x lst)
(if (consp x)
(let ((sample (remove-if-not #'test x)))
(if sample
(incf acc (length sample))))
(if (eq x obj)
(incf acc 1)))))
acc))
We could create a function that takes an obj to test and a lst as the argument and create a local accumulator to keep track of how many times the obj occurs in the list. Then we could create a local function that tests to see if the obj we pass to it is eq to the obj passed as an argument to the global function (also note that if you are working with strings you might want to use string-equal or equal because eq will not work since they are not the same object, but eq will work with symbols which you used in your example). We can then iterate through the list, and if the element in the list is a cons we can use remove-if-not to remove any element that doesn't pass our test (is not eq to the obj), and based on the length of the list increment our accumulator accordingly. If it is not a cons and is eq to our obj we will also increment the accumulator, then we can return the value of our accumulator.
And if we test it:
CL-USER> (count-occurences 'c '(a c c c c (c c c)))
7
Your logic is actually correct, there are just some small mis-parenthesis problems in your code. The only change you need for your code to work is to change you listp and t clauses from
((listp (car L)) ( (freq a (car L))) ((freq a (cdr L))))
into
((listp (car L)) (+ (freq a (car L)) (freq a (cdr L))))
and from
(t ((freq a (cdr L))))
into
(t (freq a (cdr L)))
Then evaluating your function works just as you expect:
(defun freq (a L)
(cond
((null L) 0)
((listp (car L)) (+ (freq a (car L)) (freq a (cdr L))))
((eq a (car L))(+ 1 (freq a (cdr L))))
(t (freq a (cdr L)))))
(freq 'c '((a (c f c)) c c c (c c (d c f (c 8 c) c) e))) ; => 11 (4 bits, #xB, #o13, #b1011)

Scheme - Recursive cases

I'm finishing up a Scheme assignment and I'm having some trouble with the recursive cases for two functions.
The first function is a running-sums function which takes in a list and returns a list of the running sums i.e (summer '(1 2 3)) ---> (1 3 6) Now I believe I'm very close but can't quite figure out how to fix my case. Currently I have
(define (summer L)
(cond ((null? L) '())
((null? (cdr L)) '())
(else (cons (car L) (+ (car L) (cadr L))))))
I know I need to recursively call summer, but I'm confused on how to put the recursive call in there.
Secondly, I'm writing a function which counts the occurrences of an element in a list. This function works fine through using a helper function but it creates duplicate pairs.
(define (counts L)
(cond ((null? L) '())
(else (cons (cons (car L) (countEle L (car L))) (counts (cdr L))))))
(define (countEle L x)
(if (null? L) 0
(if (eq? x (car L)) (+ 1 (countEle (cdr L) x)) (countEle (cdr L) x))))
The expected output is:
(counts '(a b c c b b)) --> '((a 1) (b 3) ( c 2))
But it's currently returning '((a . 1) (b . 3) (c . 2) (c . 1) (b . 2) (b . 1)). So it's close; I'm just not sure how to handle checking if I've already counted the element.
Any help is appreciated, thank you!
To have a running sum, you need in some way to keep track of the last sum. So some procedure should have two arguments: the rest of the list to sum (which may be the whole list) and the sum so far.
(define (running-sum L)
(define (rs l s)
...)
(rs L 0))
For the second procedure you want to do something like
(define (count-elems L)
(define (remove-elem e L) ...)
(define (count-single e L) ...)
(if (null? L)
'()
(let ((this-element (car L)))
(cons (list this-element (count-single this-element L))
(count-elems (remove-elem this-element (cdr L)))))))
Be sure to remove the elements you've counted before continuing! I think you can fill in the rest.
To your first problem:
The mistake in your procedure is, that there is no recursive call of "summer". Have a look at the last line.
(else (cons (car L) (+ (car L) (cadr L))))))
Here is the complete solution:
(define (summer LL)
(define (loop sum LL)
(if (null? LL)
'()
(cons (+ sum (car LL)) (loop (+ sum (car ll)) (cdr LL)))))
(loop 0 LL))

Recursion through nested lists in LISP

I am trying to find the other element in the nested list when querying the first one. Something like this. (findOther 'a '((a b) (b c) (a d)))--> b and d. I have done this so far: The problem is I only get b.
(defun findOther (elem L)
(cond (NIL (null L))
((eq elem (caar L)) (cdar L))
((findOther elem (cdr L)))))
First some comments on the original code:
(defun findOther (elem L)
(cond
;; NIL is always false, so you *never* end up using this
;; case. You probably want something like ((null l) '()),
;; NULL is still pretty common for this, but since you're
;; expecting a list, you could use the slighly more
;; descriptive ENDP.
(NIL (null L))
;; When you find an element, you immediately return its
;; counterpart, and don't collect it and continue on to
;; the rest of the list. It's also easier to read if
;; you use more descriptive names like FIRST and SECOND,
;; as in ((eq elem (first (first l))) (second (first l))).
;; It's worth noting that unless you have a specific reason
;; to use EQ, you might want to use EQL, which is the
;; default comparison in most CL functions.
((eq elem (caar L)) (cdar L))
;; Else, you continue to the rest of the list. In my
;; opinion, REST would be more decriptive than CDR here,
;; but recursing and returning the value *is* what you
;; want to do here.
((findOther elem (cdr L)))))
Taking some of those into consideration, we could do something like this:
(defun others (element list)
(cond
((endp list) '())
((eql element (first (first list)))
(list* (second (first list))
(others element (rest list))))
((others element (rest list)))))
All that said, the functions in the standard library
would make this much easier. E.g. using mapcan:
(defun others (element list)
(mapcan (lambda (sublist)
(when (eql (first sublist) element)
(rest sublist)))
list))
(others 'a '((a b) (b c) (a d)))
;=> (B D)
I am not sure if you are looking for pair of two elements or may be more elements in list as well. Just in case you have more elements and you want all of them as well and also of some of them are not really pairs,
(defun pair-of (elem lis)
(let ((temp nil))
(cond
((and (listp lis) (not (null lis)))
(mapcar
#'(lambda (x)
(cond
((and (listp x) (not (null x)) (eql elem (car x)))
(push (cdr x) temp))))
lis)))
(nreverse temp)))
USAGE:(pair-of 'a '((a b) (b c) (a d w) 1))
OUTPUT: ((B) (D W))
But in case you want them combined in one list,
(reduce #'append (pair-of 'a '((a s) (a 3 8) (2 5 1))):initial-value '())
=> (S 3 8)

How do you properly compute pairwise differences in Scheme?

Given a list of numbers, say, (1 3 6 10 0), how do you compute differences (xi - xi-1), provided that you have x-1 = 0 ?
(the result in this example should be (1 2 3 4 -10))
I've found this solution to be correct:
(define (pairwise-2 f init l)
(first
(foldl
(λ (x acc-data)
(let ([result-list (first acc-data)]
[prev-x (second acc-data)])
(list
(append result-list (list(f x prev-x)))
x)))
(list empty 0)
l)))
(pairwise-2 - 0 '(1 3 6 10 0))
;; => (1 2 3 4 -10)
However, I think there should be more elegant though no less flexible solution. It's just ugly.
I'm new to functional programming and would like to hear any suggestions on the code.
Thanks.
map takes multiple arguments. So I would just do
(define (butlast l)
(reverse (cdr (reverse l))))
(let ((l '(0 1 3 6 10)))
(map - l (cons 0 (butlast l)))
If you want to wrap it up in a function, say
(define (pairwise-call f init l)
(map f l (cons init (butlast l))))
This is of course not the Little Schemer Way, but the way that avoids writing recursion yourself. Choose the way you like the best.
I haven't done scheme in dog's years, but this strikes me as a typical little lisper type problem.
I started with a base definition (please ignore misplacement of parens - I don't have a Scheme interpreter handy:
(define pairwise-diff
(lambda (list)
(cond
((null? list) '())
((atom? list) list)
(t (pairwise-helper 0 list)))))
This handles the crap cases of null and atom and then delegates the meat case to a helper:
(define pairwise-helper
(lambda (n list)
(cond
((null? list) '())
(t
(let ([one (car list)])
(cons (- one n) (pairwise-helper one (cdr list))))
))))
You could rewrite this using "if", but I'm hardwired to use cond.
There are two cases here: null list - which is easy and everything else.
For everything else, I grab the head of the list and cons this diff onto the recursive case. I don't think it gets much simpler.
After refining and adapting to PLT Scheme plinth's code, I think nearly-perfect solution would be:
(define (pairwise-apply f l0 l)
(if (empty? l)
'()
(let ([l1 (first l)])
(cons (f l1 l0) (pairwise-apply f l1 (rest l))))))
Haskell tells me to use zip ;)
(define (zip-with f xs ys)
(cond ((or (null? xs) (null? ys)) null)
(else (cons (f (car xs) (car ys))
(zip-with f (cdr xs) (cdr ys))))))
(define (pairwise-diff lst) (zip-with - (cdr lst) lst))
(pairwise-diff (list 1 3 6 10 0))
; gives (2 3 4 -10)
Doesn't map finish as soon as the shortest argument list is exhausted, anyway?
(define (pairwise-call fun init-element lst)
(map fun lst (cons init-element lst)))
edit: jleedev informs me that this is not the case in at least one Scheme implementation. This is a bit annoying, since there is no O(1) operation to chop off the end of a list.
Perhaps we can use reduce:
(define (pairwise-call fun init-element lst)
(reverse (cdr (reduce (lambda (a b)
(append (list b (- b (car a))) (cdr a)))
(cons (list init-element) lst)))))
(Disclaimer: quick hack, untested)
This is the simplest way:
(define (solution ls)
(let loop ((ls (cons 0 ls)))
(let ((x (cadr ls)) (x_1 (car ls)))
(if (null? (cddr ls)) (list (- x x_1))
(cons (- x x_1) (loop (cdr ls)))))))
(display (equal? (solution '(1)) '(1))) (newline)
(display (equal? (solution '(1 5)) '(1 4))) (newline)
(display (equal? (solution '(1 3 6 10 0)) '(1 2 3 4 -10))) (newline)
Write out the code expansion for each of the example to see how it works.
If you are interested in getting started with FP, be sure to check out How To Design Program. Sure it is written for people brand new to programming, but it has tons of good FP idioms within.
(define (f l res cur)
(if (null? l)
res
(let ((next (car l)))
(f (cdr l) (cons (- next cur) res) next))))
(define (do-work l)
(reverse (f l '() 0)))
(do-work '(1 3 6 10 0))
==> (1 2 3 4 -10)

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