Bit Manipulation technique to replace boolean arrays of fixed size less than 64

Space complexity is the most underestimated asset by programmers. One can barely see a Memory Limit Exceed (MLE) while submitting a solution. But, saving memory is the most important thing a programmer should take care about. If one needs to create an Application for a user, it should be made as memory efficient as one can. 
Boolean arrays have been used as a container to solve different problems. This article focuses on discussing the alternatives to boolean arrays.

Integer Variable as a container

In general, the Integer variable has 4 bytes (C++ taken into consideration) resulting in having 32 boolean bits to represent a number. For example, to represent 10, the boolean bits can be written as:

int a = 10

In Memory-
00000000000000000000000000001010 (Binary of 10 in 32-bit integer)

This means one can use these bits as a boolean value inside a boolean array of size 32. A 64-bit integer can be used to increase the size if needed.

How to use Integer variable as a container?

Let’s discuss in detail how to use the Integer variable as a container.

The first step is to initialize the integer variable as 0, to get the boolean container of size 32 with all bits initially false.

Set a bit to true:
Set any bit to true for any desired location by using bitwise operators such as AND, NOT, OR, and SHIFT operators. For, example, to set a bit to true at position 7-

Use shift and bitwise OR operator to make the i^th bit to 1 (true)
int a = 0;
a |= (1 << 7);
Here a will become : 00000000000000000000000010000000
                                                                                              ↑
                                                                                              0^th bit

Step 1: First move 1 which is (..0001) in binary to 7 steps left to make it as (..10000000).
Step 2: Next, do bitwise or with the number. 
Step 3: As 1 OR 0 = 1 and 1 OR 1 = 1, this will set the 7^th bit to one without affecting other bits.

Set a bit to false:

For example, to reset a bit to false at position 7

Use shift and bitwise NOT and AND operator to make the i^th bit to 0(false).
int a = 0;
a |= (1 << 7); // To set 7th bit
a &= ~(1 << 7); // To reset 7th bit

Step 1: First move our 1 which is (..0001) in binary to 7 steps left to make it as (..10000000).
Step 2: Invert the bits to look like (…1101111111).
Step 3: Perform AND operation with the number.
Step 4: As 1 AND 0 = 0, 0 AND 0 = 0, 1 AND 1 = 1, this will set the 7^th bit to one without affecting other bits.

Get the value of i^th bit:

For example, to get the value of the 7^th bit-

Use AND operator to print.
int a = 0;
a |= (1<<7); // To set 7th bit
Print((a>>7)&1);  // this will print 1(True)
a &= ~(1<<7); // To reset 7th bit
Print((a>>7)&1); // this will print 0(false)

Below is the implementation of the above approach:

C++

// C++ program to implement
// the above approach
#include<iostream>
using namespace std;

// Driver code
int main()
{
  // This is an integer variable
  // used as a container
  int myBoolContainer = 0;

  // 7th bit will be used for sample
  int workingBit = 7;

  // Setting ith bit
  cout << "Setting " <<
           workingBit << "th bit to 1\n";

  myBoolContainer |= (1 << workingBit);

  // Printing the ith bit
  cout << "Value at " << workingBit <<
          "th bit = " <<
          ((myBoolContainer >> workingBit) & 1) <<
          "\n\n";

  // Resetting the ith bit
  cout << "Resetting " << workingBit <<
          "th bit to 0\n";
  myBoolContainer &= ~(1 << 7);

  // Printing the ith bit
  cout << "Value at " << workingBit <<
          "th bit = " <<
          ((myBoolContainer >> workingBit) & 1);
}

Java

// Java program to implement
// the above approach
import java.io.*;

// Driver code
class GFG
{
    public static void main (String[] args)
    {
          // This will be the integer variable
        // used as boolean container
        int myBoolContainer = 0;

        // 7th bit will be used for sample
        int workingBit = 7;

        // Setting ith bit
        System.out.println(
        "Setting " + workingBit +
        "th bit to 1");

        myBoolContainer |= (1 << workingBit);

        // Printing the ith bit
        System.out.println(
        "Value at " + workingBit+"th bit = " +
        ((myBoolContainer >> workingBit) & 1) +
        "\n");

        // Resetting the ith bit
        System.out.println(
        "Resetting " + workingBit +
        "th bit to 0");

        myBoolContainer &= ~(1 << 7);

        // Printing the ith bit
        System.out.println(
        "Value at " + workingBit +
        "th bit = " +
        ((myBoolContainer >>workingBit) & 1));
    }
}

Python

# Python program to implement
# the above approach
# This will be the integer variable
# used as boolean container
myBoolContainer = 0;

# 7th bit will be used as example
workingBit = 7;

# Setting ith bit
print("Setting " + str(workingBit) +
      "th bit to 1");
myBoolContainer |= (1 << workingBit);

# Printing the ith bit
print("Value at " + str(workingBit) +
      "th bit = " + str((myBoolContainer >>
                         workingBit) & 1) + "\n");

# Resetting the ith bit
print("Resetting " + str(workingBit) +
      "th bit to 0");
myBoolContainer &= ~(1 << 7);

# Printing the ith bit
print("Value at " + str(workingBit) +
      "th bit = " + str((myBoolContainer >>
                         workingBit) & 1))

C#

//C# code for the above approach
using System;
public class GFG {

    static public void Main()
    {

        // This will be the integer variable
        // used as boolean container
        int myBoolContainer = 0;

        // 7th bit will be used for sample
        int workingBit = 7;

        // Setting ith bit
        Console.WriteLine("Setting " + workingBit
                          + "th bit to 1");

        myBoolContainer |= (1 << workingBit);

        // Printing the ith bit
        Console.WriteLine(
            "Value at " + workingBit + "th bit = "
            + ((myBoolContainer >> workingBit) & 1) + "\n");

        // Resetting the ith bit
        Console.WriteLine("Resetting " + workingBit
                          + "th bit to 0");

        myBoolContainer &= ~(1 << 7);

        // Printing the ith bit
        Console.WriteLine(
            "Value at " + workingBit + "th bit = "
            + ((myBoolContainer >> workingBit) & 1));
    }
}

// This code is contributed by Potta Lokesh

Javascript

// Javascript program to implement
// the above approach
// This is an integer variable
// used as a container
var myBoolContainer = 0;

// 7th bit will be used sample
var workingBit = 7;

// Setting ith bit
console.log("Setting " + workingBit +
            "th bit to 1\n");
myBoolContainer |= (1 << workingBit);

//Printing the ith bit
console.log("Value at " + workingBit +
            "th bit = "+ ((myBoolContainer >>
                           workingBit) & 1) + "\n\n");

// Resetting the ith bit
console.log("Resetting " + workingBit +
            "th bit to 0\n");
myBoolContainer &= ~(1 << 7);

// Printing the ith bit
console.log("Value at " + workingBit +
            "th bit = " + ((myBoolContainer >>
                            workingBit) & 1));

Output

Setting 7th bit to 1
Value at 7th bit = 1

Resetting 7th bit to 0
Value at 7th bit = 0

Solve Pangram Strings:

Let’s solve the problem of pangram strings using the above approach.

Approach:

It is known that English alphabets of lower case range from (a-z) are having a count of no more than 26. So, in this approach, a bool array of constant size can be used. This will optimize the space complexity of the code.

Below is the implementation of the pangram strings using a boolean array:

C++

// C++ program to implement
// the above approach
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

bool checkIsPanagram(string sentence)
{
    // Initializing the container
    int n = 0;

    for(char &x:sentence)
    {
        // Checking that the char
        // is Alphabetic
        if(isalpha(x))

            // setting ith bit to 1
            // if char is 'a' then this will
            // set 0th bit to 1 and so on
            n |= (1 << (tolower(x) - 'a'));
    }

    // decimal number for all ones in last
    // 26 bits in binary is 67108863
    return n == 67108863;
}

// Driver code
int main()
{
  string s =
  "Pack mY box witH fIve dozen liquor jugs";
  cout << checkIsPanagram(s);
}

Java

// Java program to implement
// the above approach
import java.io.*;
class Panagram
{
  public boolean checkIsPanagram(
                 String sentence)
  {
      // Initializing the container
      int n = 0;

        int size = sentence.length();
        for(int i = 0; i < size; i++)
        {
            // Storing current character
            // in temp variable
            char x = sentence.charAt(i);

            // checking that the char is Alphabetic
            if(Character.isAlphabetic(x))
            {
                // setting ith bit to 1
                // if char is 'a' then this will
                // set 0th bit to 1 and so on
                n |= (1 << (Character.toLowerCase(x) - 'a'));
            }
        }

        // Decimal number for all ones in last
        // 26 bits in binary is 67108863
        return (n == 67108863);
  }
};

// Driver code
class GFG
{
    public static void main (String[] args)
    {
      String s =
      "Pack mY box witH fIve dozen liquor jugs";
      Panagram panagram = new Panagram();
      System.out.println(
             panagram.checkIsPanagram(s));
    }
}

Python

# Python program to implement
# the above approach
def isPanagram(sentence):

    # Initializing the container
    n = 0

    for char in sentence:

        # Checking that the char
        # is Alphabetic
        if char.isalpha():

            # setting ith bit to 1
            # if char is a then this will
            # set 0th bit to 1 and so on
            n |= (1 << (ord(char.lower()) -
                        ord('a')))


    # Decimal number for all ones in
    # last 26 bits in binary is 67108863
    return n == 67108863

sentence =
"Pack mY box witH fIve dozen liquor jugs"
print(isPanagram(sentence))

C#

// C# program to implement
// the above approach
using System;

class Panagram
{
  public bool checkIsPanagram(
                 String sentence)
  {

      // Initializing the container
      int n = 0;

        int size = sentence.Length;
        for(int i = 0; i < size; i++)
        {

            // Storing current character
            // in temp variable
            char x = sentence[i];

            // checking that the char is Alphabetic
            if(char.IsLetter(x))
            {

                // setting ith bit to 1
                // if char is 'a' then this will
                // set 0th bit to 1 and so on
                n |= (1 << (char.ToLower(x) - 'a'));
            }
        }

        // Decimal number for all ones in last
        // 26 bits in binary is 67108863
        return (n == 67108863);
  }
};

// Driver code
public class GFG
{
    public static void Main(String[] args)
    {
      String s =
      "Pack mY box witH fIve dozen liquor jugs";
      Panagram panagram = new Panagram();
      Console.WriteLine(
             panagram.checkIsPanagram(s));
    }
}

// This code is contributed by 29AjayKumar

Javascript

<script>
// javascript program to implement
// the above approach
function checkIsPanagram(sentence)
  {

      // Initializing the container
      var n = 0;

        var size = sentence.length;
        for(var i = 0; i < size; i++)
        {
            // Storing current character
            // in temp variable
            var x = sentence[i];

            // checking that the char is Alphabetic
            if(isAlphabetic(x))
            {
                // setting ith bit to 1
                // if char is 'a' then this will
                // set 0th bit to 1 and so on
                n = n | (1 << (x.charCodeAt(0)- 'a'.charCodeAt(0)));
            }
        }

        // Decimal number for all ones in last
        // 26 bits in binary is 67108863
        return (n == 67108863);
  }
function isAlphabetic(str)
{
    return /^[a-zA-Z()]+$/.test(str);
}

// Driver code
var s =
"Pack mY box witH fIve dozen liquor jugs";
document.write(checkIsPanagram(s));

// This code is contributed by 29AjayKumar
</script>

Output

1