Programming puzzle (Assign value without any control statement)
Last Updated :
20 Jul, 2022
Given four integers ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘y’ and ‘x’, where ‘x’ can only be either zero or one. Your task is as follows:
- If ‘x’ is zero assign value ‘a’ to the variable ‘y’
- If ‘x’ is one assign value ‘b’ to the variable ‘y’.
It is not allowed to use any conditional operator (including the ternary operator).
Examples :
Input : a = 3, b = 7, x = 1
Output : y = 7
Input : a = 3, b = 7, x = 0
Output : y = 3
The idea is to create an array of size two where the first element is ‘a’ and the second element is ‘b’. We use x as an index in the array.
Implementation:
C++
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int assignValue( int a, int b, bool x)
{
int arr[] = {a, b};
return (arr[x]);
}
int main()
{
int y = assignValue(3, 7, 0);
cout << y;
return 0;
}
|
C
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdbool.h>
int assignValue( int a, int b, bool x)
{
int arr[] = {a, b};
return (arr[x]);
}
int main()
{
int y = assignValue(3, 7, 0);
printf ( "%d" ,y);
return 0;
}
|
Java
class GFG {
static int assignValue( int a, int b, int x)
{
int arr[] = {a, b};
return (arr[x]);
}
public static void main(String[] args)
{
int y = assignValue( 3 , 7 , 0 );
System.out.println(y);
}
}
|
Python3
def assignValue(a, b, x):
arr = [a, b]
return (arr[x])
y = assignValue( 3 , 7 , 0 )
print (y)
|
C#
using System;
public class GFG {
static int assignValue( int a, int b, int x)
{
int []arr = {a, b};
return (arr[x]);
}
public static void Main()
{
int y = assignValue(3, 7, 0);
Console.WriteLine(y);
}
}
|
PHP
<?php
function assignValue( $a , $b , $x )
{
$arr = array ( $a , $b );
return ( $arr [ $x ]);
}
$y = assignValue(3, 7, 0);
echo $y ;
?>
|
Javascript
<script>
function assignValue(a , b , x) {
var arr = [ a, b ];
return (arr[x]);
}
var y = assignValue(3, 7, 0);
document.write(y);
</script>
|
Time complexity : O(1)
Auxiliary Space : O(1)
Alternate Solution:
C++
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int assignValue( int a, int b, bool x)
{
return (1 - x)*a + x*b;
}
int main()
{
int y = assignValue(3, 7, 0);
cout << y;
return 0;
}
|
C
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdbool.h>
int assignValue( int a, int b, bool x)
{
return (1 - x)*a + x*b;
}
int main()
{
int y = assignValue(3, 7, 0);
printf ( "%d" ,y);
return 0;
}
|
Java
import java.io.*;
class GFG {
static int assignValue( int a, int b, int x)
{
return ( 1 - x) * a + x * b;
}
public static void main (String[] args)
{
int y = assignValue( 3 , 7 , 0 );
System.out.println(y);
}
}
|
Python3
def assignValue(a, b, x):
return ( 1 - x) * a + x * b
y = assignValue( 3 , 7 , 0 )
print (y)
|
C#
using System;
class GFG {
static int assignValue( int a, int b, int x)
{
return (1 - x) * a + x * b;
}
public static void Main()
{
int y = assignValue(3, 7, 0);
Console.WriteLine(y);
}
}
|
Javascript
<script>
function assignValue(a , b , x) {
return (1 - x) * a + x * b;
}
var y = assignValue(3, 7, 0);
document.write(y);
</script>
|
Time complexity : O(1)
Auxiliary Space : O(1)
Thanks to Forrest Smith for suggesting the above solution.
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