http://qs321.pair.com?node_id=270391


in reply to Re: Alpha base-26 to base-10...
in thread Alpha base-26 to base-10...

Did you say "golf"? :-)

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sub b262b10{ my$n;$n++for"a"..lc$_[0];$n }

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27

Update: Make that 26. I can save a stroke by reusing @_. :-)

sub b262b10{ $_[1]++for"a"..lc$_[0];pop }

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-sauoq
"My two cents aren't worth a dime.";

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Re: Re: Re: Alpha base-26 to base-10... (golf)
by bwana147 (Pilgrim) on Jul 01, 2003 at 10:46 UTC
    Golf? 
    sub b262b10{ ()=a..lc pop }

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    Explanation:

    In Golf, there's no need for strict or quotes. A bareword is a string when Perl can't find an identifier with that name. So here, a is just "a", only two strokes shorter.

    pop takes one argument off of @_, and since there's only one argument, it's just the same as shift. lc turns it to lower case.

    .. is the range operator in list context, but the flip-flop operator in scalar context. The construct ()= forces list context. The value of a list assignment is the number of elements of the right member, even though the left value (()) is empty.

    So this sub yields (in scalar context) the number of element between "a" and the string passed as argument. QED

    --bwana147

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[select]
      what?

      Care to explain that?

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        To get it, try this:

        Read more... (575 Bytes)

        regards,
        tomte

        Hlade's Law:

        If you have a difficult task, give it to a lazy person --
        they will find an easier way to do it.

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