Lecture 02: Lists

Overview

  1. Recap of Last Time
  2. The List Abstract Data Type (ADT)
  3. List Implementations and Testing

Last Time

Discussed “task formalizability” in the context of 3 tasks:

  1. Sort a list of numbers
  2. Play chess (well)
  3. Identify pictures of faces

Tasks 1, 2, and 3 are increasingly more challenging to formalize

Today. A simpler task!

First Task: The List ADT

What is a “List”?

  • Want to store an ordered collection of items, elements
  • E.g., ranked list of courses, to-do list, etc.
  • Elements accessed by index

Will’s to-do list:

What can Lists do?

  1. Return element is at index i
  2. Insert element at index i
  3. Remove element at index i
  4. Set value of element at index i

Formalizing the Specification

The state of a list is a sequence of elements:

  • $S = x_0, x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_{n-1}$

  • $x_i$ represents the element at index $i$

This is a symbolic representation the state of a List

Non-Modifying Operations

State $S = x_0, x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_{n-1}$

  • size(): return n
  • isEmpty(): return n == 0
  • get(i): return $x_i$
    • exception if i < 0 or i > n-1

State is unchanged after applying these operations

Modifying Operations

Initial state $S = x_0, x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_{i-1}, x_i, x_{i+1},\ldots, x_{n-1}$

  • set(i, y):
    • update state to $x_0, x_1, \ldots, x_{i-1}, y, x_{i+1}, \ldots, x_{n-1}$
  • add(i, y):
    • update state to $x_0, x_1, \ldots, x_{i-1}, y, x_{i}, x_{i+1}, \ldots, x_{n-1}$
    • size is now $n+1$!
  • remove(i):
    • update state to $x_0, x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_{i-1}, x_{i+1},\ldots, x_{n-1}$
    • return value $x_i$

What Have we Done?

  • Specified list operations in a purely formal/symbolic way
  • Given any sequence of operations, the correct behavior is completely determined

Example

Starting from an empty list $S = \varnothing$, perform the following operations:

  • add(0, "red")
  • add(1, "orange")
  • add(2, "yellow")
  • add(1, "blue")
  • remove(2)
  • set(2, "green")
  • remove(0)

Specifying an ADT in Java

Java interface allows us to specify required methods

  • Does not check what the methods do!

Comments specify intended behavior

  • Audience is a programmer not a computer

See SimpleList.java

List Implementations

So Far

  • Formal specification of List ADT
    • specifies what a List should do
  • SimpleList Java interface
    • specifies what methods are required to implement list
    • comments describe the effects of the methods

Now what?

How to Implement a List?

How can we represent a List in Java?

  • How to store/represent List contents?

Discuss!

How to Represent a List?

Array-based List Implementation I

Which List operations does an Array support? Which must we implement ourselves?

  • size()
  • isEmpty()
  • get(i)
  • set(i, y)
  • add(i, y)
  • remove(i)

How to get(i) and set(i)?

How to add(i, y)?

How to remove(i)?

Limitations?

What limitations does an Array have that we have to cope with?

  • What “auxiliary” methods should we supply to deal with these limitations

Implementing and Testing our List