I want to check the ordering of numbers in an if statement, for example, in pseudo-code:
Is there an easy way to do this? Obviously doing all the boolean comparisons is not possible. Maybe sorting the numbers and then doing the respective comparisons is the best way?Code:if a < b < c < ... < z then do something magical else quit
Yes, a sort() will accomplish a sort. But what do you mean by "order"? Like as in a polynomial?
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Oh sorry, by 'order' I meant just numerical order. For example
should be true andCode:3 < 4 < 5 < 6
should be falseCode:3 < 5 < 4 < 6
I would imagine the easiest way is to place these numbers in a list or vector, and traverse it checking if prev < curr.
If you make it to the end of the list, the order is correct.
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sorry I must have had a brain fart ...
etc...Code:a < b && b < c && c < d
my post probably wasn't clear, I was just looking for that
.... I should probably take a break
Last edited by Marksman; 02-27-2008 at 10:19 PM.
Well sure that will work for just four numbers, but what if you have 50 numbers? Will you write out all those comparison tests?Originally Posted by Marksman
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Yeah that's true. In my actual program I only had 4 variables, so it was manageable.
Otherwise the vector/list approach would definitely be better.
How are the numbers stored? In a list/array/vector of some kind? You can potentially keep track if the values are ordered as they are entered and simply have a flag (initialized to true for the empty container). Whenever you add a new number, simply check if it is more than the previous value - if not then set the flag to false meaning the list is not ordered. When you do your if test, then just check this flag (an O(1) operation).
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