Compacting a sparse matrix
So i'm dealing with sparse matrix and i have to compact in into a single array, for this assignment i created a struct called Point that has a line, column and value and i created an array of Points.
So, i dont have a 2d array, just a normal array of Points with their position on the matrix (line and column) and value.
Lets imagine my matrix its like this (the -1s dont not count as values of the matrix):
Code:
-1 5 6 -1 -1
-1 -1 -1 7 -1
8 9 -1 -1 4
I have to start with the line with the most elements and put those elements in the array ( thats already has a size pre defined), so, since the line with the most elements is the 3rd, it would look like this:
Then comes the 2nd line, but, as you can see, i can't keep the relative positions of the elements unless i move the line 1 spot to the front, it would look like this:
In this case, the offset for the 2nd line is 1 because i had to move it 1 spot. For the final line, the one with the least elements, i have to move it 2 spots to the side, so the offset would be 2 and the final result would be:
This is my goal, first i created an array with the lines sorted by number of elements, but im really struggling with putting the elements in the array and keeping their relative positions. Remember, i dont have a 2d array, a just a normal array which each element is Point with a line, column and value.
Normally i dont ask thngs like these but im really having a hard time and getting really frustrated. Does anyone have an idea, not even code, just for a algorhytm to solve this?
