Java Coding Test Course, Finding the Minimum Number of Multiplications for Matrix Multiplication

The coding test is an important process that assesses the ability to solve various algorithm problems. In particular, problems related to matrix multiplication are one of the topics that many people find challenging due to their complexity and efficiency considerations. In this course, we will delve into this topic by addressing the problem of “finding the minimum number of matrix multiplication operations.”

Problem Definition

Given two matrices A (matrix A is of size m x n) and B (matrix B is of size n x p), we aim to minimize the number of operations required to multiply these two matrices. The number of operations is related to the dimensions of each matrix, and the basic operation required for matrix multiplication is as follows:

  • Multiply one row of A with one column of B and perform an addition of the result.

In other words, if the number of rows in A is m, the number of columns in B is p, and the number of columns in A or the number of rows in B is n, the number of operations for one matrix multiplication operation is m * n * p. We are looking for ways to minimize this number of operations when multiplying multiple matrices.

Issues to Implement

For example, consider the following matrices:

  • Matrix A: 10 x 30
  • Matrix B: 30 x 5
  • Matrix C: 5 x 60

Multiplying AB first and then C, or multiplying AC first and then B will yield the same result, but the number of operations may differ. Thus, we need to find the optimal order.

Solution

To solve this problem, we can use Dynamic Programming techniques. When multiple matrices are given, we calculate the minimum number of operations while considering the order of matrix multiplication.

Algorithm Explanation

  1. Store the dimension information of the matrices in an array.
  2. Create a dynamic programming array to store the optimal solutions of each subproblem.
  3. Calculate the order of each matrix multiplication to determine the minimum number of operations.

Specifically, the following steps are followed:

  • Store the size of the matrices to be solved in a char array. For example, {10, 30, 5, 60} defines matrices in the form of 10×30, 30×5, and 5×60.
  • Use a two-dimensional array to store the minimum number of operations needed to multiply each submatrix.
  • Divide the problem recursively and enhance efficiency by reusing previously calculated values.

Implementing in Java


public class MatrixChainMultiplication {
    static int[][] dp;
    static int[] dims;

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Input matrix dimensions
        dims = new int[] {10, 30, 5, 60}; // (10x30) * (30x5) * (5x60)

        int n = dims.length - 1;
        dp = new int[n][n];

        // Calculate minimum number of operations for matrix multiplication
        System.out.println("Minimum number of operations: " + calculateMinOperations(0, n - 1));
    }

    public static int calculateMinOperations(int i, int j) {
        // Base case: a single matrix does not require any operations.
        if (i == j) {
            return 0;
        }

        // Return if already calculated
        if (dp[i][j] != 0) {
            return dp[i][j];
        }

        dp[i][j] = Integer.MAX_VALUE;

        // Calculate optimal number of operations for different combinations of two matrix multiplications
        for (int k = i; k < j; k++) {
            int operations = calculateMinOperations(i, k) + calculateMinOperations(k + 1, j) + dims[i] * dims[k + 1] * dims[j + 1];

            // Update minimum number of operations
            dp[i][j] = Math.min(dp[i][j], operations);
        }

        return dp[i][j];
    }
}

Performance Analysis

This algorithm has a time complexity of O(n^3), where n is the number of matrices. This occurs because each subproblem is approached with O(n^2), and we must consider the matrix multiplication for the two subproblems. This algorithm is efficient for the given input in an optimized way.

Conclusion

In this lecture, we explored optimization methods for the matrix multiplication problem, approaches through dynamic programming, and Java implementation methods. Such problems are frequently encountered in actual programming, making it important to practice and master them thoroughly. In particular, this type is often seen in coding tests, so please pay close attention to the content covered in this course.

If you need any related materials or have questions, please leave a comment. Thank you!