Swift Coding Test Course, Finding Binomial Coefficient 1

Hello everyone! Today we will tackle the problem of calculating binomial coefficients using Swift. This course is designed to be easy to understand for those preparing for employment and will explain the process of solving the problem step by step.

Problem Description

Binomial coefficient refers to the number of combinations that represent ‘the number of ways to choose k from n’. Mathematically, the binomial coefficient is defined as follows:

C(n, k) = n! / (k! * (n – k)!)

Here, n is the total number of elements, k is the number of elements to choose, and ! signifies factorial.

Problem


    Write a program to calculate the binomial coefficient C(n, k) for given n and k. 
    n and k are integers between 0 and 30, inclusive.

Problem Solving Process

Step 1: Understanding the Problem

Understanding the problem is the most important step in solving algorithmic problems. In this problem, we need to calculate the binomial coefficient for the given two integers n and k. The binomial coefficient is a form of combination, governed by a mathematical formula. Let’s organize the necessary information to solve this problem.

Conditions to calculate the binomial coefficient:

  • 0 ≤ k ≤ n
  • 0 ≤ n ≤ 30

Step 2: Mathematical Approach

To easily calculate the binomial coefficient, we can use either a recursive function or the dynamic programming approach. Here, we will consider both the recursive method and dynamic programming, focusing on the latter.

Recursive Method

The binomial coefficient has the following property:

C(n, k) = C(n-1, k-1) + C(n-1, k)

This shows that we can divide it into two cases: one where we select the nth element and one where we do not. However, this method can be inefficient due to repeated calculations.

Dynamic Programming

Using dynamic programming allows us to avoid redundant calculations. First, we create an array to store the binomial coefficients and calculate the needed values while storing results in the array.

Step 3: Algorithm Design

Now it’s time to design the algorithm using dynamic programming. We will follow this process to design the algorithm:

  1. Define a two-dimensional array to create space for storing binomial coefficient values. Set the size of the array to (n+1) x (k+1).
  2. Fill in the base conditions. C(n, 0) = 1, C(n, n) = 1.
  3. Calculate the binomial coefficient for the given n and k and store values in the array.
  4. Output the calculated binomial coefficient.

Step 4: Code Implementation

Now let’s write the actual Swift code. We can implement a program that calculates the binomial coefficient using dynamic programming as follows.


import Foundation

func binomialCoefficient(n: Int, k: Int) -> Int {
    // Initialize the dynamic array
    var dp = Array(repeating: Array(repeating: 0, count: k + 1), count: n + 1)
    
    // Set base conditions
    for i in 0...n {
        dp[i][0] = 1 // C(n, 0) = 1
        dp[i][i] = 1 // C(n, n) = 1
    }
    
    // Calculate the binomial coefficients
    for i in 1...n {
        for j in 1...min(i, k) {
            dp[i][j] = dp[i - 1][j - 1] + dp[i - 1][j]
        }
    }
    
    return dp[n][k]
}

// Input values
let n = 5
let k = 2
let result = binomialCoefficient(n: n, k: k)
print("C(\(n), \(k)) = \(result)")

Step 5: Code Explanation

The above code defines a function that calculates the binomial coefficient. The key concepts used here are dynamic programming and storing results in an array.

  • First, the dp array is used to store each binomial coefficient.
  • Secondly, the base conditions are set by initializing dp[i][0] and dp[i][i] to 1. This capitalizes on the fact that there is only one way to choose 0 or n elements from n elements.
  • Then, using the properties we created above, we calculate the remaining binomial coefficients via a loop.

Step 6: Time Complexity

The time complexity of this algorithm is O(n * k), which increases proportionately with n and k. This is a significant advantage as it allows us to calculate the binomial coefficient efficiently using dynamic programming.

Conclusion

Today we learned how to calculate the binomial coefficient using Swift. We explained the process step by step, starting from basic concepts to the implementation of algorithms. This can be applied not only to actual algorithm problems but also to similar problems, so be sure to practice!

Now it is your turn to find your own way to calculate binomial coefficients. Do you understand the code and the algorithm? In the next lesson, we will tackle another problem related to binomial coefficients!

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