Add binary search (#61)

config.json

@@ -44,6 +44,14 @@
         "prerequisites": [],
         "difficulty": 2
       },
+      {
+        "slug": "binary-search",
+        "name": "Binary Search",
+        "uuid": "22fe2851-8b68-4b00-94cd-2a78b211e004",
+        "practices": [],
+        "prerequisites": [],
+        "difficulty": 2
+      },
       {
         "slug": "two-fer",
         "name": "Two Fer",

exercises/practice/binary-search/.docs/instructions.md

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# Instructions
+
+Your task is to implement a binary search algorithm.
+
+A binary search algorithm finds an item in a list by repeatedly splitting it in half, only keeping the half which contains the item we're looking for.
+It allows us to quickly narrow down the possible locations of our item until we find it, or until we've eliminated all possible locations.
+
+~~~~exercism/caution
+Binary search only works when a list has been sorted.
+~~~~
+
+The algorithm looks like this:
+
+- Find the middle element of a _sorted_ list and compare it with the item we're looking for.
+- If the middle element is our item, then we're done!
+- If the middle element is greater than our item, we can eliminate that element and all the elements **after** it.
+- If the middle element is less than our item, we can eliminate that element and all the elements **before** it.
+- If every element of the list has been eliminated then the item is not in the list.
+- Otherwise, repeat the process on the part of the list that has not been eliminated.
+
+Here's an example:
+
+Let's say we're looking for the number 23 in the following sorted list: `[4, 8, 12, 16, 23, 28, 32]`.
+
+- We start by comparing 23 with the middle element, 16.
+- Since 23 is greater than 16, we can eliminate the left half of the list, leaving us with `[23, 28, 32]`.
+- We then compare 23 with the new middle element, 28.
+- Since 23 is less than 28, we can eliminate the right half of the list: `[23]`.
+- We've found our item.

exercises/practice/binary-search/.docs/introduction.md

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# Introduction
+
+You have stumbled upon a group of mathematicians who are also singer-songwriters.
+They have written a song for each of their favorite numbers, and, as you can imagine, they have a lot of favorite numbers (like [0][zero] or [73][seventy-three] or [6174][kaprekars-constant]).
+
+You are curious to hear the song for your favorite number, but with so many songs to wade through, finding the right song could take a while.
+Fortunately, they have organized their songs in a playlist sorted by the title — which is simply the number that the song is about.
+
+You realize that you can use a binary search algorithm to quickly find a song given the title.
+
+[zero]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0
+[seventy-three]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/73_(number)
+[kaprekars-constant]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6174_(number)

exercises/practice/binary-search/.meta/config.json

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+{
+  "authors": [
+    "BNAndras"
+  ],
+  "files": {
+    "solution": [
+      "src/binary-search.art"
+    ],
+    "test": [
+      "tests/test-binary-search.art"
+    ],
+    "example": [
+      ".meta/src/example.art"
+    ]
+  },
+  "blurb": "Implement a binary search algorithm.",
+  "source": "Wikipedia",
+  "source_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_search_algorithm"
+}

exercises/practice/binary-search/.meta/src/example.art

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+find: function [values value][  
+    start: 0
+    stop: sub size values 1
+
+    while [=< start stop] [
+        i: div start + stop 2
+        elt: values\[i]
+        case [value]
+            when? [> elt] -> start: i + 1
+            when? [< elt] -> stop: i - 1
+            else  -> return i
+    ]
+
+    null
+]
+

exercises/practice/binary-search/.meta/tests.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# This is an auto-generated file.
+#
+# Regenerating this file via `configlet sync` will:
+# - Recreate every `description` key/value pair
+# - Recreate every `reimplements` key/value pair, where they exist in problem-specifications
+# - Remove any `include = true` key/value pair (an omitted `include` key implies inclusion)
+# - Preserve any other key/value pair
+#
+# As user-added comments (using the # character) will be removed when this file
+# is regenerated, comments can be added via a `comment` key.
+
+[b55c24a9-a98d-4379-a08c-2adcf8ebeee8]
+description = "finds a value in an array with one element"
+
+[73469346-b0a0-4011-89bf-989e443d503d]
+description = "finds a value in the middle of an array"
+
+[327bc482-ab85-424e-a724-fb4658e66ddb]
+description = "finds a value at the beginning of an array"
+
+[f9f94b16-fe5e-472c-85ea-c513804c7d59]
+description = "finds a value at the end of an array"
+
+[f0068905-26e3-4342-856d-ad153cadb338]
+description = "finds a value in an array of odd length"
+
+[fc316b12-c8b3-4f5e-9e89-532b3389de8c]
+description = "finds a value in an array of even length"
+
+[da7db20a-354f-49f7-a6a1-650a54998aa6]
+description = "identifies that a value is not included in the array"
+
+[95d869ff-3daf-4c79-b622-6e805c675f97]
+description = "a value smaller than the array's smallest value is not found"
+
+[8b24ef45-6e51-4a94-9eac-c2bf38fdb0ba]
+description = "a value larger than the array's largest value is not found"
+
+[f439a0fa-cf42-4262-8ad1-64bf41ce566a]
+description = "nothing is found in an empty array"
+
+[2c353967-b56d-40b8-acff-ce43115eed64]
+description = "nothing is found when the left and right bounds cross"

exercises/practice/binary-search/src/binary-search.art

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+find: function [values value][  
+    panic "Implement the find function" 
+]
+

exercises/practice/binary-search/tester.art

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+import {unitt}! 
+
+runTests.failFast findTests "tests"

exercises/practice/binary-search/tests/test-binary-search.art

@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+import {unitt}!
+import {src/binary-search}!
+
+suite "Binary Search" [
+    test "finds a value in a block with one element" [
+        vals: [6]
+        result: find vals 6
+        assert -> 0 = result
+    ]
+
+    test.skip "finds a value in the middle of a block" [
+        vals: [1 3 4 6 8 9 11]
+        result: find vals 6
+        assert -> 3 = result
+    ]
+
+    test.skip "finds a value at the beginning of a block" [
+        vals: [1 3 4 6 8 9 11]
+        result: find vals 1
+        assert -> 0 = result
+    ]
+
+    test.skip "finds a value at the end of a block" [
+        vals: [1 3 4 6 8 9 11]
+        result: find vals 11
+        assert -> 6 = result
+    ]
+
+    test.skip "finds a value in a block of odd length" [
+        vals: [1 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 634]
+        result: find vals 144
+        assert -> 9 = result
+    ]
+
+    test.skip "finds a value in a block of even length" [
+        vals: [1 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377]
+        result: find vals 21
+        assert -> 5 = result
+    ]
+
+    test.skip "identifies that a value is not included in the block" [
+        vals: [1 3 4 6 8 9 11]
+        result: find vals 7
+        assert -> null = result
+    ]
+
+    test.skip "a value smaller than the block's smallest value is not found" [
+        vals: [1 3 4 6 8 9 11]
+        result: find vals 0
+        assert -> null = result
+    ]
+
+    test.skip "a value larger than the block's largest value is not found" [
+        vals: [1 3 4 6 8 9 11]
+        result: find vals 13
+        assert -> null = result
+    ]
+
+    test.skip "nothing is found in an empty block" [
+        vals: []
+        result: find vals 1
+        assert -> null = result
+    ]
+
+    test.skip "nothing is found when the left and right bounds cross" [
+        vals: [1 2]
+        result: find vals 0
+        assert -> null = result
+    ]
+]
+