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- (20 pts) Write the same
mergesort
function as described in exercise 26.1.2, except decompose the problem "top-down" rather than "bottom-up". You will need to define a functionsplit: (list-of number) -> (list2-element-structure-of (-list-of number))
that partitions its input into two lists of approximately (+/- 1) the same length in O(n) time where n is the length of the input list.(split l)
returns a list a structure containing two lists of numbers. See below for hints in defining a 2-element structure. After splitting the list in half,mergesort
recursively sorts each half and then merges them together.
A 2-element structure can be defined (you MUST do this somewhere!) in one of two ways:
a) Define your own structure. The CS term for a pair of elements is "dyad", so for instance, one could define a structure as
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(define-struct dyad (first second)) |
Review your notes on how "define-struct" automatically creates constructor and accessor functions. You will still need to, in words, define what types the "first" and "second" elements are supposed to be (note: there are several ways to do this).
b) Use Scheme's built-in functions. First, you must explicitly define that you are going to use a list of exactly two elements, i.e. "(list a b)". Scheme already provides functions to access the first and second elements of such a list, oddly enough, called "first" and "second":
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(first (list a b)) ==> a
(second (list a b)) ==> b |
Again, you will still need to define exactly what types the first and second elements are supposed to be.