💡 Problem Formulation: Given two integers, the task is to devise a Python program capable of printing all distinct and uncommon digits between them. For instance, if the inputs are 123 and 459, the output should be a list of digits, [2, 3, 4, 5, 9], as these are the digits not shared by both numbers.
Method 1: Using List Comprehension and Sets
This method uses the powerful list comprehension feature in Python alongside sets to find the unique uncommon digits in both numbers by converting them into strings, then to sets, and finally into a sorted list of uncommon elements. It’s a fast and easy-to-understand technique for small to medium-sized integers.
Here’s an example:
number1 = 123 number2 = 459 unique_digits = sorted(set(str(number1)) ^ set(str(number2))) print(unique_digits)
Output:
['2', '3', '4', '5', '9']
This code snippet converts the numbers to strings and then to sets. The caret ^ is a symmetric difference operator on sets, yielding the uncommon elements. The result is then sorted and printed.
Method 2: Loop and Conditionals
The loop and conditionals method iterates over each digit in both numbers, checks for distinctness and uncommonality manually, and accumulates those in a list. Although not as succinct as set operations, it’s easy to follow and requires no type conversions when working with integers.
Here’s an example:
number1 = 123
number2 = 459
uncommon_digits = []
for digit in '0123456789':
if (digit in str(number1)) != (digit in str(number2)):
uncommon_digits.append(digit)
print(uncommon_digits)Output:
['2', '3', '4', '5', '9']
The above code snippet iterates over each digit, represented as a string, checking if the digit is present in only one of the number strings. It appends only the digits meeting this criterion to the result.
Method 3: Using filter and lambda Functions
This method involves the filter function to process each digit and a lambda function to encapsulate the condition for uncommonality. It’s a functional programming approach and is quite readable for those familiar with lambdas and filters in Python.
Here’s an example:
number1 = 123 number2 = 459 digits = '0123456789' uncommon_digits = filter(lambda x: (x in str(number1)) ^ (x in str(number2)), digits) print(list(uncommon_digits))
Output:
['2', '3', '4', '5', '9']
The lambda function provided to filter acts as a condition to test each digit. It uses the symmetric difference represented by ^ to determine if a digit is uncommon. Only digits satisfying the condition are included in the result.
Method 4: String Methods and Concatenation
By relying on string methods such as replace and concatenation, this approach directly manipulates the number strings to discard common digits and collate the uncommon digits efficiently. String methods can be straightforward and intuitive for simple digit manipulation.
Here’s an example:
number1 = 123 number2 = 459 n1 = set(str(number1)) n2 = set(str(number2)) common = n1 & n2 result = ''.join([x for x in n1.union(n2) if x not in common]) print(sorted(result))
Output:
['2', '3', '4', '5', '9']
In the provided code, common digits are found using the intersection operation &. The union of the number sets minus the common digits gives the distinct uncommon digits, which produces the final sorted result.
Bonus One-Liner Method 5: Set Symmetric Difference in a One-Liner
This one-liner combines the power of Python sets with list comprehensions to create a concise, albeit dense, line of code that computes the distinct uncommon digits in a compact and efficient manner.
Here’s an example:
print(sorted(set(str(123)) ^ set(str(459))))
Output:
['2', '3', '4', '5', '9']
This one-liner performs a symmetric difference operation between sets of digits from both numbers and then sorts the resulting uncommon digits for presentation.
Summary/Discussion
- Method 1: Using List Comprehension and Sets. Strengths: concise and fast. Weaknesses: requires knowledge of sets and list comprehensions.
- Method 2: Loop and Conditionals. Strengths: more intuitive for beginners, no type conversion. Weaknesses: more verbose, possibly slower for large numbers.
- Method 3: Using filter and lambda Functions. Strengths: functional programming approach, readable. Weaknesses: can be less intuitive for those unfamiliar with lambdas.
- Method 4: String Methods and Concatenation. Strengths: utilizes built-in string functions, easy for simple tasks. Weaknesses: less efficient with very large numbers.
- Bonus Method 5: Set Symmetric Difference in a One-Liner. Strengths: very compact, efficient. Weaknesses: clarity may suffer due to density of expression.