Home/ Questions/Q 14178
In Process

askthedev.com Latest Questions

Asked: 2024-09-27T01:25:49+05:30

How can I count vowels in a string using the shortest Tcl code possible?

I’ve been getting really into code golfing lately, and I’ve stumbled upon some challenges that have sparked my interest, especially with Tcl. I’m relatively new to the language, and I find the idea of reducing code length both fun and tricky at the same time. I could use some tips or ideas to help me tackle this challenge!

So, here’s the problem I want to tackle: I’m trying to create a simple program that takes a string of text (like a sentence or a word) and returns the number of vowels in that text. Sounds straightforward, right? But the catch is, I want to do it in as few characters as possible.

I’ve been brainstorming different ways to do this, and I thought about using some basic string commands or utilizing lists. However, I keep running into issues when I try to compact my code without making it unreadable. My current attempt is around 70 characters, but I really want to get it down into the 50-60 range if possible!

I know that Tcl often has some quirky ways to handle strings and lists, and I feel like I’m missing some tricks that could help me shorten my code. So, here are some questions I have for the community:

1. What are some Tcl-specific tricks or shortcuts that can help reduce the character count? For example, are there any special commands or syntactical features that I’m not aware of?

2. Are there creative ways to count vowels without looping through the string in a traditional sense? I feel like there has to be a more elegant solution out there.

3. Finally, any examples of code that you’ve seen (or written) that really show off how to golf in Tcl would be super appreciated!

I just love the challenge of writing super short code, and I’d love to see what you all come up with! Any input or ideas would be greatly welcomed. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Share

    Leave an answer

    You must login to add an answer.

    Need An Account,

    2 Answers

    1. set s "Your input string goes here"
set v 0
foreach c [split $s ""] {if {[string equal -nocase $c "a"] || [string equal -nocase $c "e"] || [string equal -nocase $c "i"] || [string equal -nocase $c "o"] || [string equal -nocase $c "u"]} {incr v}}
puts $v

    2. To tackle the problem of counting vowels in a string using Tcl in a compact manner, one effective approach is to utilize the `regsub` command to replace all non-vowel characters with an empty string, then simply count the remaining characters. This method avoids explicit loops while simultaneously reducing the overall character count of the program. Here’s a concise example that achieves this:

      set s "your input string here";puts [string length [regsub {[^aeiouAEIOU]} $s ""]]

      In this snippet, we initialize the string `s` with the input, use `regsub` to substitute all non-vowel characters (indicated by the regex pattern `[^aeiouAEIOU]`) with an empty string, and finally, the `string length` command counts the characters in the resulting string of vowels. This approach results in very compact code—well within your goal of 50-60 characters, and it effectively solves the problem without traditional looping constructs.