Skip to main content
Engineering LibreTexts

4.6: Merging Decks

  • Page ID
    15296
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    The next helper method we need is merge, which takes two sorted subdecks and returns a new deck containing all cards from both decks, in order. Here’s what the algorithm looks like in pseudocode, assuming the subdecks are named d1 and d2:

    public static Deck merge(Deck d1, Deck d2) {
        // create a new deck big enough for all the cards
    
        // use the index i to keep track of where we are at in
        // the first deck, and the index j for the second deck
        int i = 0;
        int j = 0;
        // the index k traverses the result deck
        for (int k = 0; k < result.cards.length; k++) {
    
            // if d1 is empty, d2 wins
            // if d2 is empty, d1 wins
            // otherwise, compare the two cards
    
            // add the winner to the new deck at position k
            // increment either i or j
        }
        // return the new deck
    }
    

    One of the exercises at the end of the chapter asks you to implement merge.


    This page titled 4.6: Merging Decks is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Allen B. Downey (Green Tea Press) .

    • Was this article helpful?