Ruby - BracketDuplicates.txt

Description:

Create a program that will take in a string as input and, if there are duplicates of more than two alphabetical characters in the string, returns the string with all the extra characters in a bracket.

For example, the input "aaaabbcdefffffffg" should return "aa[aa]bbcdeff[fffff]g"

Please also ensure that the input is a string, and return "Please enter a valid string" if it is not.


- - - - - - - - My Answer - - - - - - - -


def string_parse string
    
    newArr = []
    answer = ""
    
    if string.is_a? String 
        chars = string.split('')
        chars.map { |char| if ((newArr[-1].is_a? Array) && (newArr[-1][0] == char))
                newArr[-1] << char
            elsif (newArr[-1] == char) && (newArr[-2] == char)
                newArr << [char]
            else
                newArr << char
            end
        }
    else
        return "Please enter a valid string"
    end
    
    newArr.map { |el| (el.is_a? Array) ? (answer << "[" + el.join + "]") : answer << el }
    answer
end



- First, I create an empty array and an empty string.
- Secondly I check to see if the submission is, in fact, a string, if not, return an error message.
- If it is a string, split it into individual chars
  - If the last char is an array && the value stored in that array equal the current char, push it into the array.
  - Else if the last two non-array elements both equal the current char, push char in as an array.
  - Finally, if none of the above works, add the char to the end of the array.

- Of that created array, ‘.map’ it.
  - If the element is just a char, push it into the string
  - If the element is an array, ‘.join’ it into a string and add brackets.

- Finally, return the answer string

- - - - - - - - - alt - - - - - - - -

use of ‘.gsub’ and regEx is how to make this beautiful.
wow.



def string_parse string
  string.gsub /(.)\1(\1+)/, '\1\1[\2]' rescue 'Please enter a valid string'
end