> I need to construct some sort of data structure which is a two
> dimensional
> square array, consisting of elements which are an arbitrary length of
> 'BigIntegers'.
>
> Anyone any idea how to do this??
If you need a square matrix of elements of type BigInteger, then
something like
int dim = 3;
BigInteger[][] matrix = new BigInteger[dim][dim];
would do.
>Is it possible to construct a 2d
> array of
> BigInteger Lists somehow?
If you previously know the lengths of the "lists", the simplest solution
would be
int dim = 3;
BigInteger[][][] matrix = new BigInteger[dim][dim][];
int length00 = 10;
matrix[0][0] = new BigInteger[length00];
//...
If you want to dynamically change the length, a simple solution (not the
best one) would be
int dim = 3;
ArrayList<BigInteger>[][] matrix = new ArrayList[dim][dim];
int length00 = 10;
matrix[0][0] = new ArrayList<BigInteger>(length00);
The best solution would probably be building a class of your own (e.g.,
Matrix) modeling a matrix of lists.
> Any help appreciated
> Jeremy Watts
Hope it helps,
Faton Berisha
Lew - 14 Jun 2007 15:06 GMT
>> I need to construct some sort of data structure which is a two
>> dimensional
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> int dim = 3;
> BigInteger[][][] matrix = new BigInteger[dim][dim][];
I don't think you want a third array dimension. Use an appropriate object as
the base type of the "2-D array". As I understand the OP, they want a 2-D
matrix of BigInteger, so you don't need a third dimension.
> The best solution would probably be building a class of your own (e.g.,
> Matrix) modeling a matrix of lists.

Signature
Lew
Jeremy Watts - 14 Jun 2007 15:49 GMT
>>> I need to construct some sort of data structure which is a two
>>> dimensional
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> as the base type of the "2-D array". As I understand the OP, they want a
> 2-D matrix of BigInteger, so you don't need a third dimension.
What I actually need is a 2D array of elements which are of 'type' "some
sort of list of BigIntegers of arbitrary length" - the list here consists of
the coefficients the univariate polynomial.
To Faton, thanks for the reply, I did try your suggestion but it kept
returning an error message on compiling. I think I tried something similar
before ie. attempting to create a 2D array of 'lists' in effect and could
never get it to work.
What I have done now is to create a static array, where each element is a 1D
array that is of length equal to the maximum degree of the polynomial used.
Jeremy
>> The best solution would probably be building a class of your own (e.g.,
>> Matrix) modeling a matrix of lists.
Lew - 14 Jun 2007 17:30 GMT
> What I actually need is a 2D array of elements which are of 'type' "some
> sort of list of BigIntegers of arbitrary length" - the list here consists of
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> before ie. attempting to create a 2D array of 'lists' in effect and could
> never get it to work.
Perhaps if you copy and paste the actual message we could assist you.
> What I have done now is to create a static array, where each element is a 1D
> array that is of length equal to the maximum degree of the polynomial used.
You could do exactly the same thing with a dynamically-allocated array.
When I put together an SSCCE I was reminded that generics and arrays are
uneasy bedfellows, so indeed an array of coefficients is better if you are
making an array represent the matrix. (If you use Lists of Lists that is OK,
too.) This makes a 3-D array of BigIntegers, in which the first two
dimensions are fixed to the square matrix dimension, and the third is dynamic
depending on the coefficient vector. (Not Vector.)
BigInteger [] [] [] matrix;
To initialize, we fix the first two dimensions to a parameter 'dimen' and
leave the third open.
matrix = new BigInteger [dimen] [dimen] [];
At this point a direct reference to a particular coefficient will throw a NPE:
mat [0] [0] [0] = BigInteger.ZERO; // NullPointerException
We have to initialize mat [0] [0] to a BigInteger [] first.
This example is a bit long but illustrates the points:
<sscce>
/* PolyMatrix.java */
import java.math.BigInteger;
/** PolyMatrix - square matrix of coefficients. */
public class PolyMatrix
{
private final BigInteger [] [] [] matrix;
/** Constructor with dimensionality.
* @param dimen <code>int</code> dimensionality of square matrix.
*/
public PolyMatrix( int dimen )
{
matrix = new BigInteger [dimen] [dimen] [];
}
/** Retrieve the matrix.
* @return <code>BigInteger [] [] []</code> the matrix.
*/
public final BigInteger [] [] [] getMatrix()
{
return matrix;
}
@Override public final String toString()
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
for ( int ax = 0; ax < matrix.length; ++ax )
{
sb.append("{\n");
if ( matrix [ax] == null )
{
sb.append( "null " );
}
else for ( int bx = 0; bx < matrix [ax].length; ++bx )
{
sb.append("\t{ ");
if ( matrix [ax] [bx] == null )
{
sb.append( "null " );
}
else for ( int cx = 0; cx < matrix [ax] [bx].length; ++cx )
{
if ( matrix [ax] [bx] [cx] == null )
{
sb.append( "null" );
}
else
{
sb.append( matrix [ax] [bx] [cx] );
}
sb.append(", ");
}
sb.append("}\n");
}
sb.append("}\n");
}
return sb.toString();
}
/** PolyMatrix main method.
* @param args <code>String []</code> command line arguments
*/
public static void main( String [] args )
{
System.out.println();
PolyMatrix poly = new PolyMatrix( 3 );
BigInteger [] [] [] mat = poly.getMatrix();
try
{
mat [0] [0] [0] = BigInteger.ZERO;
}
catch ( NullPointerException exc )
{
System.out.println( "Didn't initialize entire matrix" );
System.out.println();
}
mat [0] [0] = new BigInteger [4];
for ( int ix = 0; ix < mat [0] [0].length; ++ix )
{
mat [0] [0] [ix] = BigInteger.valueOf((long) ix );
}
mat [0] [1] = new BigInteger [5];
for ( int ix = 0; ix < mat [0] [1].length; ++ix )
{
mat [0] [1] [ix] = BigInteger.valueOf( 9L - (long) ix );
}
mat [2] [0] = new BigInteger [2];
for ( int ix = 0; ix < mat [2] [0].length; ++ix )
{
mat [2] [0] [ix] = BigInteger.valueOf( 5L + (long) ix );
}
mat [2] [2] = new BigInteger [0];
for ( int ix = 0; ix < mat [2] [2] .length; ++ix )
{
mat [2] [2] [ix] = BigInteger.valueOf( 7L - (long) ix );
}
System.out.println( poly );
}
}
</sscce>

Signature
Lew
Jeremy Watts - 15 Jun 2007 10:07 GMT
>> What I actually need is a 2D array of elements which are of 'type' "some
>> sort of list of BigIntegers of arbitrary length" - the list here consists
[quoted text clipped - 144 lines]
> }
> </sscce>
many thanks :)