Lab 5, CSC/CPE 203 Sorting, comparisons and lambda

Lab 5, CSC/CPE 203
Sorting, comparisons and lambda

Sorting/ordering data is a common technique used in computing applications and, as such, Java has
built-in support to allow various methods to compare data (which can be used for sorting). In addition, a
closely related task, of specifying a small block of code (computation) that can be passed around and
executed later, is supported in Java 8 with the added support for lambda expressions. (Historically, there
was some non-syntactic support in various libraries even earlier than this). The inclusion of lambda
expressions can aid the programmer with common tasks (with comparisons being the first example we
will tackle in this lab). At the surface level, a lambda expression can be seen as a syntactic simplification
of a common use of anonymous inner classes (or even plain classes). Though this syntactic reduction is
of great value, lambda expressions, coupled with additional support throughout the Java libraries (in
particular, the java.util.function and java.util.stream packages), provide another means for
designing programming solutions.
This lab introduces the mechanics of lambda expressions as motivated by the common task of comparing
two objects. Later labs will revisit the use of lambda expressions in different contexts.
Objectives
• To explore the task of comparing data using various Java mechanism, including comparators and
lambdas
• To practice using lambda expressions for comparisons to sort data
• To practice understanding the application of lambda expressions via reading and understanding
code examples using lambdas more generally (then just for sorting)
Given Files
Retrieve the files provided for this lab from Canvas. This Lab has two parts. Start with Exercise folder.
Lambda Expression — Comprehension Exercises
Examine the provided testing file in the exercises directory. Each test case includes some comments
about the intended behavior. Edit the test cases so that they all pass. Go through each exercise test to
figure out what is correct expected value is.
Note that you should read the code to determine the correct expected value for each test case. Running
the tests and then just plugging the computed values back in will not improve your understanding of
lambda expressions. You will want to solidify your understanding since we will continue to explore this
feature for the remainder of the course and because you will use lambda expressions in Java code
beyond your academic career.
Comparators and Lambda Expressions
Examine the provided files in the comparator directory.
For this part, we will compare different implementations of the java.util.Comparator interface,
including the use of lambda expressions. A Comparator allows, via the compare method, one to
compare two objects to determine which "comes before" the other. For example, one might define a
Comparator<Integer> to determine which of two Integer objects comes first by ascending order.
Various methods take Comparator objects to generalize algorithms (such as sorting). The benefit is that
passing different Comparators allows for changing the order. Use of the Comparator interface
(especially as opposed to the Comparable interface) allows one to remove the "ordering" logic from the
objects to be compared. Instead, this logic is placed elsewhere to allow for multiple "orderings" of the
same data.
The Comparator interface requires its implementing classes to implement a compare method that takes
two arguments and returns an int value indicating the relative order of the arguments. A negative
return value indicates that the first parameter object "comes before" the second; a positive return
value indicates that the second parameter object "comes before" the first; and zero indicates that
the values are equivalent by the ordering.
ArtistComparator
Define the ArtistComparator class (yes, for this part, as a class), implementing Comparator<Song>,
to compare two Song objects and order them by artist (in ascending order). The Song class is in the
provided code.
Write a few tests of your ArtistComparator in the provided TestCases.java by comparing two
Song objects (you may use elements of the songs array).
For example, when you compare the first and second songs in the song list, the result should be less than
0, because the "Decemberist" is lexically before "Rogue Wave". Write another test case to test for
alternative cases. Note, counting like a human, not a computer, so the first song would be song at
position zero.
Title Comparator — As a Lambda Expression
Functional interfaces (those that declare only a single required method) can be "implemented" by lambda
expressions. A lambda expression is a stand-alone, anonymous function (in Java, they turn out to be
shorthand for anonymous inner classes).
For this part, you will not define a new class. Instead, in TestCases.java, assign a lambda expression
to a Comparator<Song> variable local to your testing method. This lambda expression should act as a
comparator on Song objects that orders them in ascending order by title.
Write a few tests to verify that this comparator works. For the test cases, you only need to compare two
songs at a time (but consider writing more than one comparison to accurately test your implementation).
For example, when you compare the first and second songs in the song list, the result should now be
greater than 0, because the Decemberist's song "The Mariner's Revenge Song" is not lexically before
Rogue Wave's "Love's Lost Guarantee".
Year Comparator — Using a Key Extractor
If you examine the Javadoc for java.util.Comparator interface, you will notice that there are many
more methods than compare, which can be useful. Of note are the many static methods that can be
used to create Comparators based on a "key extractor" function.
Using a key extractor instead of a lambda expression is less general, because you can only write a
reference to an existing method. It can be slightly more compact, and some find this style to be more
readable. It is unlikely that there will be any notable performance difference between the two styles.
Buried in the sea of dross and questionable advice that one can find on stack overflow, some insight into
why this duplicative language feature was added, is given by Brian Goetz, one of the architects of this
part of the Java Language, in this post.
Write a few test cases test a Comparator<Song> ordering by year, in descending order (in other words
most recent songs would be listed first -- getting this ordering proper may require a bit of research). But
for this part, you must use an appropriate static comparing method by providing a "key extractor"
function.
For example, when you compare the second and third songs in the song list, the result should now be
greater than 0, because Rogue Wave's "Love's List Guarentee" is from 2005 while the Avett Brother's
"Talk on Indolence" is from 2006 and we are comparing in descending order.
Comparator Composition
The comparators defined thus far compare only a single field to determine an ordering, but it is often the
case that when trying to order two objects one might want to order first by a primary key and then, if the
primary key matches, by a secondary key. For instance, one might wish to order songs by artist and by
year for songs by the same artist.
For this part, you will define the ComposedComparator class, implementing Comparator<Song> (this
class should be generic, but for now we will fix it to Song objects). This comparator must define a
constructor that takes two Comparator<Song> objects, c1 and c2. The compare method must be
defined to use c1 to compare the Song objects and then, if they are equivalent by the c1 ordering, use
c2.
Write a test using this comparator; be sure to select a pair of songs that demonstrate the sequencing
behavior of this comparator. (Hint: First sort based on their Year)
For example, when you compare the fourth and eighth songs in the song list, they are both by the same
artist, but with different years. When compared think about what the result would be based on the years
of these songs.
thenComparing
Composition, or sequencing, of the sort in the previous part is a relatively common technique. As such,
the Comparator interface actually supports this via a (default) method named thenComparing. On an
existing comparator object, one can call thenComparing and pass to it the next comparator to use in the
sequence.
Declare a Comparator<Song> variable in a testing method and initialize it with a lambda expression (or
using a key extractor) comparing songs by title. Then invoke thenComparing on this object passing to
this method another comparator (or a key extractor) that will compare songs by artist. Write a test to
verify that this comparator works as expected (i.e., orders by title and by artist when the titles match).
For example, when you compare the fourth and sixth songs in the song list, they are both named "Baker
Street", however they are by two different artists, Gerry Rafferty and the Foo Fighters. Thus, the result of
a comparison should be greater than 0, because 'F' comes before 'G'.
sort
Using the technique in the last part (lambda expressions with thenComparing), complete the sorting
test by passing a comparator that orders by artist, then title, and then year (each in ascending order).
For this test case, there is a correctly ordered song list to use for your comparison.
Submission
Submit all your .java files in the Canvas. Demo you work before Due dates end.