{"id":411,"date":"2025-01-31T14:19:11","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T13:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/informedica.nl\/?p=411"},"modified":"2025-01-31T14:22:28","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T13:22:28","slug":"fun-with-advent-of-code-2024-day-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/informedica.nl\/?p=411","title":{"rendered":"F#un with Advent Of Code 2024 day 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I may not be the most qualified, but I\u2019m having a lot of F#un with Advent of Code 2024<\/a><\/strong> (AOC)! It\u2019s incredible how F# enables you to focus on problem-solving, making the experience even more enjoyable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had heard about AOC in the past but always dismissed it, thinking I was too busy and should prioritize solving \u201creal-world\u201d problems. However, tackling these challenges has proven to be a great learning experience\u2014and, as it turns out, quite addictive<\/strong> once you earn that first gold star! ⭐<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

The first thing that stands out is how easy<\/strong> it is to dive in and start solving puzzles with F#. Unlike other languages where you might need to set up complex project structures, F# lets you just start coding<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What You Need:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 An editor like Visual Studio Code<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 The .NET SDK<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 The Ionide F# extension<\/a><\/strong> for VS Code<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this setup, you can simply create an F# script (<\/strong>.fsx file)<\/strong> and start coding immediately\u2014no need for projects, solutions, compiled apps, or even tests (oops!<\/em> 😆).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 1 \u2013 Part 1 Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s my solution for Day 1, Part 1<\/strong> using F#:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n#load \"utils.fsx\"\n\nopen Utils\n\n\n\/\/ utility functions\nlet parseLine (line: string) =\n    line.Split(\"   \")\n    |> Array.map int\n    |> function\n        | [| a; b |] -> a, b\n        | _ -> failwith \"Invalid input\"\n\n\n\/\/ test lists\nlet list1 = [ 3; 4; 2; 1; 3; 3 ]\nlet list2 = [ 4; 3; 5; 3; 9; 3 ]\n\n\n\/\/ solution\nlet calcDist list1 list2 =\n    let list1 = list1 |> Seq.sort\n    let list2 = list2 |> Seq.sort\n    \/\/ calculate the absolute difference between each pair of elements\n    \/\/ and sum them up\n    Seq.zip list1 list2 \n    |> Seq.map (fun (a, b) -> abs (a - b)) \n    |> Seq.sum\n\n\n\/\/ printing the results\nprintfn $\"Test lists: %d{calcDist list1 list2}\"\n\n\nreadLines \"input-day1.txt\"\n|> Array.map parseLine\n|> Array.unzip\n|> fun (list1, list2) -> calcDist list1 list2\n|> printfn \"Distance: %d\"\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Observations:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Minimal boilerplate<\/strong> \u2013 F# allows you to express logic succinctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Easy modularization<\/strong> \u2013 Other script files (utils.fsx) can be loaded just like modules, making it easy to reuse and share code<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Day 1 \u2013 Part 2 Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second part of the puzzle turned out to be relatively straightforward as well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nlet calcSim (list1: int seq) (list2: int seq) =\n    list1\n    |> Seq.map (fun x ->\n        \/\/ count the number of times x appears in list2\n        let c = \n            list2 \n            |> Seq.countBy ((=) x) \n            |> Seq.filter (fst) \n            |> Seq.sumBy snd\n        \/\/ multiply x by the count\n        c * x)\n    |> Seq.sum\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without any unnecessary complexity or ceremony, F# proves to be a powerful and F#un language<\/strong> for solving Advent of Code puzzles. The combination of functional programming, immutability, and concise syntax<\/strong> makes tackling these challenges not only efficient but also enjoyable.<\/p>\n
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I may not be the most qualified, but I\u2019m having a lot of F#un with Advent of Code 2024 (AOC)! It\u2019s incredible how F# enables you to focus on problem-solving, making the experience even more enjoyable. I had heard about AOC in the past but always dismissed it, thinking I was too busy and should … <\/p>\n
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