Talk:Range extraction: Difference between revisions

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Just wondering ... Since the complementary task is "Range expansion", would a better name for this task be "Range compression" or maybe "Range contraction"? Or is extraction the usual term for this? --[[User:Snoman|Snoman]] 06:52, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

:Hmm, I don't like 'Range compression' as the phrase seems less descriptive of what is happening. It could mean too many other things. 'Range formatting' is more precise, but I like the alliteration of 'Range '''ex'''traction' and 'Range '''ex'''pansion' so far. --[[User:Paddy3118|Paddy3118]] 10:02, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

== Inverse of Range expansion task? ==

Is it intended that the output of the Range extraction task be suitable input for the Range expansion task and vice versa? I.e. that they are the inverse of each other. i.e.:

ordered-list-of-integers == expandRange(extractRange(ordered-list-of-integers))

If this is the case then if a "printed representation of your languages internal list of integers data structure that also reads nicely to humans" is required output for the Range expansion task then perhaps the "printing" functionality would be cleaner as separate to the actual Range expansion function?

Whether these functions are inverses of each other or not I think it would be nice to use the same example set of numbers for both tasks (the one from Range expansion task: -6,-3--1,3-5,7-11,14,15,17-20 would probably be most rigorous).