Code Golf: Ghost Leg

Question

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The challenge

The shortest code by character count that will output the numeric solution, given a number and a valid string pattern, using the Ghost Leg method.

Examples

Input: 3,
"| | | | | | | |
 |-| |=| | | | |
 |-| | |-| |=| |
 | |-| |-| | |-|"

Output: 2

Input: 2,
"| | |=| |
 |-| |-| |
 | |-| | |"

Output: 1

Clarifications

1. Do not bother with input. Consider the values as given somewhere else.
2. Both input values are valid: the column number corresponds to an existing column and the pattern only contains the symbols |, -, = (and [space], [LF]). Also, two adjacent columns cannot both contain dashes (in the same line).
3. The dimensions of the pattern are unknown (min 1x1).

Clarifications #2

1. There are two invalid patterns: |-|-| and |=|=| which create ambiguity. The given input string will never contain those.
2. The input variables are the same for all; a numeric value and a string representing the pattern.
3. Entrants must produce a function.

Test case

Given pattern:
"|-| |=|-|=|LF| |-| | |-|LF|=| |-| | |LF| | |-|=|-|"

|-| |=|-|=|
| |-| | |-|
|=| |-| | |
| | |-|=|-|

Given value : Expected result
 1 : 6
 2 : 1 
 3 : 3
 4 : 5
 5 : 4
 6 : 2

Edit: corrected expected results

Answer 1

JavaScript: 169 158 148 141 127 125 123 122 Characters

Minified and Golfed:

function g(n,s){for(l=s.split('\n'),n*=2;k=l.shift();)for(j=3;j;)n+=k[n-3]==(c=--j-1?'=':'-')?-2:k[n-1]==c?2:0;return n/2}

Readable Version:

function g(n, str) {
   var c, i, j;
   var lines = str.split('\n');
   n = (n * 2) - 2;

   for (i = 0; i < lines.length; i++) {
      for (j = 0; j < 3; j++) {
         c = (j == 1) ? '-' : '=';

         if (lines[i].charAt(n-1) == c) n-=2;          // Move left
         else if (lines[i].charAt(n+1) == c) n+=2;     // Move right
      }
   }

   return 1+n/2;
}

Explanation:

1. str is split into an array of lines.
2. n is scaled to cover the number of characters in each line, starting from 0.
3. Iterate three times over each line: one time for each layer. Imagine each line is divided into 3 layers: The top and bottom layers are where the legs of the of the = sign are attached. The middle layer is for the legs of the - signs.
4. Move n either left or right according to the adjacent signs. There is only one possible move for every layer of each line. Therefore n could move up to 3 times in a line.
5. Return n, normalized to start from 1 to the number of vertical lines.

Test Cases:

var ghostLegs = [];

ghostLegs[0] = "|-| |=|-|=|\n" +
               "| |-| | |-|\n" +
               "|=| |-| | |\n" +
               "| | |-|=|-|";

ghostLegs[1] = "| | | | | | | |\n" +
               "|-| |=| | | | |\n" +
               "|-| | |-| |=| |\n" +
               "| |-| |-| | |-|";

ghostLegs[2] = "| | |=| |\n" +
               "|-| |-| |\n" +
               "| |-| | |";

ghostLegs[3] = "|=|-|";

for (var m = 0; m < ghostLegs.length; m++) {
   console.log('\nTest: ' + (m + 1) + '\n');

   for (var n = 1; n <= (ghostLegs[m].split('\n')[0].length / 2) + 1; n++) {
      console.log(n + ':' + g(n, ghostLegs[m]));
   }
}

Results:

Test: 1
1:6
2:1
3:3
4:5
5:4
6:2

Test: 2
1:1
2:3
3:2
4:4
5:5
6:6
7:8
8:7

Test: 3
1:3
2:1
3:4
4:2
5:5

Test: 4
1:3
2:2
3:1

Answer 2

AWK - 68 77 79 chars

Pretty much a translation of Daniel's solution (we love ya man ;)

{for(i=0;i<3;){s=++i-2?"=":"-";if(s==$x)x--;else if(s!=$++x)x--}}END{print x}

But we can do away with if/else and replace it with ?:

{for(i=0;i<3;){s=++i-2?"=":"-";s==$x?x--:s!=$++x?x--:x}}END{print x}

Run it with the starting position defined as the x variable:

$ for x in `seq 6`; do echo $x\ ;awk -F\| -vx=$x -f ghost.awk<<__EOF__
|-| |=|-|=|
| |-| | |-|
|=| |-| | |
| | |-|=|-|
__EOF__
done

1 6
2 1
3 3
4 5
5 4
6 2

Answer 3

Ruby - 66 95 92 83 chars

(Alternating rows idea from Daniel's answer)

def f s,m
m.each_line{|r|%w{= - =}.map{|i|s+=i==r[2*s-3]?-1:i==r[2*s-1]?1:0}}
s
end

92 chars

def f s,m
  s=s*2-2
  m.each_line{|r|%w{= - =}.each{|i|s+=i==r[s-1]?-2:i==r[s+1]?2:0}}
  1+s/2
end

Usage

map="|-| |=|-|=|
| |-| | |-|
|=| |-| | |
| | |-|=|-|"

1.upto(6) do |i|
    p f(i, map)
end

Output

6
1
3
5
4
2

Answer 4

Perl, 92 91 chars

sub g{for$s(pop=~/.+/g){map$_[0]-=1-abs(index substr(" $s",$_[0]*2-2,3),$_),qw[= - =]}pop}

Another approach, 98 97 95 94 93 92 chars

sub g{map{for$s(qw[= - =]){pos=$_[0]*2-2;$_[0]+=/\G((?<=$s)|.$s)/&&$&cmp$"}}pop=~/.+/g;pop}

Test suite

$s=<<'__PATTERN__';
|-| |=|-|=|
| |-| | |-|
|=| |-| | |
| | |-|=|-|
__PATTERN__

for $n (1..6) {
    print g($n,$s);
}

Answer 5

VB.Net: 290 chars (320 bytes)

Requires Option Strict Off, Option Explicit Off

Function G(i,P)
i=i*2-1
F=0
M="-"
Q="="
Z=P.Split(Chr(10))
While E<Z.Length
L=(" "& Z(E))(i-1)
R=(Z(E)&" ")(i)
J=L & R=" "&" "
E-=(F=2Or J)
i+=If(F=1,2*((L=M)-(R=M)),If(F=2,2*((L=Q)-(R=Q)),If(J,0,2+4*(L=Q Or(L=M And R<>Q)))))
F=If(F=1,2,If(F=2,0,If(J,F,2+(L=Q Or R=Q))))
End While
G=(i-1)\2+1
End Function

Readable form:

Function G(ByVal i As Integer, ByVal P As String) As Integer

    i = i * 2 - 1
    Dim F As Integer = 0
    Const M As String = "-"
    Const Q As String = "="
    Dim Z As String() = P.Split(Chr(10))
    Dim E As Integer = 0

    While E < Z.Length
        Dim L As Char = (" " & Z(E))(i - 1)
        Dim R As Char = (Z(E) & " ")(i)
        Dim J As Boolean = L & R = " " & " "

        E -= (F = 2 Or J)
        i += If(F = 1, 2 * ((L = M) - (R = M)), _
                If(F = 2, 2 * ((L = Q) - (R = Q)), _
                If(J, 0, 2 + 4 * (L = Q Or (L = M And R <> Q)))))

        F = If(F = 1, 2, If(F = 2, 0, If(J, F, 2 + (L = Q Or R = Q))))

    End While

    G = (i - 1) \ 2 + 1

End Function

Test cases

Sub Main()

    Dim sb As New StringBuilder
    Dim LF As Char = ControlChars.Lf
    sb.Append("|-| |=|-|=|")
    sb.Append(LF)
    sb.Append("| |-| | |-|")
    sb.Append(LF)
    sb.Append("|=| |-| | |")
    sb.Append(LF)
    sb.Append("| | |-|=|-|")

    Dim pattern As String = sb.ToString

    For w As Integer = 1 To pattern.Split(LF)(0).Length \ 2 + 1
        Console.WriteLine(w.ToString & " : " & G(w, pattern).ToString)

    Next

    Console.ReadKey()

End Sub

Edit:

(for those still reading this)

I tried a different approach. My idea was to map the different patterns expected and act accordingly. We first need to decide if we'll turn left or right and then determine the number of columns our little Amidar monkey will move (reversing the string if needed).

Presenting the full solution first:

Function GhostLeg(ByVal i As Integer, ByVal p As String) As Integer

    i = i * 2 - 2

    Dim LeftOrRight As New Dictionary(Of String, Integer)
    LeftOrRight(" | ") = 0
    LeftOrRight("-| ") = -1
    LeftOrRight("=| ") = -1
    LeftOrRight("=|-") = -1
    LeftOrRight(" |-") = 1
    LeftOrRight(" |=") = 1
    LeftOrRight("-|=") = 1

    Dim ColumnAdd As New Dictionary(Of String, Integer)
    ColumnAdd("| | | ") = 0
    ColumnAdd("| | |-") = 0
    ColumnAdd("| |-| ") = 0
    ColumnAdd("| | |=") = 0
    ColumnAdd("| |=| ") = 0
    ColumnAdd("| |-|=") = 0
    ColumnAdd("| |=|-") = 0

    ColumnAdd("|=| | ") = 0
    ColumnAdd("|=| |-") = 0
    ColumnAdd("|=| |=") = 0
    ColumnAdd("|-| |-") = 1
    ColumnAdd("|-| | ") = 1
    ColumnAdd("|-| |=") = 1
    ColumnAdd("|-|=|-") = 2
    ColumnAdd("|-|=| ") = 2
    ColumnAdd("|=|-| ") = 2
    ColumnAdd("|=|-|=") = 3

    Const TRIPLESPACE As String = " | | "
    Dim direction As Integer

    For Each line As String In p.Split(Chr(10))
        line = TRIPLESPACE & line & TRIPLESPACE

        direction = LeftOrRight(line.Substring(i + 4, 3))
        If direction = 1 Then
            line = line.Substring(i + 5, 6)
            i += 2 * direction * ColumnAdd(line)

        ElseIf direction = -1 Then
            line = StrReverse(line.Substring(i, 6))
            i += 2 * direction * ColumnAdd(line)

        End If

    Next

    Return 1 + i \ 2

End Function

By removing the character-wise expensive Dictionary, as well as the unecessary |'s and after some more 'minification' we end up with:

Function G(i,p)
D="- 0= 0=-0 -2 =2-=2"
A="- -1-  1- =1-=-2-= 2=- 2=-=3"
For Each l In p.Replace("|","").Split(Chr(10))
l="   "& l &"   "
w=InStr(D,Mid(l,i+2,2))
If w Then
w=Val(D(w+1))-1
s=InStr(A,If(w=1,Mid(l,i+3,3),StrReverse(Mid(l,i,3))))
i+=If(s,w*Val(A(s+2)),0)
End If
Next
G=i
End Function

Not much of a gain, compared to my previous effort (282 chars, 308 bytes), but maybe this approach will prove useful to others using a different programming language.

Answer 6

Daniel's answer in C# - 173 chars

After seeing Daniel Vassallo's solution, I was too ashamed of mine to post it. But here's Daniel's answer ported to C# for the heck of it. One major drawback in C# was having to do bounds checking, which cost 20 characters.

int G(string s,int n){var l=s.Split('\n');n*=2;for(int i=0,j,c;i<l.Length;i++)
for(j=0;j<3;n+=n>2&&l[i][n-3]==c?-2:n<l[i].Length&&l[i][n-1]==c?2:0)c=j++==1?45
:61;return n/2;}

Formatted:

int G(string s, int n)
{
    var l = s.Split('\n');
    n *= 2;

    for (int i = 0, j, c; i < l.Length; i++)
        for (j = 0; j < 3; n += n > 2 && l[i][n - 3] == c ? -2 : n < l[i].Length && l[i][n - 1] == c ? 2 : 0)
            c = j++ == 1 ? 45 : 61;

    return n / 2;
}