Software Engineering

Lecture 4(a):
Iteration abstraction
2013

Outline
Why iteration abstraction?
Generator
Iteration in Java
Specify an iteration
Implement an iteration
Using iteration
List's iteration

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Why iteration abstraction?

Problem: how to conveniently and efficiently
iterate over a generic collection of objects?
Requirements: to support

incremental (run-time) access

unlimited collection size

all types of collections

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index-based (e.g. arrays) and non-index-based

collections (e.g. sets)

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Example: IntSet elements

How to sum the elements of an IntSet s?
Basic algorithm:
for each element i in s.elements
add i to sum

return sum

How to obtain s.elements

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Some intuitive solutions

add a method to return an array of elements
add an index-based access method
add an observer that returns vector els

None is really suitable

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Iteration abstraction as a solution

An abstraction that provides generic access to
a collection's elements
incremental access:

ask & get

get: can also generate elements

supports unlimited collection size:

no bounds on size

supports all types of collections:

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assumes no knowlege of the collection's rep

specified as an interface
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Generator

Generates the elements incrementally

Works differently depending on the collection
Pre-populated collections:

generate indices over the elements incrementally

Auto-populated collections:

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generate elements (and indices) incrementally

often has a bound condition

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Pre-populated generator
IntSet

Vector
(els)

x1
P

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Generator

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x2
...
xn

Auto-populated: PrimeSet
/**
* @overview
*
PrimeSet is an immutable
*
sub-type of IntSet, which contains a natural
*
sequence of prime numbers up to a given value.
*/

public class PrimeSet extends IntSet {

@DomainConstraint(type="Integer",min=1)
private Integer max;
elements up to max
}
are automatically
generated and added
to the set
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Iteration in Java
Generator is specified by interface
java.util.Iterator
Iterator defines 3 methods:

hasNext: ask

next: get

(optional) remove

Collections implement an iterator method:

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returns an Iterator object

may implement several

iterator methods can be stand-alone

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iterator & Iterator

java.util.Iterator

IntSet
elements()

Vector
(els)

x1
P

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Generator

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x2
...
xn
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Multiple iterators
IntSet
elements()
GenA
P
GenB

Vector
(els)

x1
x2
...
xn

reverse
Elements()
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java.util.Iterator
<<interface>
Iterator
+ hasNext(): boolean
+ next(): Object
+ remove()
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Interface: Iterator
java.util.Iterator
Note:

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hasNext and next both check if more results to

return
next: modifies the state of generator if a new
result is returned
remove: only used for modifiable collections

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hasNext()
/**
* @effects
*
if there are more elements to yield
*
return true
*
else
*
return false
*
*/
public boolean hasNext();

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next()
/**
* @modifies this
* @effects
*
if there are more results to yield
*
returns the next result
*
and modifies the state of
*
this to record the yield.
*
else
*
throws NoSuchElementException
*/
public Object next() throws NoSuchElementException;

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remove()
/**
* @effects
*
remove from the underlying collection the last
*
element returned by the call to next;
*
throw
*
UnsupportedOperationException if remove is not
*
supported,
*
IllegalStateException if next has not yet been
*
called, or remove has already been called after
*
the last call to next.
*
*
The behavior is unspecified if the underlying
*
collection is modified while the iteration is in
*
progress in any way other than by calling this
*
method.
*/
public void remove() throws UnsupportedOperationException,
IllegalStateException;
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Types with built-in iterators

Those that extend or implement interface
java.util.Iterable
Some common examples:

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Collection

List: ArrayList, LinkedList

Set

Queue

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Specify an iteration
Common iterator method names: elements,
iterators
Typically contains @effects and @requires

rarely has @modifies

@effects:

appears before @requires

describes the generator

includes this as an implicit parameter

@requires: a standard statement this must

not be modified while generator is in use
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Specify a generator
A private inner class of the collection class
Implements java.util.Iterator
The rep keeps track of the iteration state
Rep invariant refers to attributes of the
enclosing class
AF: maps rep to a sequence of elements
Operations:

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hasNext and next

remove: if @modifies is defined

no repOK

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Example: IntSet.elements
/**
* @effects
<pre>
*
if this is empty
*
throw EmptyException
*
else
*
return a generator that will produce all
*
the elements of this (as Integers), each
*
exactly once, in arbitrary order.</pre>
*
* @requires <tt>this</tt> must not be modified
*
while the generator is in use
*/

public Iterator elements()

throws EmptyException
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Generator: IntSet.IntSetGen
/**
* @overview
*
IntSet.IntSetGen represents a generator of the
*
elements of an IntSet.
* @attributes
* ind Integer
* @abstract_properties
* mutable(ind)=false /\ min(ind)=0 /\
* ind<IntSet.size()
* @abstraction_function
*
AF(c) = [x1,...] where each xi is in
*
c.IntSet.elements and are arranged in same
*
(arbitrary) order as c.IntSet.elements.
* @rep_invariant
*
ind >= 0 /\ ind < IntSet.size()
*/
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...
private class IntSetGen implements Iterator {
@DomainConstraint(type="Integer",mutable=false,
min=0)
private int ind;
}

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Implements an iteration

Implement the iterator method:

return a new generator object

Implement the generator:

hasNext:

next:

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pre-populated: checks the collection size

auto-populated: checks the bound condition
pre-populated: returns next element
auto-populated: generates and returns next element

Access outer class attributes or invoke its

methods
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Example: IntSet
ch6.IntSet
Note:

elements: return a new instance of IntSetGen

IntSetGen:

hasNext: check ind against IntSet.size

next: return element at index ind and increment ind;

throwing an exception if fails to do so

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exception message points to method elements (not next)

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IntSet.elements
public Iterator elements() throws EmptyException {
if (size() == 0)
throw new EmptyException("IntSet.elements");
return new IntSetGen();
}

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IntSet.IntSetGen
private class IntSetGen implements Iterator {
private int ind; // next index
// constructor method
public IntSetGen() {
ind = 0;
}
public boolean hasNext() {
return (ind < size());
}

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IntSet.IntSetGen
public Object next() throws NoSuchElementException {
if (hasNext()) {
Object next = elements.get(ind);
ind++;
return next;
}
throw new
NoSuchElementException("IntSet.elements");
}
public void remove() {
// do nothing
}
}
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Advanced example: PrimeSet

Auto-populated generator:
PrimeSet

Vector
(els)

p1
P

Generator
max

bound condition: elements are max

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PrimeSet

E xercise

ch6.PrimeSet
Note:

Extra attribute: max

Constructor invokes super's first, then initialises max

throws NotPossibleException if max is invalid

repOK: invokes super.repOK() first, then performs

additional validation

genElements iterator differs from IntSet.elements

PrimeGen:

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hasNext(): check if more primes max

next(): find next prime, add to set and return

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Using iteration

Iterator method's @requires clause must be

observed
Generator object is used via iterator
methods
Use while loop to iterate the elements
Loop condition is controlled by:

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hasNext or

NoSuchElementException thrown by next

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Example
ch6.usage.IteratorUsage
Note:

evenNumbersUpTo: pre-populate a set of even

numbers up to some value and print:

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loop controlled by hasNext

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Loop controlled by hasNext

// loop controlled by hasNext
IntSet iset = new IntSet();
for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++)
// even numbers
if (i % 2 == 0) iset.insert(i);
Iterator g = iset.elements();
while (g.hasNext()) {
int x = (Integer) g.next();
// use x
}

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Loop controlled by exception

// loop controlled by exception
PrimeSet pset = new PrimeSet(100);
Iterator g = pset.elements();
try {
while (true) {
int x = (Integer) g.next();
// use x
}
} catch (NoSuchElementException e) {
// no more elements
}

E xercise
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List's iteration
If your data type is a List, then simply
invokes its iterator method:
iterator(): Iterator

Example: ch7.lists.ListExample

Note: to obtain the iterator:

Iterator it = list.iterator();

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Summary
Iteration abstraction provides a convenient and
efficient generic method to iterate the elements
of a collection
Iteration abstraction is defined by a
combination of an iterator method and a
generator
iterator method creates a new generator
Generator implements
java.util.Iterator and is specified as an
inner class
Java's List classes implement iterators

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Questions?

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