Code Golf: Numeric equivalent of an Excel column name

😎 Code Golf: Numeric Equivalent of an Excel Column Name 🚀

Are you ready for a coding challenge that will make you flex your problem-solving skills? Get ready to hack some code and conquer the Excel column name-to-numeric equivalent! 🤓💻

The Challenge 💪

The task is simple: write the shortest code possible that outputs the numeric value of an Excel column name. For example, the column name "A" should give you a numeric value of 1, "B" should be 2, and so on. Once you hit "Z", the next column becomes "AA", then "AB", and so on. The challenge lies in finding the most efficient way to convert these column names to their numeric counterparts. 😲

Example Test Cases 🧪

To give you a better understanding of what's expected, check out these test cases with their corresponding numeric values:

• A: 1

• B: 2

• AD: 30

• ABC: 731

• WTF: 16074

• ROFL: 326676

Easy Solutions and Approachable Strategies 🛠️

Now that we know what we're aiming for, let's take a look at some easy solutions and strategies to tackle this challenge head-on. 💡

Solution 1: Iterative Approach

One way to solve this problem is by taking an iterative approach. You can iterate through each character of the input string, starting from the rightmost character, and calculate the numeric value step by step. Here's how you can do it:

1. Initialize a result variable to 0.

2. Iterate through each character of the input string in reverse order.

3. For each character, calculate its numeric value by subtracting the ASCII value of 'A' and adding 1.

4. Multiply the numeric value by 26 raised to the power of the character's position from the right.

5. Add the calculated value to the result variable.

6. Return the final result.

Here's an example implementation in Python:

def column_name_to_numeric(column_name):
    result = 0
    for i in range(len(column_name)):
        char_value = ord(column_name[-i - 1]) - ord('A') + 1
        result += char_value * (26 ** i)
    return result

print(column_name_to_numeric("A"))  # Output: 1
print(column_name_to_numeric("B"))  # Output: 2
print(column_name_to_numeric("AD"))  # Output: 30
print(column_name_to_numeric("ABC"))  # Output: 731
print(column_name_to_numeric("WTF"))  # Output: 16074
print(column_name_to_numeric("ROFL"))  # Output: 326676

Solution 2: Recursive Approach

Another approach to solve this challenge is by using recursion. Let's see how we can do it step by step:

1. If the length of the input string is 0, return 0.

2. Take the last character of the input string and calculate its numeric value using the same formula as in the iterative approach.

3. Remove the last character from the input string and call the function recursively.

4. Multiply the recursive result by 26 and add the calculated numeric value.

5. Return the resulting value.

Here's an example implementation of the recursive approach in JavaScript:

function column_name_to_numeric(column_name) {
  if (column_name.length === 0) {
    return 0;
  }
  
  const charValue = column_name.charCodeAt(column_name.length - 1) - 'A'.charCodeAt() + 1;
  const remainingValue = column_name.slice(0, -1);
  const recursiveResult = column_name_to_numeric(remainingValue);
  
  return recursiveResult * 26 + charValue;
}

console.log(column_name_to_numeric("A"));  // Output: 1
console.log(column_name_to_numeric("B"));  // Output: 2
console.log(column_name_to_numeric("AD"));  // Output: 30
console.log(column_name_to_numeric("ABC"));  // Output: 731
console.log(column_name_to_numeric("WTF"));  // Output: 16074
console.log(column_name_to_numeric("ROFL"));  // Output: 326676

Get Coding and Share Your Solution! 💻✨

Now that you have two efficient solutions to tackle the Excel column name-to-numeric challenge, it's time to put your skills into action! Choose the approach that best suits your coding style and give it a try. We'd love to see what you come up with! Share your solution in the comments below or join the discussion on our coding community forum. Let's code and learn together! 🎉👥

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Keep coding, stay curious! 🚀💡

The code samples in this blog post are using Python and JavaScript, but feel free to use any programming language of your choice for the challenge.