Step by Step solution about How to resolve the algorithm Split a character string based on change of character step by step in the Ruby programming language

The provided Ruby code defines a method called split that takes a string as input and performs a specific transformation on it. Here's a detailed explanation of the code:

1. def split(str): This line defines a method named split that accepts one parameter, str. This parameter is expected to be a string.

2. puts " input string: #{str}": This line prints the input string to the console. It's a helpful debugging statement that shows the original string before the transformation.

3. s = str.chars.chunk(&:itself).map{|_,a| a.join}.join(", "): This line performs the main transformation on the input string. Let's break it down:

   • str.chars: This converts the input string into an array of individual characters.
   • chunk(&:itself): This method groups consecutive identical characters in the array. It returns an array of subarrays, where each subarray contains characters that are the same.
   • map{|_,a| a.join}: This iterates over the subarrays and joins the characters in each subarray back into a single string. The underscore (_) is a placeholder variable that is not used.
   • join(", "): This joins the strings from the previous step with a comma and space as a separator.

4. puts "output string: #{s}": This line prints the transformed string to the console. It shows the result after performing the specified transformation.

5. s: This is the return value of the split method. It contains the transformed string.

6. split("gHHH5YY++///\\"): This line calls the split method with the string "gHHH5YY++///\" as input. The transformed string is then printed to the console.

When you run this code, it will print the input and output strings as follows:

input string: gHHH5YY++///\\
output string: g, HHH, 5, YY, ++, ///, \\

In this example, the input string is first split into its individual characters:

['g', 'H', 'H', 'H', '5', 'Y', 'Y', '+', '+', '/', '/', '/', '\\']

Then, consecutive identical characters are grouped together:

[['g', 'g'], ['H', 'H', 'H'], ['5'], ['Y', 'Y'], ['+', '+'], ['/', '/', '/'], ['\\']]

Finally, the characters in each group are joined back into a single string, separated by commas and spaces. The resulting output string is "g, HHH, 5, YY, ++, ///, \".

def split(str)
  puts " input string: #{str}"
  s = str.chars.chunk(&:itself).map{|_,a| a.join}.join(", ")
  puts "output string: #{s}"
  s
end

split("gHHH5YY++///\\")