On Sun, 16 Nov 2008 01:50:16 -0800, John Machin wrote: > > def A(w, v, i,j): > > if i == 0 or j == 0: return 0 > > if w[i-1] > j: return A(w, v, i-1, j) > > if w[i-1] <= j: return max(A(w,v, i-1, j), v[i-1] + > > A(w,v, i-1, j - w[i-1]))
>> I am reading this blog >> >> http://20bits.com/articles/introduction-to-dynamic-programming/ > > I suggest that you don't bother reading a blog written by somebody who > (presumably consciously) keyed in that "if w[i-1] <= j: " above. That is a translation of standard terminology for a hybrid function. Mathematics doesn't have an "else", so you write hybrid functions by enumerating each branch as an if. While it's not especially good Python technique, it's a perfectly idiomatic mathematical expression, and shouldn't be the basis for dismissing an entire blog. -- Steven -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list