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0 pointsAdamH121132y ago0 comments

Unless the question has been edited recently, it did. There are multiple lines in the second example input that show the overlap:

> eightwothree

> 4nineeightseven2

> zoneight234

I test my AoC solutions incrementally by printing output, so I found that I was failing to produce the correct list of numbers in a line right away. I suppose if you're taking a faster approach and just trying to extract the first and last numbers that it's easier to miss. It's always a good idea to look at the example input, though.

0 comments

philomath_mn2y ago

So are you saying that overlapped characters can be used for both numbers?

Meaning:

- eightwothree -> 823 (answer 83)

- 4nineeightseven2 -> 49872 (answer 42)

- zoneight234 -> z18234 (answer 14)

I interpreted the instructions as saying to take the first match from the left and not count the overlaps.

Unfortunately this gives the same answer as the overlap interpretation on the examples given in the problem statement: all the overlaps occurred in the middle where they didn't matter.

If they had shown

oneight -> answer: 18

then I would have understood the spec.

AdamH12113OP2y ago

It could have been more clear. The wording from the problem is "the last digit on each line". To me, that pretty clearly implies "the rightmost substring containing a digit", but I guess I can see how someone could question that interpretation.

bcrosby952y ago

I think it strongly implies a direction with the example in part 1 where there's only a single digit resulting in "77" rather than "7".

philomath_mn2y ago

Right, but we read the word "eight" from left to right -- to me it is non-obvious that "eightwo" should be counted as two digits when (a) there aren't enough characters to actually make both digits and (b) there wasn't a single example showing this overlap expanded

But I suppose can see the other side as well: the wording makes it sound like any spellings of those digits _counts_ as a digit rather than should be _replaced_ by a digit.

However I think the ambiguity here made the puzzle more difficult in a non-fun way.

Brentward2y ago

Those examples contain overlap, but not in the first or last digit that is given as the solution. So from the instructions you can't tell that the intermediate list of numbers should be 8, 2, 3, you only know that the final answer is 83.

tymscar2y ago

Yes, same. I keep seeing people say this on discord and reddit, but that edge case was shown twice in the example.

agoose772y ago

It shows an overlap, but it doesn't indicate how one should parse it.

criddell2y ago

It showed "eightwothree" to be 83. Or is that not what you are talking about?

1 more reply

jjice2y ago

I'm not certain, but I _feel_ like those are new values. There's a very real chance (majority chance) I'm wrong and oblivious though.

mminer2372y ago

None of those it matters that much though. The test case of `eightwo` would be the most critical and unintutive.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

philomath_mn2y ago

So are you saying that overlapped characters can be used for both numbers?

Meaning:

- eightwothree -> 823 (answer 83)

- 4nineeightseven2 -> 49872 (answer 42)

- zoneight234 -> z18234 (answer 14)

I interpreted the instructions as saying to take the first match from the left and not count the overlaps.

Unfortunately this gives the same answer as the overlap interpretation on the examples given in the problem statement: all the overlaps occurred in the middle where they didn't matter.

If they had shown

oneight -> answer: 18

then I would have understood the spec.

AdamH12113OP2y ago

bcrosby952y ago

I think it strongly implies a direction with the example in part 1 where there's only a single digit resulting in "77" rather than "7".

philomath_mn2y ago

But I suppose can see the other side as well: the wording makes it sound like any spellings of those digits _counts_ as a digit rather than should be _replaced_ by a digit.

However I think the ambiguity here made the puzzle more difficult in a non-fun way.

Brentward2y ago

tymscar2y ago

Yes, same. I keep seeing people say this on discord and reddit, but that edge case was shown twice in the example.

agoose772y ago

It shows an overlap, but it doesn't indicate how one should parse it.

criddell2y ago

It showed "eightwothree" to be 83. Or is that not what you are talking about?

1 more reply

jjice2y ago

I'm not certain, but I _feel_ like those are new values. There's a very real chance (majority chance) I'm wrong and oblivious though.

mminer2372y ago

None of those it matters that much though. The test case of `eightwo` would be the most critical and unintutive.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse