Question

Spring 2011 Course - PS9, Problem 3

I'm having trouble figuring out how to generate all the possible combinations to test using brute force... does anyone have any hints?

Answer 1

you can go to python library and search for the function combination. Well, I dont remember exactly, but I know the library have a function like that, dont try to reinvent a new one.

Answer 2

Did the 2011 course have a lecture(s) that introduced the binary decision tree and/or the knapsack problem? This is a Knapsack problem. In one of the 2008 lectures a function that solved the knapsack problem was shown. That can be adapted to this pset problem - at least the way it works will be the same or similar for this pset problem.

Answer 3

bwCA, yes, we did cover knapsack and I'm pretty sure we provided the code for a brute force search of the solution space.

Answer 4

Thanks guys, I'll go look back in the lecture.

Answer 5

I just ended up using Guttag's genPset function from the lecture to help me out. I was already trying to make a similar function myself, but I kept running into problems.