I believe the most optimal way to do this is to create a "LINQ-like" extension methods using an iterator block. This allows you to perform the calculation doing a single pass over your data. Note that performance isn't important at all if you just want to perform the calculation on a small array of numbers. Of course this is really your for loop in disguise.
static class Extensions {
public static IEnumerable<Tuple<T, Int32>> ToRunLengths<T>(this IEnumerable<T> source) {
using (var enumerator = source.GetEnumerator()) {
// Empty input leads to empty output.
if (!enumerator.MoveNext())
yield break;
// Retrieve first item of the sequence.
var currentValue = enumerator.Current;
var runLength = 1;
// Iterate the remaining items in the sequence.
while (enumerator.MoveNext()) {
var value = enumerator.Current;
if (!Equals(value, currentValue)) {
// A new run is starting. Return the previous run.
yield return Tuple.Create(currentValue, runLength);
currentValue = value;
runLength = 0;
}
runLength += 1;
}
// Return the last run.
yield return Tuple.Create(currentValue, runLength);
}
}
}
Note that the extension method is generic and you can use it on any type. Values are compared for equality using Object.Equals
. However, if you want to you could pass an IEqualityComparer<T>
to allow for customization of how values are compared.
You can use the method like this:
var numbers = new[] { 4, 1, 1, 3, 3, 2, 5, 3, 2, 2 };
var runLengths = numbers.ToRunLengths();
For you input data the result will be these tuples:
4 1
1 2
3 2
2 1
5 1
3 1
2 2