How can I define mutually recursive lambda functions in Java?

Question

I'm trying to implement L-system as functions. For example, dragon curve looks like this:

static String F(int n) {
    return n == 0 ? "F" : F(n - 1) + "+" + G(n -1);
}

static String G(int n) {
    return n == 0 ? "G" : F(n - 1) + "-" + G(n -1);
}

@Test
void testDragonCurveAsStaticFunction() {
    assertEquals("F", F(0));
    assertEquals("F+G", F(1));
    assertEquals("F+G+F-G", F(2));
    assertEquals("F+G+F-G+F+G-F-G", F(3));
}

I want to implement this with lambda functions. I got the following implementation by referring to recursion - Implement recursive lambda function using Java 8 - Stack Overflow.

@Test
void testDragonCurveAsLambdaFunction() {
    interface IntStr { String apply(int i); }
    IntStr[] f = new IntStr[2];
    f[0] = n -> n == 0 ? "F" : f[0].apply(n - 1) + "+" + f[1].apply(n - 1);
    f[1] = n -> n == 0 ? "G" : f[0].apply(n - 1) + "-" + f[1].apply(n - 1);
    assertEquals("F", f[0].apply(0));
    assertEquals("F+G", f[0].apply(1));
    assertEquals("F+G+F-G", f[0].apply(2));
    assertEquals("F+G+F-G+F+G-F-G", f[0].apply(3));
}

Is there a way to implement this without using an array?

But I want to create a generic L-System, so I don't want to define a new class, interface or method for the dragon curve.

score 1 · Answer 1 · 2021-12-12T05:45:02.867

I found a solution that uses Map.

@FunctionalInterface
interface IntStr {

    String apply(int n);

    static IntStr cond(String then, IntStr... otherwise) {
        return n -> n == 0 ? then
            : Stream.of(otherwise)
                .map(f -> f.apply(n - 1))
                .collect(Collectors.joining());
    }

    static IntStr constant(String string) {
        return n -> string;
    }

    static IntStr call(Map<String, IntStr> map, String functionName) {
        return n -> map.get(functionName).apply(n);
    }
}

and

@Test
void testDragonCurveAsLambda() {
    Map<String, IntStr> map = new HashMap<>();
    map.put("F", IntStr.cond("F",
        IntStr.call(map, "F"),
        IntStr.constant("+"),
        IntStr.call(map, "G")));
    map.put("G", IntStr.cond("G",
        IntStr.call(map, "F"),
        IntStr.constant("-"),
        IntStr.call(map, "G")));
    IntStr f = map.get("F");
    assertEquals("F", f.apply(0));
    assertEquals("F+G", f.apply(1));
    assertEquals("F+G+F-G", f.apply(2));
    assertEquals("F+G+F-G+F+G-F-G", f.apply(3));
}

It's a nice example of using static methods in the interface but generally you've replaced array with a map :) — Nowhere Man, Dec 12 '21 at 10:37

Nowhere Man · Answer 2 · 2021-12-12T00:45:13.520

I tried implementing it using a class combining two IntStr fields set via constructor or setters:

interface IntStr { 
    String apply(Integer i); 
}
    
class Recursive {
    IntStr other;
    IntStr curr;

    public Recursive() {}
    
    public Recursive(String p1, String s1, String p2, String s2) {
        this.curr  = n -> n == 0 ? p1 : curr.apply(n - 1) + s1 + other.apply(n - 1);
        this.other = n -> n == 0 ? p2 : curr.apply(n - 1) + s2 + other.apply(n - 1);
    }
    
    public void setCurr(String p, String s) {
        this.curr  = n -> n == 0 ? p : curr.apply(n - 1) + s + other.apply(n - 1);
    }
   
    public void setOther(String p, String s) {
        this.other = n -> n == 0 ? p : curr.apply(n - 1) + s + other.apply(n - 1);
    }
}

Then the following code succeeded:

void testDragonCurveAsLambdaFunction() {
    Recursive f1 = new Recursive("F", "+", "G", "-");
// or using setters
//  f1.setCurr("F", "+"); 
//  f1.setOther("G", "-");
    assertEquals("F", f1.curr.apply(0));
    assertEquals("F+G", f1.curr.apply(1));
    assertEquals("F+G+F-G", f1.curr.apply(2));
    assertEquals("F+G+F-G+F+G-F-G", f1.curr.apply(3));
}

An example using AtomicReference as a container for IntStr reference without creating Recursive class:

void testDragonCurveAsLambdaFunction() {
    AtomicReference<IntStr> 
        curr  = new AtomicReference<>(), 
        other = new AtomicReference<>(); 
    
    curr.set(n -> n == 0 ? "F" : curr.get().apply(n - 1) + "+" + other.get().apply(n - 1));
    other.set(n -> n == 0 ? "G" : curr.get().apply(n - 1) + "-" + other.get().apply(n - 1));

    assertEquals("F", curr.get().apply(0));
    assertEquals("F+G", curr.get().apply(1));
    assertEquals("F+G+F-G", curr.get().apply(2));
    assertEquals("F+G+F-G+F+G-F-G", curr.get().apply(3));
}

I want to create a generic L-System, so I don't want to define a new class for the dragon curve. — , Dec 12 '21 at 00:11
Well, the local variables must be effectively final in order to be used in lambdas , so anyway you'll have to use a container for `IntStr` reference such as array, another class, or `AtomicReference`. — Nowhere Man, Dec 12 '21 at 00:42

How can I define mutually recursive lambda functions in Java?

2 Answers2