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Challenges

Evaluate a single variable polynomial equation

+13
−0

Challenge

Given a list of n numbers and x, compute $a + bx^1 + cx^{2} + ... + zx^{n-1}$, where a is the first value in the list, b is the second, etc. n is at most 256 and at least 0. The input value(s) can be any 32-bit float

Input can be in any format of choice, as long as it is a list of numbers and x. (And this'll likely stay this way, even if input rules change over time)

Test inputs

[1.0], 182 -> 1
[1.0, 2.0], 4 -> 9
[2.5, 2.0], 0.5 -> 3.5
[1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0], 1.5 -> 24.25

Example ungolfed program (Rust)

// dbg! is a logging function, prints the expression and it's output.
// Good for seeing what's happening

// Test setup
pub fn main() {
    let inp: &[f32] = &[1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0];
    let x: f32 = 1.5;
    dbg!(evaluate_polynomial(inp, x)); // take inputs, print result	
}

// Actual challenge answer function
pub fn evaluate_polynomial(inp: &[f32], x: f32) -> f32 {
    let mut accum: f32 = 0.0;

    for (idx, val) in inp.iter().enumerate() {
        // x.pow(idx) * val
        accum += dbg!(x.powf(idx as f32) * val);
    }

    return accum;
}
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2 comment threads

Quadratic equation (1 comment)
General comments (2 comments)

20 answers

You are accessing this answer with a direct link, so it's being shown above all other answers regardless of its score. You can return to the normal view.

+9
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APL (Dyalog Unicode), 11 3 1 byte

Try it online!

Anyone who can golf this further gets a cookie!

Function submission which takes reversed coefficients as right argument and $x$ as left argument.

-8 bytes from dzaima and rak1507(APL Orchard).

-2 bytes from Adám‭.

Uses a mixed base conversion.

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+5
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Haskell, 20 bytes

f x=foldl((+).(x*))0

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Takes input coefficients from highest degree to lowest.

21 bytes

x%(h:t)=h+x*x%t
x%_=0

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+5
−0

Ruby, 50 bytes

def f(k,x)k.length>1?k[0]+f(k[1..-1],x)*x:k[-1]end

Try it online!

This uses the Horner's method recursively, because I think it'll be slightly shorter than using a loop or builtin array functions.

Also, this is my first post on this website ... er my first real attempt at golfing something in Ruby, so please feel free to suggest ways to shorten my solution.

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Tips (44 bytes) (1 comment)
+5
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Japt -x, 6 5 bytes

Ë*VpE

Try it

Ë*VpE     :Implicit input of array U and float V
Ë         :Map each element D at 0-based index E
 *        :  Multiply D by
  VpE     :  V raised to the power of E
          :Implicit output of sum of resulting array
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General comments (2 comments)
+4
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Japt, 12 bytes

ÊÆgX *VpXÃr+

Loops through the range of integers 0 to n-1, calculates each term, and sums.

Try it

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+4
−0

Raku, 19 bytes

(*Z*(*X**0..*)).sum

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Is it concerning that my solution is over 30% asterisks?

Explanation

(             ).sum  # Get the sum of
 *Z*(        )       # The input list zip multiplied by
     *X**            # The second input to the power of
         0..*        # 0 to infinity

An alternate curried solution for 19 bytes is:

{*.reduce(*×$_+*)}

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+4
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Vyxal, 6, 5, 4 bytes

Źe*∑

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Takes input in the format coeffs, x

Explained

Źe*∑
Ź      # Generate range [0, len(coeffs))
 e     # Calculate x ** [0, len(coeffs) (vectorising)
  *    # Multiply the coefficients by the exponated x's. The lists are extended with 0s to be the same length
   ∑   # Sum that list and output
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+4
−0

JavaScript (Node.js), 40 bytes

f=(a,b,c=1)=>a.reduce((d,e)=>d+e*(c*=b))

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+4
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Ruby, 38 bytes

Simple map and sum over the coefficients. No TIO link, this uses numbered lambda parameters which require Ruby 2.7.

->l,x{l.each_with_index.sum{_1*x**_2}}
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+3
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Jelly, 1 byte

Try it online!

Essentially just Razetime's APL answer, except in that vectorizes rather than carrying out mixed base conversion--irrelevant if, as is the case here, the provided base is scalar. Takes a reversed coefficient list on the left and $x$ on the right.

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+2
−0

JavaScript (Node.js), 33 bytes

a=>n=>a.reduce((o,x,y)=>o+x*n**y)

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+2
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Pyth, 10 bytes

s*R^H~hZhA

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Alternate 10 byte solution:

s.e*b^eQkh

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+2
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Python 3, 46 bytes

f=lambda p,x,a=0:p and f(p[1:],x,a*x+p[0])or a

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Takes input reversed.

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General (1 comment)
+1
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Python 3, 46 bytes

lambda a,x:sum(c*x**i for i,c in enumerate(a))

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+1
−0

C++ (gcc), 61 bytes

float f(int n,float*p,float x){return n?*p+x*f(n-1,p+1,x):0;}

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+1
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Scala, 18 bytes

x=>_.:\(.0)(_+_*x)

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Not too complicated. Takes the list of coefficients and folds from the right, multiplying the accumulator by x each time and adding the next coefficient. reduceRight would've worked instead of :\(0), but it's golfier, and I haven't used /: or :\ in a while.

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+0
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J, 2 bytes

p.

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J likes inflections so it won't beat APL, but J is still a contender :).

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+0
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Python 3, 167 127 118 117 94 63 bytes

def f(a,b):
	y=0
	for z in range(len(a)):y+=a[z]*b**z
	print(y)

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Close gap to @user's lambda answer!

Golfed 40 bytes thanks to @user's advice. Golfed another 9 bytes thanks to @user's advice.

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Several golfing opportunities (3 comments)
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Ruby, 29 bytes

->l,x{a,*b=l;a ?a+x*f[b,x]:0}

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+0
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BQN, 13 bytes

{+´(𝕨⋆↕≠𝕩)×𝕩}

{           }  # fn
 +´            # sum reduce
   (𝕨⋆↕≠𝕩)     # x^i for each term
          ×𝕩   # times each coefficient

Try it

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