Скачать или смотреть How to Fix Your Coin-Flipping Program: A Step-by-Step Guide to Randomness in Loops

Discover how to make your coin-flipping program work correctly in R by addressing common issues with random number generation and conditions in loops.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/76121310/ asked by the user 'Stabilo Boss' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/21755407/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/76121426/ provided by the user 'Gregor Thomas' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/903061/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Solving the Coin-Flipping Dilemma: A Practical Guide

Have you ever tried to build a simple coin-flipping program only to find that it doesn't work as expected? If you’ve encountered issues in your code, you’re not alone! In this guide, we will tackle some common problems that can arise when you’re working with randomness in loops, especially in R. By the end, you’ll be able to create a functional coin-flipping game that accurately keeps track of the results.

The Problem

You’ve written a program to flip a coin and tally the results for 'heads' and 'tails'. However, you discovered that:

The value of coin_flip does not change on subsequent iterations of the loop.

The program prints both 'Heads!' and 'Tails!' in each iteration, rather than just one.

Let’s look at your initial code so we can identify and understand the issues further.

Initial Code

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Identifying the Bugs

Let’s break down the issues in your code:

1. Random Value Assignment

The first problem is that coin_flip is assigned a random number only before the loop begins. This means it will not change in each iteration. To get a new random value on each pass through the loop, you need to assign the value inside the loop.

2. Incorrect Comparison Operators

The second issue lies in how you're currently checking the values of coin_flip within your if statements. You are using <- to assign a value instead of == to check for equality. This mistake causes the conditions to behave incorrectly!

The Solution

Now that we've identified the problems, let's make the necessary repairs. Here’s the corrected code:

Step 1: Fix Random Assignment in Loop

You should sample a new value inside the while loop:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 2: Replace Assignment with Equality Check

By using ==, the code will now properly check if coin_flip equals 1 or 2 without overwriting the variable itself.

Simplification for Better Clarity

While the above solution works, there's an even simpler approach. Instead of sampling numbers, you can directly sample the outcomes "Heads" and "Tails". Here’s how to modify your code accordingly:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Using Named Vectors for Added Simplicity

To make your code even cleaner, consider the following approach which utilizes a named vector for results.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Summary

To successfully create a working coin-flipping program, ensure your random assignments occur inside the loop and that you're using the correct comparison operators. With just a little tweaking, you can achieve a flawless coin-flipping game. Enjoy coding, and keep experimenting with your newfound knowledge!