How to make this code more functional?

Question

I am a newbie in functional programming. I just tried solving the following problem :

[ a rough specification ]

e.g.1:
dividend : {3,5,9}
divisor : {2,2}
radix = 10
ans (remainder) : {7}

Procedure :
dividend = 3*10^2+5*10^1+9*10^0 = 359
similarly, divisor = 22
so 359 % 22 = 7

e.g.2:
dividend : {555,555,555,555,555,555,555,555,555,555}
divisor: {112,112,112,112,112,112,112,112,112,112}
radix = 1000
ans (remainder) : {107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107}

My solution to this problem is :

object Tornedo {
  def main(args: Array[String]) {
    val radix: BigInt = 1000
    def buildNum(segs: BigInt*) = (BigInt(0) /: segs.toList) { _ * radix + _ }
    val dividend = buildNum(555,555,555,555,555,555,555,555,555,555)
    val divisor = buildNum(112,112,112,112,112,112,112,112,112,112)
    var remainder = dividend % divisor
    var rem = List[BigInt]()
    while(remainder > 0) {
      rem = (remainder % radix) :: rem
      remainder /= radix
    }
    println(rem)
  }
}

Although I am pretty satisfied with this code I'd like to know how to eliminate the while loop & two mutable variables and make this code more functional.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. :)

Answer 1

This tail recursive function remove your two mutable var and the loop:

object Tornedo {
  def main(args: Array[String]) {
    val radix: BigInt = 1000
    def buildNum(segs: BigInt*) = (BigInt(0) /: segs.toList) { _ * radix + _ }
    val dividend = buildNum(555,555,555,555,555,555,555,555,555,555)
    val divisor = buildNum(112,112,112,112,112,112,112,112,112,112)
    def breakup(n: BigInt, segs: List[BigInt]): List[BigInt] = 
      if (n == 0) segs else breakup(n / radix, n % radix :: segs)
    println(breakup(dividend % divisor, Nil))
  }
}