Is a preference for brute force solutions a bad sign? [closed]

Question

I'm a beginner C++ programmer, and to stretch my mind I've been trying some of the problems on projecteuler.net. Despite an interest in maths at school, I've found myself automatically going for brute force solutions to the problems, rather than looking for something streamlined or elegant.

Does this sound like a bad mindset to have? I feel a bit guilty doing it like this, but maybe quick and dirty is OK some of the time...

Answer 1

Ken Thompson: "When in doubt, use brute force"

Answer 2

To put this in a different context:

When you use a library that you don't know very well (for creating UI, for instance) you can solve a simple problem in a perfectly performant way, though you know there's a "correct way" to do it. If you are curious and worried that your brute-force code makes you look like a moron, you will soon find the "correct way" to do it (e.g., on weekends, or while you sleep). In the meantime, through brute force, you will have something that works.

I actually forget to use brute force sometimes, and start scanning the API for the "right" solution. This is definitely an error in many cases. If the brute force solution is easy to implement, scales as you need it to (really, if it works), then forget about the correct solution. You'll find it soon enough (and many times you already knew it!), but in the meantime, you solved the problem and were able to go on to the next one.

Roadblocks are terrible when coding, and should definitely be avoided more than brute force solutions.

Answer 3

I think you should look at what your end goal is and what your constraints are.

Sometimes a bruteforce method can solve a problem in 50ms trying out every combination of solutions and a "clever" solution can solve it in 10ms. At that point, the less clever but easier to understand solution trumps the clever solution.

However, there are some problems where brute forcing will not only be inelegant but simply won't work. There are many problems where if you attempt to naively brute force them it will take a significant amount of time to solve them. So obviously, these types of problems need a more elegant approach.

So ask yourself, why you are attempting these Project Euler problems? Are you doing it to learn? Then maybe trying a clever solution would be in your best interest but only after you have initially tried a brute force solution to help get a grasp of the problem.

When doing the Python Challenge problems I try to do it the most succinct way I can, pushing the limits of my abilities. After I solve it I then review other peoples answers and take mental notes of people who were more clever than myself and what they did. Some people will make special use of a data structure I hadn't thought of that is more suited to the task or they will have little mathematical tricks they use to make their algorithm more efficient. In the end I try to absorb as much of their cleverness as I can and make it show the next time I'm presented with a problem of a similar nature.

Answer 4

As a beginner programmer, you will be spending more of your mental energy figuring out how to actually implement things in C++, rather than spending energy on finding a clever solution to each problem. This is fine, because it gives you the opportunity to explore different areas of C++ while working on a range of various kinds of problems.

When you become proficient in C++ and you don't have to think about how to do every little thing, then you will be able to spend more time inventing non-brute-force solutions.

Answer 5

No, this isn't a bad thing. I've had solutions that were so elegant they were wrong.