marcuskerr / anagram

Nifty console app that will make you a god at scrabble

Anagram

An anagram is a word or phrase formed from another by rearranging its letters, ex. SILENT is an anagram of LISTEN.

Quickstart:

How to install:

1. Clone this project https://github.com/MarcusKerr/anagram.git
2. Change into the project directory cd anagram
3. Run bundle install to install the depencencies

How to use:
1. In the command line run ruby main.rb

$ ruby main.rb

2. The app will ask you to enter a file:

> Enter a file of words (to exit enter 'STOP'):
> test_words.txt

3. You will then be asked to enter your search word:

> Enter your search word (to exit enter 'STOP'):
> toga

4. You will then see a list of the anagrams.

> Matched anagrams of 'toga' are:
> goat

5. Enter 'STOP' at any time to exit the app.

> Enter your anagram (to exit enter 'STOP'):
> STOP

Example usage:

$ ruby main.rb

> Enter a file of words (to exit enter 'STOP'):
> test_words.txt

> Enter your anagram (to exit enter 'STOP'):
> alerts

> Matched anagrams of 'alerts' are:
> artels
> estral
> laster
> salter
> slater

> Enter your anagram (to exit enter 'STOP'):
> STOP

How to run tests:
Feature tests and unit tests can both be executed with the command rspec:

$ rspec

Test coverage:

Simplecov final coverage report:

User Stories:

As a feature of an app,
So that I can prevent users from inputting disallowed words.
I would like to check whether or not a word is an anagram of a given set of words.

As a user,
So that I can see if my word is valid,
I would like to be able to be able to input words.

As a user,
So that I know whether or not my word was valid,
I would like a message telling me if my word was an anagram of the included words.

Diagram:

Technologies:

• Ruby
• Rspec - Teating framework for Feature and Unit tests
• Simplecov - Code coverage tool
• Rubocop - For linting Ruby syntax and conforming to a popular style guide

Brief:

Task: Write a command line app in the language of your choice which satisfies the following user story:

• As a feature of an app, I would like to check whether or not a word is an anagram of a given set of words so that I can prevent users from inputting disallowed words.

Acceptance criteria:

1. The feature can run as a standalone application
2. It takes a configurable list of words to check against
3. Outputs whether or not input words are an anagram of any word in the list

My approach:

1. I refined the brief into clear and concise user stories.
2. Sketched a diagram of my current understanding of the system.
3. I focusd on the BDD cycle always writing a feature test first followed by unit tests, followed by business logic.

I decided that the steps I wanted to take to solve the problem were:

• Sort the list of given words by length - This would make searching easier.
• Set a starting index for the search - I determined the starting index by finding the index of the first word in the sorted arry of given words, that was the same length as the user's entered word.
• Set an ending index for the search - Index of the first word that was one greater than the user entered word, or index of the last item in the array
• Search between these two indices - Searching only between ths starting and ending indices will save time.
• Standardize and compare - I arranged the letters of each word in alphabetical order, and compated this with the user's entered word. If they matched I added the word to an array.

Next steps:

• Refactor 'Anagram.find' further into smaller methods with single responsibility.
• I'm going to rename some of the variable names, they are starting to confuse me!