Alternating Sign Sequence

Question

Introduction

The sign of a number is either a +, or a - for every non-zero integer. Zero itself is signless (+0 is the same as -0). In the following sequence, we are going to alternate between the positive sign, the zero and the negative sign. The sequence starts with 1, so we write 1 with a positive sign, with zero (this one is weird, but we just multiply the number by 0) and the negative sign:

1, 0, -1

The next number is 2, and we do the same thing again:

2, 0, -2

The sequence eventually is:

1, 0, -1, 2, 0, -2, 3, 0, -3, 4, 0, -4, 5, 0, -5, 6, 0, -6, 7, 0, -7, ...

Or a more readable form:

a(0) = 1
a(1) = 0
a(2) = -1
a(3) = 2
a(4) = 0
a(5) = -2
a(6) = 3
a(7) = 0
a(8) = -3
a(9) = 4
...

The Task

Given a non-negative integer n, output the n^th term of the above sequence. You can choose if you use the zero-indexed or one-indexed version.

Test cases:

Zero-indexed:

a(0) = 1
a(11) = -4
a(76) = 0
a(134) = -45
a(296) = -99

Or if you prefer one-indexed:

a(1) = 1
a(12) = -4
a(77) = 0
a(135) = -45
a(297) = -99

This is code-golf, so the submission with the smallest number of bytes wins!

Answer 1

Jelly, 7 bytes

+6d3’PN

Zero-indexed. Test cases here.

Explanation:

+6      Add 6:     x+6
d3      Divmod:    [(x+6)/3, (x+6)%3]
’       Decrement: [(x+6)/3-1, (x+6)%3-1]
P       Product    ((x+6)/3-1) * ((x+6)%3-1)

Answer 2

JavaScript ES6, 18 bytes

n=>-~(n/3)*(1-n%3)

Turned out very similar to @LeakyNun's answer but I didn't see his until after I posted mine.

Explanation and Ungolfed

-~ is shorthand for Math.ceil, or rounding up:

n =>               // input in var `n`
    Math.ceil(n/3) // Get every 3rd number 1,1,1,2,2,2, etc.
    *
    (1-n%3)        // 1, 0, -1, 1, 0, -1, ...

function f(n){n=i.value;o.value=-~(n/3)*(1-n%3);}

Input: <input id=i oninput="f()"/><br /><br />
Output: <input id=o readable/>

Answer 3

MarioLANG, 93 81 bytes

one-indexed

Try It Online

;(-))+(-
"============<
>:(![<:![<:)![
 !=#="!#="!=#=
!  < !-< !- <
#==" #=" #=="

Explanation :

we begin by taking the imput

;

wich give us

          v
... 0 0 input 0 0 ...

we then decrement the left byte and increment the right byte with

;(-))+(
=======

we end up with

           v
... 0 -1 input +1 0 ...

we then set up the loop

;(-))+(-
"============<
>  ![< ![<  ![
   #=" #="  #=
!  < !-< !- <
#==" #=" #=="

the loop will go until the memory look like

         v 
... 0 -X 0 +X 0 ...

we then only need to output the result

;(-))+(-
"============<
>:(![<:![<:)![
 !=#="!#="!=#=
!  < !-< !- <
#==" #=" #=="

Answer 4

Python 2, 24 bytes

lambda n:(n/3+1)*(1-n%3)

Full program:

a=lambda n:(n/3+1)*(1-n%3)

print(a(0))   #   1
print(a(11))  #  -4
print(a(76))  #   0
print(a(134)) # -45
print(a(296)) # -99

Answer 5

MATL, 15 12 bytes

3/XkG3X\2-*_

This uses one based indexing.

Try it online! or verify test cases

Explanation:

    G          #Input
     3X\       #Modulus, except multiples of 3 give 3 instead of 0
        2-     #Subtract 2, giving -1, 0 or 1
3/Xk           #Ceiling of input divided by 3.
          *    #Multiply 
           _   #Negate

Answer 6

Haskell, 27 bytes

f x=div(x+3)3*(1-mod(x+3)3)

Slightly more interesting 28 byte solution:

(((\i->[i,0,-i])=<<[1..])!!)

(Both are 0-indexed)

Answer 7

Bash, 28 25 Bytes

echo $[(1+$1/3)*(1-$1%3)]

Answer 8

MATL, 8 bytes

:t~y_vG)

The result is 1-based.

Try it online!

Explanation

This builds the 2D array

 1  2  3  4  5 ...
 0  0  0  0  0 ...
-1 -2 -3 -4 -5 ...

and then uses linear indexing to extract the desired term. Linear indexing means index down, then across (so in the above array the first entries in linear order are 1, 0, -1, 2, 0, ...)

:     % Vector [1 2 ... N], where N is implicit input
t~    % Duplicate and logical negate: vector of zeros
y_    % Duplicate array below the top and negate: vector [-1 -2 ... -N]
v     % Concatenate all stack contents vertically
G)    % Index with input. Implicit display

Answer 9

Perl 5, 22 bytes

21 plus one for -p:

$_=(-$_,$_+2)[$_%3]/3

Uses 1-based indexing.

Explanation:

-p sets the variable $_ equal to the input. The code then sets it equal to the $_%3th element, divided by 3, of the 0-based list (-$_,$_+2) (where % is modulo). Note that if $_%3 is two, then there is no such element, and the subsequent division by 3 numifies the undefined to 0. -p then prints $_.

Answer 10

Pyke, 8 7 bytes (old version)

3.DeRt*

Try it here! - Note that link probably won't last for long

3.D      - a,b = divmod(input, 3)
   e     - a = ~a -(a+1)
     t   - b -= 1
      *  - a = a*b
         - implicit output a

Newest version

3.DhRt*_

Try it here!

3.D      - a,b = divmod(input, 3)
   h     - a+=1
     t   - b-=1
      *  - a = a*b
       _ - a = -a
         - implicit output a

Answer 11

Perl 6,  26  23 bytes

{({|(++$,0,--$)}...*)[$_]}
{($_ div 3+1)*(1-$_%3)}

( The shorter one was translated from other answers )

Explanation (of the first one):

{ # bare block with implicit parameter ｢$_｣
  (

    # start of sequence generator

    { # bare block
      |(  # slip ( so that it flattens into the outer sequence )
        ++$, # incrementing anon state var =>  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
        0,   # 0                           =>  0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
        --$  # decrementing anon state var => -1,-2,-3,-4,-5,-6
      )
    }
    ...  # repeat
    *    # indefinitely

    # end of sequence generator

  )[ $_ ] # get the nth one (zero based)
}

Test:

#! /usr/bin/env perl6
use v6.c;
use Test;

# store it lexically
my &alt-seq-sign = {({|(++$,0,--$)}...*)[$_]}
my &short-one = {($_ div 3+1)*(1-$_%3)}

my @tests = (
    0 =>   1,
   11 =>  -4,
   76 =>   0,
  134 => -45,
  296 => -99,
  15..^30  => (6,0,-6,7,0,-7,8,0,-8,9,0,-9,10,0,-10)
);

plan @tests * 2 - 1;

for @tests {
  is alt-seq-sign( .key ), .value, 'alt-seq-sign  ' ~ .gist;

  next if .key ~~ Range; # doesn't support Range as an input
  is short-one(    .key ), .value, 'short-one     ' ~ .gist;
}

1..11
ok 1 - alt-seq-sign  0 => 1
ok 2 - short-one     0 => 1
ok 3 - alt-seq-sign  11 => -4
ok 4 - short-one     11 => -4
ok 5 - alt-seq-sign  76 => 0
ok 6 - short-one     76 => 0
ok 7 - alt-seq-sign  134 => -45
ok 8 - short-one     134 => -45
ok 9 - alt-seq-sign  296 => -99
ok 10 - short-one     296 => -99
ok 11 - alt-seq-sign  15..^30 => (6 0 -6 7 0 -7 8 0 -8 9 0 -9 10 0 -10)

Answer 12

J, 19 15 bytes

>.@(%&3)*1-3|<:

Probably need to golf this further...

1-indexed.

Ungolfed:

>> choose_sign      =: 1-3|<:      NB. 1-((n-1)%3)
>> choose_magnitude =: >.@(%&3)    NB. ceil(n/3)
>> f                =: choose_sign * choose_magnitude
>> f 1 12 77
<< 1 _4 0

Where >> means input (STDIN) and << means output (STDOUT).

Answer 13

J, 27 bytes

Whilst not the golfiest, I like it better, as it uses an agenda.

>.@(>:%3:)*1:`0:`_1:@.(3|])

Here is the tree decomposition of it:

         ┌─ >.      
  ┌─ @ ──┤    ┌─ >: 
  │      └────┼─ %  
  │           └─ 3: 
  ├─ *              
──┤           ┌─ 1: 
  │      ┌────┼─ 0: 
  │      │    └─ _1:
  └─ @. ─┤          
         │    ┌─ 3  
         └────┼─ |  
              └─ ]  

This is very similar to Kenny's J answer, in that it chooses the magnitude and sign, but it's different in that I use an agenda to choose the sign.

Answer 14

MATL, 8 bytes

_3&\wq*_

This solution uses 1-based indexing into the sequence.

Try it Online

Modified version showing all test cases

Explanation

        % Implicitly grab the input
_       % Negate the input
3&\     % Compute the modulus with 3. The second output is floor(N/3). Because we negated
        % the input, this is the equivalent of ceil(input/3)
w       % Flip the order of the outputs
q       % Subtract 1 from the result of mod to turn [0 1 2] into [-1 0 1]
*       % Take the product with ceil(input/3)
_       % Negate the result so that the sequence goes [N 0 -N] instead of [-N 0 N]
        % Implicitly display the result

Answer 15

Pyth, 10 bytes

*h/Q3-1%Q3

Try it online!

Explanation:

*     : Multiply following two arguments
h/Q3  : 1 + Input/3
-1%Q3 : 1 - Input%3

Note: I've assumed the zero-indexed sequence.

Answer 16

Actually, 10 bytes

3@│\u)%1-*

Try it online!

Explanation:

3@│\u)%1-*
3@│         push 3, swap, duplicate entire stack ([n 3 n 3])
   \u)      floor division, increment, move to bottom ([n 3 n//3+1])
      %1-   mod, subtract from 1 ([1-n%3 n//3+1])
         *  multiply ([(1-n%3)*(n//3+1)])

Answer 17

05AB1E, 7 bytes

Code:

(3‰`<*(

Explained:

(           # negate input: 12 -> -12
 3‰         # divmod by 3: [-4, 0]
   `        # flatten array: 0, -4
    <       # decrease the mod-result by 1: -1, -4
     *      # multiply: 4
      (     # negate -4

Answer 18

Batch (Windows), 86 bytes

Alternate.bat

SET /A r=%1%%3
SET /A d=(%1-r)/3+1
IF %r%==0 ECHO %d%
IF %r%==1 ECHO 0
IF %r%==2 ECHO -%d%

This program is run as Alternate.bat n where n is the number you wish to call the function on.

Answer 19

GeoGebra, 44 bytes

Element[Flatten[Sequence[{t,0,-t},t,1,n]],n]

where n is one-indexed.

Explanation:

Element[                      , n] # Return the nth element of the list                  .
 Flatten[                    ]     # Strip all the unnecessary braces from the list     /|\
  Sequence[{t,0,-t}, t, 1, n]      # Generate a list of lists of the form {t, 0, -t}     |
                             # This list will start with {1,0,-1} and end with {n,0,-n}  |

It is not necessary to generate all triplets through {n, 0, -n}, but it's shorter than writing ceil(n/3) or something to that effect. Note that n must be defined to create this object (if it isn't defined at the time this is run, GeoGebra will prompt you to create a slider for n).

Answer 20

Labyrinth, 17 15 14 bytes

Saved 3 bytes using Sok's idea of using 1-(n%3) instead of ~(n%3-2).

1?:#/)}_3%-{*!

The program terminates with an error (division by zero), but the error message goes to STDERR.

Try it online!

Explanation

The program is completely linear, although some code is executed in reverse at the end.

1     Turn top of stack into 1.
?:    Read input as integer and duplicate.
#     Push stack depth (3).
/)    Divide and increment.
}     Move over to auxiliary stack.
_3%   Take other copy modulo 3.
-     Subtract from 1. This turns 0, 1, 2 into 1, 0, -1, respectively.
{*    Move other value back onto main stack and multiply.
!     Output as integer.

The instruction pointer now hits a dead end and turns around, so it starts to execute the code from the end:

*     Multiply two (implicit) zeros.
{     Pull an (implicit) zero from the auxiliary to the main stack.
-     Subtract two (implicit) zeros from one another.
      Note that these were all effectively no-ops due to the stacks which are
      implicitly filled with zeros.
%     Attempt modulo, which terminates the program due to a division-by-zero error.

Answer 21

Erlang, 40 bytes

F=fun(N)->trunc((N/3+1)*(1-N rem 3))end.

Sadly Erlang has no '%' modulo operator and 'rem' requires the spaces, even before the 3.

Answer 22

Hexagony, 25 bytes

?'+}@/)${':/3$~{3'.%(/'*!

Or, in non-minified format:

    ? ' + }
   @ / ) $ {
  ' : / 3 $ ~
 { 3 ' . % ( /
  ' * ! . . .
   . . . . .
    . . . .

Try it online!

My first foray into Hexagony, so I'm certain I've not done this anywhere near as efficiently as it could be done...

Calculates -(n%3 - 1) on one memory edge, n/3 + 1 on an adjacent one, then multiplies them together.

Answer 23

R, 28 bytes

-((n=scan())%%3-1)*(n%/%3+1)

Looks like this is a variation of most of the answers here. Zero based.

   n=scan()                  # get input from STDIN
  (        )%%3-1            # mod by 3 and shift down (0,1,2) -> (-1,0,1)
-(               )           # negate result (1,0,-1), this handles the alternating signs
                  *(n%/%3+1) # integer division of n by 3, add 1, multiply by previous

The nice thing about it is that it handles multiple inputs

> -((n=scan())%%3-1)*(n%/%3+1)
1: 0 3 6 9 1 4 7 10 2 5 8 11
13: 
Read 12 items
 [1]  1  2  3  4  0  0  0  0 -1 -2 -3 -4
> 

Originally I wanted to do the following, but couldn't trim off the extra bytes.

rbind(I<-1:(n=scan()),0,-I)[n]

Uses rbind to add 0's and negatives to a range of 1 to n then return the n'th term (one based).

# for n = 5
rbind(                    )    # bind rows 
            n=scan()           # get input from STDIN and assign to n
      I<-1:(        )          # build range 1 to n and assign to I
                     ,0        # add a row of zeros (expanded automatically)
                       ,-I     # add a row of negatives
                           [n] # return the n'th term

Answer 24

APL, 12 chars

-×/1-0 3⊤6+⎕

0 3⊤ is APL's divmod 3.

Answer 25

Java 7, 38 37 36 bytes

My first golf, be gentle

int a(int i){return(1+i/3)*(1-i%3);}

Try it here! (test cases included)

Edit: I miscounted, and also golfed off one more character by replacing (-i%3+1) with (1-i%3).

Answer 26

Python 2, 64 bytes

Although Leaky Nun has already posted a much shorter, brilliant Python answer, I decided to see whether this could be done recursively, calculating each new term from the last two. The result was interesting:

f=lambda n,a=1,b=0:(n<1)*`a`or f(n-1,b,[[0,-a][b==0],1-b][a==0])

Try it online!

Answer 27

Lua, 50 bytes

function a(n)print((math.floor(n/3)+1)*(1-n%3))end

Try it online!

Answer 28

Retina, 45 bytes

.+
11$&$*
(111)+(1)*
$#2$#1
T`d`+0-`^.
^0.+
0

Try it online!

Test suite.

Takes input/output in base-ten. 1-indexed.

Unary input, base-ten output, 1-indexed: 40 bytes

$
11
(111)+(1)*
$#2$#1
T`d`+0-`^.
^0.+
0

Try it online!

Test suite.

Answer 29

Batch, 30 29 bytes

@cmd/cset/a(1+%1/3)*(1-%1%%3)

The cmd/c makes set/a echo the result of the calculation. Edit: Saved 1 byte by removing the unnecessary space.

Answer 30

GNU Coreutils, 27 Bytes

echo "(1+$1/3)*(1-$1%3)"|bc

Answer 31

MATLAB / Octave, 27 bytes

@(n)ceil(n/3)*(mod(-n,3)-1)

This creates an anonymous function that can be called using ans(n). This solution uses 1-based indexing.

All test cases

Answer 32

Mathematica 26 bytes

With 4 bytes saved thanks to Martin Ender.

⎡#/3⎤(-#~Mod~3-1)&

Uses the same approach as Suever.

Answer 33

Octave, 23 bytes

With no mod cons...

@(n)(-[-1:1]'*[1:n])(n)

Uses 1-based indexing magic.

---

Explanation

Creates an anonymous function that will:

(-[-1:1]'*[1:n])(n)
  [-1:1]              % make a row vector [-1 0 1]
 -      '             % negate and take its transpose making a column vector
          [1:n]       % make a row vector [1..n], where n is the input
         *            % multiply with singleton expansion
               (n)    % use linear indexing to get the nth value

After the multiplication step we'll have a 3xn matrix like so (for n=12):

 1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10   11   12
 0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0
-1   -2   -3   -4   -5   -6   -7   -8   -9  -10  -11  -12

Making n columns is overkill, but it's a convenient number that is guaranteed to be large enough. Linear indexing counts down each column from left to right, so the element at linear index 4 would be 2.

All test cases on ideone.

Answer 34

JavaScript, 22 bytes

r=n%3
o=(1-r)/3*(n-r+3)

n is the number you wish to call the function on. o is the output number.

Answer 35

dc, 10

?2+3~1r-*p

Uses 1-based indexing.

?              # Push input to stack
 2+            # Add 2
   3~          # divmod by 3
     1r-       # subtract remainder from 1
        *      # multiply by quotient
         p     # print

Answer 36

APL, 14 bytes

{⍵⌷∊{⍵0,-⍵}¨⍳⍵}

This is 1-indexed, i.e.:

     {⍵⌷∊{⍵0,-⍵}¨⍳⍵}¨1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 0 ¯1 2 0 ¯2 3 0

Explanation:

{⍵⌷                   select the ⍵th element
   ∊                  from all elements in
    {⍵0,-⍵}           the values ⍵, 0, and -⍵
           ¨⍳⍵}       for each number in 1..⍵

Answer 37

CJam, 11 bytes

ri3+3md(W**

0-based input.

Test it here.

Explanation

ri   e# Read input and convert to integer N.
3+   e# Add 3.
3md  e# Divmod 3, putting N/3+1 and N%3 on the stack.
(W*  e# Decrement, multiply by -1, turning 0, 1, 2 into 1, 0, -1, respectively.
*    e# Multiply.

Answer 38

><>, 16+3 = 19 bytes

:3%:1$-}-3,1+*n;

Needs the input to be present on the stack, so +3 bytes for the -v flag. Try it online!

The program outputs the zero-indexed sequence, using the formula:

f(n) = ((n-(n%3))/3) * (1-(n%3))

Answer 39

Java 7, 36 bytes

int c(int n){return(n/3+1)*(1-n%3);}

Ungolfed & test code:

Try it here.

class Main{

    static int c(int n){
        return (n / 3 + 1) * (1 - n % 3);
    }

    public static void main(String[] a){
        System.out.println(c(0));
        System.out.println(c(11));
        System.out.println(c(76));
        System.out.println(c(134));
        System.out.println(c(296));
    }
}

Zero-indexed output:

1
-4
0
-45
-99

Answer 40

Desmos, 125 86 bytes

b=\operatorname{ceil}\left(\frac{a}{3}\right)
b\operatorname{mod}\left(-a,3\right)-b
a=1

Simple fix for \operatorname{ceil}\left(\frac{a}{3}\right)

125 bytes:

\operatorname{ceil}\left(\frac{a}{3}\right)\operatorname{mod}\left(-a,3\right)-\operatorname{ceil}\left(\frac{a}{3}\right)
a=1

This is as close as I could get to divmod. Might be able to get rid of subtracting -\operatorname{ceil}\left(\frac{a}{3}\right) to shave some bytes off.

Answer 41

Cubix, 30 bytes

1..-.w>?^I3%?;,)O@...o-'.<u;;;

Try it here. You will need to replace the current code with the above and enter an input number.
This wraps onto a cube with an edge length of 3. I'm hoping to reduce this a bit more, but at the moment it's not to bad. It would be nice to have some of the planned features for the stack, but oh well.

      1 . .
      - . w
      > ? ^
I 3 % ? ; , ) O @ . . .
o - ' . < u ; ; ; . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .
      . . .
      . . .
      . . .

Explanation:

• I 3 % ? Take a number from input, push a literal 3, mod on TOS and do a check. The ? redirects right for negative and left for positive. Pass through for zero
  
• For zero value ; , ) O @ Pop, integer divide TOS, increment TOS, output number and terminate
  
• For positive value 1 - > ? Push literal 1, subtract TOS, change direction and check
  
  • For zero value ^ w O @ Redirect up, sidestep left (ends up on another face), output number (zero in this case) and terminate
    
  • For positive value ; < ' - o ; ; ; u , ) O @ pop, redirect, push character -, output character, pop, pop, pop, u-turn to left, integer divide TOS, increment TOS, output number and terminate

Answer 42

C#, 34 bytes

n=>n%3==1?0:(n/3+1)*(n%3==0?1:-1);

To assign the lambda to a variable, write:

Func<int,int>f=n=>n%3==1?0:(n/3+1)*(n%3==0?1:-1);

With C# 6, you can also assign the lambda to a method:

int F(int n)=>n%3==1?0:(n/3+1)*(n%3==0?1:-1);

Answer 43

Python 3, 30 25 bytes

I tried to replicate the results of Leaky Nun's Python post for 10 minutes before realising it was for Python 2, not 3.

Zero-indexed:

lambda n:(n//3+1)*(1-n%3)

Full program:

a = lambda n:(n//3+1)*(1-n%3)
print(a(0))   #   1
print(a(11))  #  -4
print(a(76))  #   0
print(a(134)) # -45
print(a(296)) # -99

Answer 44

Java, 19 bytes

Using lambda expressions.

i->(1+i/3)*(1-i%3);

Try it here!

Answer 45

Oasis, 12 bytes (non-competing)

n3÷>n3÷y>n-*

Try it online!

Oasis is a language designed by Adnan which is specialized in sequences.

Currently, this language can do recursion and closed form.

This answer can only demonstrate closed form. For recursion, see for example this answer.

We use this formula: a(n) = (n/3+1)*((n/3*3)+1-n) which is modified from the formula used in my Python answer, since there is no modulo at the moment.

n3÷>n3÷y>n-*

n             push n (input)
 3÷           integer-division by 3
   >          +1
    n         push n (input)
     3÷       integer-division by 3
       y      *3
        >     +1
         n    push n (input)
          -   subtract the top of stack from the second top of stack
           *  multiply the top of stack to the second top of stack

Answer 46

VBA Excel , 46 bytes

using immediate window and Range A1 as input

a=[A1]:b=a Mod 3:?IIf(b=0,-a/3,IIf(b=1,a/3,0))

Answer 47

Common Lisp, 73 43 bytes

(lambda(n)(*(1+(floor n 3))(- 1(mod n 3))))

Try it online!