MySQL Finding min/max values for double - mysql

The relevant MySQL documentation states that for doubles:
Permissible values are -1.7976931348623157E+308 to -2.2250738585072014E-308, 0, and 2.2250738585072014E-308 to 1.7976931348623157E+308.
and
These are the theoretical limits, based on the IEEE standard. The actual range might be slightly smaller depending on your hardware or operating system.
I'm finding that the actual range is actually smaller on my system! Is there a SQL query or some other way to find out what the actual minimum and maximum values are for a double?

If you want to find and prove you know the exact max value on a system, here is a way to do it in a few minutes of execution time.
Do a simple loop that starts with the value of 1 and inserts it. On each loop multiple the value by 10 until it fails on overflow. At the end of this you have the minWorkingValue and the maxFailedValue.
Now do a second loop that inserts a value halfway between minWorkingValue and maxFailedValue. If it succeeds it becomes the new minWorkingValue. If it fails it becomes the new maxFailedValue. Continue until maxFailedValue - minWorkingValue = 1. At the end minWorkingValue is your actual max value you can insert.
As an alternative, if you are pretty sure you know where these values might be, then skip the first step and manually set minWorkingValue and maxFailedValue and straight to the 2nd loop.

Related

Picking JSON objects out of array based on their value

Perhaps I think about this wrong, but here is a problem:
I have NSMutableArray all full of JSON objects. Each object look like this, here are 2 of them for example:
{
player = "Lorenz";
speed = "12.12";
},
{
player = "Firmino";
speed = "15.35";
}
Okay so this is fine, this is dynamic info I get from webserver feed. Now what I want though is lets pretend there are 22 such entries, and the speeds vary.
I want to have a timer going that starts at 1.0 seconds and goes to 60.0 seconds, and a few times a second I want it to grab all the players whose speed has just been passed. So for instance if the timer goes off at 12.0 , and then goes off again at 12.5, I want it to grab out all the player names who are between 12.0 and 12.5 in speed, you see?
The obvious easy way would be to iterate over the array completely every time that the timer goes off, but I would like the timer to go off a LOT, like 10 times a second or more, so that would be a fairly wasteful algorithm I think. Any better ideas? I could attempt to alter the way data comes from the webserver but don't feel that should be necessary.
NOTE: edited to reflect a corrected understanding that the number in 1 to 60 is incremented continously across that range rather than being a random number in that interval.
Before you enter the timer loop, you should do some common preprocessing:
Convert the speeds from strings to numeric values upfront for fast comparison without having to parse each time. This is O(1) for each item and O(n) to process all the items.
Put the data in an ordered container such as a sorted list or sorted binary tree. This will allow you to easily find elements in the target range. This is O(n log n) to sort all the items.
On the first iteration:
Use binary search to find the start index. This is O(log n).
Use binary search to find the end index, using the start index to bound the search.
On subsequent iterations:
If each iteration increases by a predictable amount and the step between elements in the list is likewise a predictable amount, then just maintain a pointer and increment as per Pete's comment. This would make each iteration cost O(1) (just stepping ahead by a fixed amount).
If the steps between iterations and/or the entries in the list are not predictable, then do a binary search as in the initial case. If the values are monotonically increasing (as I now understand the problem to be stating), even if they are unpredictable, you can incorporate this into your binary search algorithm by maintaining an index as in the other case, but instead of resuming iteration directly from there, if the values are unpredictable, instead use the remembered index to set a lower bound on the binary search so that you narrow the region being searched. This would make each iteration cost O(log m), where "m" are the remaining elements to be considered.
Overall, this produces an algorithm that is no worse than O((N + I) log N) where "I" is the number of iterations compared to the previous algorithm that was O(I * N) (and shifts most of the computation outside of the loop, rather than inside the loop).
A modern computer can do billions of operations per second. Even if your timer goes off 1000 times per second, and your need to process 1000 entries, you will still be fine with a naive approach.
But to answer the question, the best approach would be to sort the data first based on speed, and then have an index of the last player whose speed was already passed. At the beginning the pointer, obviously, points at the first player. Then every time your timer goes off, you will need to process some continuous chunk of players starting at that index. Something along the lines of (in pseudocode):
global index = 0;
sort(players); // sort on speed
onTimer = function(currentSpeed) {
while (index < players.length && players[index].speed < currentSpeed) {
processPlayer(players[index]);
++ index;
}
}

Zabbix trigger expression - detect a drop and stay in problem state

I have this trigger that fires upon a match of the rule below:
{monitoring:test.item.change(0)}<-100
When my graph goes down by over 100 units, an event gets created. The event should switch to OK status when the graph goes back up. The graph has different average values at different times of day and besides, the item is a trapper value, which does not support flexible intervals. My problem is this; when the graph falls by over 100 units, let's say from 300 to 10, a PROBLEM situation is created. At the next interval, if the value is still low (e.g 13), Zabbix creates an OK event, because although the value is still low, the expression does not return true because the graph hasn't gone down by a further 100 units. Any ideas on how I could fix this? I have been trying to use
{{monitoring:test.item.avg(1800)}-{monitoring:test.item.last(0)}>100}
but Zabbix wouldn't take that expression. This is supposed to compare the last value of test.item to the average value of the past 30 minutes and raise an alert when the difference exceeds 100.
This, I believe, would sort out my problem situation of a false OK status when the graph remains at a low value.
EDIT: I think I have cracked it. Zabbix has accepted the below expression:
{monitoring:test.item.avg(1800)}-{monitoring:test.item.last(0)}>100
I think you'll soon realize that expression won't solve your targeted behavior and will keep on flapping between PROBLEM and OK.
You have just shifted the 'did a -100 change occurred' check between 'the last and previous last' values
to 'the last and the average of the last half an hour'.
Checking if either there was an abrupt change OR
if the value is still too low will probably better mimic your expected scenario,
{monitoring:test.item.last(0)}>100 | {monitoring:test.item.max(#2)}<20
max(#2)<20 checks if the maximum of the last 2 values is bellow 20.
EDIT: After reading your comment maybe this approach (after some tweaking for your expected values) will better serve you,
({monitoring:test.item.avg(1800)}<10 & {monitoring:test.item.avg(1800)}-{monitoring:test.item.last(0)}>20) | ({monitoring:test.item.avg(1800)}>100 & {monitoring:test.item.avg(1800)}-{monitoring:test.item.last(0)}>100)
This way, you'll better fit your trigger for the different volumes during the day.

How can I get better randomization in my sql query?

I am attempting to get a random bearing, from 0 to 359.9.
SET bearing = FLOOR((RAND() * 359.9));
I may call the procedure that runs this request within the same while loop, immediately one after the next. Unfortunately, the randomization seems to be anything but unique. e.g.
Results
358.07
359.15
357.85
I understand how randomization works, and I know because of my quick calls to the same function, the ticks used to generate the random number are very close to one another.
In any other situation, I would wait a few milliseconds in between calls or reinit my Random object (such as in C#), which would greatly vary my randomness. However, I don't want to wait in this situation.
How can I increase randomness without waiting?
I understand how randomization works, and I know because of my quick calls to the same function, the ticks used to generate the random number are very close to one another.
That's not quite right. Where folks get into trouble is when they re-seed a random number generator repeatedly with the current time, and because they do it very quickly the time is the same and they end up re-seeding the RNG with the same seed. This results in the RNG spitting out the same sequence of numbers each time it is re-seeded.
Importantly, by "the same" I mean exactly the same. An RNG is either going to return an identical sequence or a completely different one. A "close" seed won't result in a "similar" sequence. You will either get an identical sequence or a totally different one.
The correct solution to this is not to stagger your re-seeds, but actually to stop re-seeding the RNG. You only need to seed an RNG once.
Anyways, that is neither here nor there. MySQL's RAND() function does not require explicit seeding. When you call RAND() without arguments the seeding is taken care of for you meaning you can call it repeatedly without issue. There's no time-based limitation with how often you can call it.
Actually your SQL looks fine as is. There's something missing from your post, in fact. Since you're calling FLOOR() the result you get should always be an integer. There's no way you'll get a fractional result from that assignment. You should see integral results like this:
187
274
89
345
That's what I got from running SELECT FLOOR(RAND() * 359.9) repeatedly.
Also, for what it's worth RAND() will never return 1.0. Its range is 0 &leq; RAND() < 1.0. You are safe using 360 vs. 359.9:
SET bearing = FLOOR(RAND() * 360);

Generate random variable in real-time without state

I want a function which takes, as input, the number of seconds elapsed since the last time it was called, and returns true or false for whether an event should have happened in that time period. I want it such that it will fire, on average, once per X time passed, say 5 seconds. I also am interested if it's possible to do without any state, which the answer from this question used.
I guess to be fully accurate it would have to return an integer for the number of events that should've happened, in the case of it being called once every 10*X times or something like that, so bonus points for that!
It sounds like you're describing a Poisson process, with the mean number of events in a given time interval is given by the Poisson distribution with parameter lambda=1/X.
The way to use the expression on the latter page is as follows, for a given value of lambda, and the parameter value of t:
Calculate a random number between zero and one; call this p
Calculate Pr(k=0) (ie, exp(-lambda*t) * (lambda*t)**0 / factorial(0))
If this number is bigger than p, then the number of simulated events is 0. END
Otherwise, calculate Pr(k=1) and add it to Pr(k=0).
If this number is bigger than p, then the answer is 1. END
...and so on.
Note that, yes, this can end up with more than one event in a time period, if t is large compared with 1/lambda (ie X). If t is always going to be small compared to 1/lambda, then you are very unlikely to get more than one event in the period, and so the algorithm is simplified considerably (if p < exp(-lambda*t), then 0, else 1).
Note 2: there is no guarantee that you will get at least one event per interval X. It's just that it'll average out to that.
(the above is rather off the top of my head; test your implementation carefully)
Asssume some event type happens on average once per 10 seconds, and you want to print a simulated list of timestamps on which the events happened.
A good method would be to generate a random integer in the range [0,9] each 1 second. If it is 0 - fire the event for this second. Of course you can control the resolution: You can generate a random integer in the range [0,99] each 0.1 second, and if it comes 0 - fire the event for this DeciSecond.
Assuming there is no dependency between events, there is no need to keep state.
To find out how many times the event happens in a given timeslice - just generate enough random integers - according to the required resolution.
Edit
You should use high resolution (at least 20 randoms per period of one event) for the simulation to be valid.

Detecting repetition with infinite input

What is the most optimal way to find repetition in a infinite sequence of integers?
i.e. if in the infinite sequence the number '5' appears twice then we will return 'false' the first time and 'true' the second time.
In the end what we need is a function that returns 'true' if the integer appeared before and 'false' if the function received the integer the first time.
If there are two solutions, one is space-wise and the second is time-wise, then mention both.
I will write my solution in the answers, but I don't think it is the optimal one.
edit: Please don't assume the trivial cases (i.e. no repetitions, a constantly rising sequence). What interests me is how to reduce the space complexity of the non-trivial case (random numbers with repetitions).
I'd use the following approach:
Use a hash table as your datastructure. For every number read, store it in your datastructure. If it's already stored before you found a repetition.
If n is the number of elements in the sequence from start to the repetition, then this only requires O(n) time and space. Time complexity is optimal, as you need to at least read the input sequence's elements up to the repetition point.
How long of a sequence are we talking (before the repetition occurs)? Is a repetition even guaranteed at all? For extreme cases the space complexity might become problematic. But to improve it you will probably need to know more structural information on your sequence.
Update: If the sequence is as you say very long with seldom repetitions and you have to cut down on the space requirement, then you might (given sufficient structural information on the sequence) be able to cut down the space cost.
As an example: let's say you know that your infinite sequence has a general tendency to return numbers that fit within the current range of witnessed min-max numbers. Then you will eventually have whole intervals that have already been contained in the sequence. In that case you can save space by storing such intervals instead of all the elements contained within it.
A BitSet for int values (2^32 numbers) would consume 512Mb. This may be ok if the BitSets are allocated not to often, fast enough and the mem is available.
An alternative are compressed BitSets that work best for sparse BitSets.
Actually, if the max number of values is infinite, you can use any lossless compression algorithm for a monochrome bitmap. IF you imagine a square with at least as many pixels as the number of possible values, you can map each value to a pixel (with a few to spare). Then you can represent white as the pixels that appeared and black for the others and use any compression algorithm if space is at a premium (that is certainly a problem that has been studied)
You can also store blocks. The worst case is the same in space O(n) but for that worst case you need that the number appeared have exactly 1 in between them. Once more numbers appear, then the storage will decrease:
I will write pseudocode and I will use a List, but you can always use a different structure
List changes // global
boolean addNumber(int number):
boolean appeared = false
it = changes.begin()
while it.hasNext():
if it.get() < number:
appeared != appeared
it = it.next()
else if it.get() == number:
if !appeared: return true
if it.next().get() == number + 1
it.next().remove() // Join 2 blocks
else
it.insertAfter(number + 1) // Insert split and create 2 blocks
it.remove()
return false
else: // it.get() > number
if appeared: return true
it.insertBefore(number)
if it.get() == number + 1:
it.remove() // Extend next block
else:
it.insertBefore(number + 1)
}
return false
}
What this code is the following: it stores a list of blocks. For each number that you add, it iterates over the list storing blocks of numbers that appeared and numbers that didn't. Let me illustrate with an example; I will add [) to illustrate which numbers in the block, the first number is included, the last is not.In the pseudocode it is replaced by the boolean appeared. For instance, if you get the 5, 9, 6, 8, 7 (in this order) you will have the following sequences after each function:
[5,6)
[5,6),[9,10)
[5,7),[9,10)
[5,7),[8,10)
[5,10)
In the last value you keep a block of 5 numbers with only 2.
Return TRUE
If the sequence is infinite then there will be repetition of every conceivable pattern.
If what you want to know is the first place in the sequence when there is a repeated digit that's another matter, but there's some difference between your question and your example.
Well, it seems obvious that in any solution we'll need to save the numbers that already appeared, so space wise we will always have a worst-case of O(N) where N<=possible numbers with the word size of our number type (i.e. 2^32 for C# int) - this is problematic over a long time if the sequence is really infinite/rarely repeats itself.
For saving the numbers that already appeared I would use an hash table and then check it each time I receive a new number.