₦airaland Forum

asalimpo:
there arent many prefixes so just store them in a set. Also for the 10^7 tail numbers,use a set also to prevent accidental duplication.
They are about 4 prefixes 0816,0806,0805,0802
so prefixes=set .
TailNum=set of 10 000 000 7-digit numbers.
After generating the tail numbers, then for each prefix ,you append it to each tail num, to produce the full 11 digit phone num. In the end you should hav 4-5 * 10^7 numbers or size-of-prefix set * size-of-tail-set. The other aspects can be handled also by string manipulation. E.g deciphering numbers that begin with country code (234 ,+234) etc. It's work. You're right,aint written a line of code.

You seem to be approaching the problem from a different perspective. I may not doubt its possibility of working but have you tested it to be working? Note that there can be more prefixes, 0902, 0703, 0706, 0903, 0906, 0812, 0815, 0701, 0807 etc. That is why it is better to be passing the prefix as an argument. So that anytime you need the program to find a certain prefixed-numbers you can simply pass the prefix as a parameter and call the method/function with the prefix. Prefixing is actually the most trivial part of the problem, you should first make sure the program can print all the 7-digit numbers accurately before appending the required prefix to make them 11-digits numbers. Programming is done by actual implementation. Consider writing the codes and check if everything works fine. I have attached screenshots of a sample run of my solution on my Ubuntu terminal. Note: In this screenshots, I passed "0813" prefix as an argument and print the numbers of that prefix that ends with "3431". The first screenshot shows that the first number of the 0813-numbers that ends with "3431" is "0813 000 3431" , this is correct since the first number without any attached condition is "0813 000 0000". The second screenshot shows a portion of the output where my MTN number 0813 568 3431 can be found, can you spot it out? You can also see that the total available possible numbers in the enter 0813-prefixed numbers is 10 000 000, from the screenshot. I ran the program as a module, i hid the source code. Consider writing the program with your own approach and compare with my own sample run. Thanks

asalimpo:
This ur assignment can gulp some significant lines of code. It ain't as trivial as it seems. But for the simple solution, since the first 4 digits are fixed,it remains generating the next 7, which is simply 10^7, sets. I.e 10 000 000 unique numbers including something like 0813 000 000 0 . After doing this simply append the 4 digit prefixes of ur choice . Save strings to disk.

You are really thinking algorithmically! The total number of numbers of each prefix is correctly 10, 000 000. But it seems that you calculated it with basic knowledge of permutation and combination rather than from your code. The program should be able to show that the total number is 10 000 000. For instance, if you are using Python you can store all the numbers in a list, and at the end you will find the length of the list which should produce 10 000 000. However, you have taken the right approach since your program must concur with Maths calculation. But you have to think more if you want to solve the problem, because you are going to face a tougher challenge at a point. But if you think more algorithmically you can win the battle. I will not give further clues on the core logic of the problem. But let me rather give a trivial assistance: consider tackling the program functionally rather than procedurally. Define a function/method and pass to it the prefix as an argument/parameter. This will make your program flexible: you can be able to change the prefix by just calling the function/method with the needed prefix, isn't it smart?

airsaylongcon:
Exactly why I asked. I love your question though. Very brain scratching although I'm sure I can solve it if I get to it. I'd just be lazy and get it done with excel.

Is 0813 000 0000 a valid number though? How about 0813 999 9999?

Yes, they are all valid. But it seems that network providers reserve such numbers as special numbers that can be acquired with huge price. For instance,
Airtel reserves 0802 000 0009 as their Message Centre number. MTN Message Centre number is 0803 00 0000 but they remove the last zero!

airsaylongcon:
Does the total number of possible subscribers change if its 0803 or 0902?

No! The total number of possible subscribers remains the same..."0803", "0813" etc are just prefixes.
Note: The prefix just makes the numbers in it different from the numbers in other prefixes.
As we know when the number of subscribers reaches the total, the network providers will respond by introducing another prefix.

Here is a sample question


In Nigeria, mobile phone numbers begin with the digit 0 and can contain and digits(0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9). The first 4 digits of the numbers determine the particular network provider. For instance, GlobalCom Nigeria Limited numbers can begin with 0805, MTN 0803 and Airtel 0802 etc. The mobile phone numbers must have 11 digits all together. For instance, this is my MTN number: 0813 568 3431.
Write a program that can calculate the total number of possible subscribers of MTN numbers that begin with 0813 and print out all the numbers.

HINT
total_digits = 11: total digits of each number
digits_needed = 7: digits needed to complete
0813 to 11-digit numbers.
available_digits = 10: i.e 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Note: Computer CPU has some limitations, some may not print out all the numbers. Instead of printing out all the numbers in computers with low processor speed and RAM. Consider printing out numbers that meet some certain conditions like numbers that ends with "3431" like my number in the question. But your program must be able to count all the total available numbers in "0813" even though it may not print them all out to the console. Also you have to make the program flexible such that you can easily change the lines for instance, you change can "0813" to "0806", "0803", "0805", "0902" etc or even make it start with country code "+234813". Goodluck.

horlahwaley:
08062606144

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