know the solution- find the operations?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MDBJ
  • Start date Start date
M

MDBJ

I have an old checkbook/billing issue.

I'm trying to figure a combination of billing amounts that equal an amount
that was paid.

simple terms, lets say there were vaild bills outstanding in the amount of
1,1,2,2,4,4,4,4,6,6,8

lets say there was a payment of 20$

how can I test every possible combination of my bills, including shorter
then all outstanding bills
so I do want
4+4+4+8 and
6+6+8 and
8+2+2+4+4 all to show up--

the actual #'s involved I need to find are more complex, decimals, but some
do repeat

I need a suggestion as to how to test all addition possibilities for my
outstanding invoices at the time I recieved a payment.. any pointers?
 
Below is the code from Harlan Grove. Follow the instructions at the top concerning references, and
then run FindSums. Note that it can take a looong time, depending on how many numbers you have. It
will insert a new sheet with possilbe solutions.

HTH,
Bernie
MS Excel MVP


Option Explicit
'This *REQUIRES* VBAProject references to
'Microsoft Scripting Runtime
'Microsoft VBScript Regular Expressions 1.0
'Written by Harlan Grove

Sub FindSums()
Const TOL As Double = 0.000001 'modify as needed
Dim c As Variant


Dim j As Long, k As Long, n As Long, p As Boolean
Dim s As String, t As Double, u As Double
Dim v As Variant, x As Variant, y As Variant
Dim dc1 As New Dictionary, dc2 As New Dictionary
Dim dcn As Dictionary, dco As Dictionary
Dim re As New RegExp


re.Global = True
re.IgnoreCase = True


On Error Resume Next


Set x = Application.InputBox( _
Prompt:="Enter range of values:", _
Title:="findsums", _
Default:="", _
Type:=8 _
)


If x Is Nothing Then
Err.Clear
Exit Sub
End If


y = Application.InputBox( _
Prompt:="Enter target value:", _
Title:="findsums", _
Default:="", _
Type:=1 _
)


If VarType(y) = vbBoolean Then
Exit Sub
Else
t = y
End If


On Error GoTo 0


Set dco = dc1
Set dcn = dc2


Call recsoln


For Each y In x.Value2
If VarType(y) = vbDouble Then
If Abs(t - y) < TOL Then
recsoln "+" & Format(y)


ElseIf dco.Exists(y) Then
dco(y) = dco(y) + 1


ElseIf y < t - TOL Then
dco.Add Key:=y, Item:=1


c = CDec(c + 1)
Application.StatusBar = "[1] " & Format(c)


End If


End If
Next y


n = dco.Count


ReDim v(1 To n, 1 To 3)


For k = 1 To n
v(k, 1) = dco.Keys(k - 1)
v(k, 2) = dco.Items(k - 1)
Next k


qsortd v, 1, n


For k = n To 1 Step -1
v(k, 3) = v(k, 1) * v(k, 2) + v(IIf(k = n, n, k + 1), 3)
If v(k, 3) > t Then dcn.Add Key:="+" & Format(v(k, 1)), Item:=v(k, 1)
Next k


On Error GoTo CleanUp
Application.EnableEvents = False
Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual


For k = 2 To n
dco.RemoveAll
swapo dco, dcn


For Each y In dco.Keys
p = False


For j = 1 To n
If v(j, 3) < t - dco(y) - TOL Then Exit For


x = v(j, 1)
s = "+" & Format(x)
If Right(y, Len(s)) = s Then p = True


If p Then
re.Pattern = "\" & s & "(?=(\+|$))"
If re.Execute(y).Count < v(j, 2) Then
u = dco(y) + x


If Abs(t - u) < TOL Then
recsoln y & s


ElseIf u < t - TOL Then
dcn.Add Key:=y & s, Item:=u


c = CDec(c + 1)
Application.StatusBar = "[" & Format(k) & "] " & Format(c)


End If
End If
End If
Next j
Next y


If dcn.Count = 0 Then Exit For
Next k


If (recsoln() = 0) Then _
MsgBox Prompt:="all combinations exhausted", Title:="No Solution"


CleanUp:
Application.EnableEvents = True
Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
Application.StatusBar = False


End Sub


Private Function recsoln(Optional s As String)
Const OUTPUTWSN As String = "findsums solutions" 'modify to taste


Static r As Range
Dim ws As Worksheet


If s = "" And r Is Nothing Then
On Error Resume Next
Set ws = ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(OUTPUTWSN)


If ws Is Nothing Then
Err.Clear
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Set ws = ActiveSheet
Set r = Worksheets.Add.Range("A1")
r.Parent.Name = OUTPUTWSN
ws.Activate
Application.ScreenUpdating = False


Else
ws.Cells.Clear
Set r = ws.Range("A1")


End If


recsoln = 0


ElseIf s = "" Then
recsoln = r.Row - 1
Set r = Nothing


Else
r.Value = s
Set r = r.Offset(1, 0)
recsoln = r.Row - 1


End If


End Function


Private Sub qsortd(v As Variant, lft As Long, rgt As Long)
'ad hoc quicksort subroutine
'translated from Aho, Weinberger & Kernighan,
'"The Awk Programming Language", page 161


Dim j As Long, pvt As Long


If (lft >= rgt) Then Exit Sub


swap2 v, lft, lft + Int((rgt - lft + 1) * Rnd)


pvt = lft


For j = lft + 1 To rgt
If v(j, 1) > v(lft, 1) Then
pvt = pvt + 1
swap2 v, pvt, j
End If
Next j


swap2 v, lft, pvt


qsortd v, lft, pvt - 1
qsortd v, pvt + 1, rgt
End Sub


Private Sub swap2(v As Variant, i As Long, j As Long)
'modified version of the swap procedure from
'translated from Aho, Weinberger & Kernighan,
'"The Awk Programming Language", page 161


Dim t As Variant, k As Long


For k = LBound(v, 2) To UBound(v, 2)
t = v(i, k)
v(i, k) = v(j, k)
v(j, k) = t
Next k
End Sub


Private Sub swapo(a As Object, b As Object)
Dim t As Object


Set t = a
Set a = b
Set b = t
End Sub
'---- end VBA code ----
 
Note that it can take a looong time, depending on how many numbers you

As a side note, I've always found it interesting how many solutions there
usually are.
As a small example, suppose one had the unique numbers 1-27, and asked how
many combinations equal 189.
It's hard to believe there are 1,265,204
If you had the numbers 1-30, and asked how many total 232, it jumps to
8,679,280

--
Dana DeLouis


Bernie Deitrick said:
Below is the code from Harlan Grove. Follow the instructions at the top
concerning references, and then run FindSums. Note that it can take a
looong time, depending on how many numbers you have. It will insert a new
sheet with possilbe solutions.

HTH,
Bernie
MS Excel MVP


Option Explicit
'This *REQUIRES* VBAProject references to
'Microsoft Scripting Runtime
'Microsoft VBScript Regular Expressions 1.0
'Written by Harlan Grove

Sub FindSums()
Const TOL As Double = 0.000001 'modify as needed
Dim c As Variant


Dim j As Long, k As Long, n As Long, p As Boolean
Dim s As String, t As Double, u As Double
Dim v As Variant, x As Variant, y As Variant
Dim dc1 As New Dictionary, dc2 As New Dictionary
Dim dcn As Dictionary, dco As Dictionary
Dim re As New RegExp


re.Global = True
re.IgnoreCase = True


On Error Resume Next


Set x = Application.InputBox( _
Prompt:="Enter range of values:", _
Title:="findsums", _
Default:="", _
Type:=8 _
)


If x Is Nothing Then
Err.Clear
Exit Sub
End If


y = Application.InputBox( _
Prompt:="Enter target value:", _
Title:="findsums", _
Default:="", _
Type:=1 _
)


If VarType(y) = vbBoolean Then
Exit Sub
Else
t = y
End If


On Error GoTo 0


Set dco = dc1
Set dcn = dc2


Call recsoln


For Each y In x.Value2
If VarType(y) = vbDouble Then
If Abs(t - y) < TOL Then
recsoln "+" & Format(y)


ElseIf dco.Exists(y) Then
dco(y) = dco(y) + 1


ElseIf y < t - TOL Then
dco.Add Key:=y, Item:=1


c = CDec(c + 1)
Application.StatusBar = "[1] " & Format(c)


End If


End If
Next y


n = dco.Count


ReDim v(1 To n, 1 To 3)


For k = 1 To n
v(k, 1) = dco.Keys(k - 1)
v(k, 2) = dco.Items(k - 1)
Next k


qsortd v, 1, n


For k = n To 1 Step -1
v(k, 3) = v(k, 1) * v(k, 2) + v(IIf(k = n, n, k + 1), 3)
If v(k, 3) > t Then dcn.Add Key:="+" & Format(v(k, 1)), Item:=v(k, 1)
Next k


On Error GoTo CleanUp
Application.EnableEvents = False
Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual


For k = 2 To n
dco.RemoveAll
swapo dco, dcn


For Each y In dco.Keys
p = False


For j = 1 To n
If v(j, 3) < t - dco(y) - TOL Then Exit For


x = v(j, 1)
s = "+" & Format(x)
If Right(y, Len(s)) = s Then p = True


If p Then
re.Pattern = "\" & s & "(?=(\+|$))"
If re.Execute(y).Count < v(j, 2) Then
u = dco(y) + x


If Abs(t - u) < TOL Then
recsoln y & s


ElseIf u < t - TOL Then
dcn.Add Key:=y & s, Item:=u


c = CDec(c + 1)
Application.StatusBar = "[" & Format(k) & "] " & Format(c)


End If
End If
End If
Next j
Next y


If dcn.Count = 0 Then Exit For
Next k


If (recsoln() = 0) Then _
MsgBox Prompt:="all combinations exhausted", Title:="No Solution"


CleanUp:
Application.EnableEvents = True
Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
Application.StatusBar = False


End Sub


Private Function recsoln(Optional s As String)
Const OUTPUTWSN As String = "findsums solutions" 'modify to taste


Static r As Range
Dim ws As Worksheet


If s = "" And r Is Nothing Then
On Error Resume Next
Set ws = ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(OUTPUTWSN)


If ws Is Nothing Then
Err.Clear
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Set ws = ActiveSheet
Set r = Worksheets.Add.Range("A1")
r.Parent.Name = OUTPUTWSN
ws.Activate
Application.ScreenUpdating = False


Else
ws.Cells.Clear
Set r = ws.Range("A1")


End If


recsoln = 0


ElseIf s = "" Then
recsoln = r.Row - 1
Set r = Nothing


Else
r.Value = s
Set r = r.Offset(1, 0)
recsoln = r.Row - 1


End If


End Function


Private Sub qsortd(v As Variant, lft As Long, rgt As Long)
'ad hoc quicksort subroutine
'translated from Aho, Weinberger & Kernighan,
'"The Awk Programming Language", page 161


Dim j As Long, pvt As Long


If (lft >= rgt) Then Exit Sub


swap2 v, lft, lft + Int((rgt - lft + 1) * Rnd)


pvt = lft


For j = lft + 1 To rgt
If v(j, 1) > v(lft, 1) Then
pvt = pvt + 1
swap2 v, pvt, j
End If
Next j


swap2 v, lft, pvt


qsortd v, lft, pvt - 1
qsortd v, pvt + 1, rgt
End Sub


Private Sub swap2(v As Variant, i As Long, j As Long)
'modified version of the swap procedure from
'translated from Aho, Weinberger & Kernighan,
'"The Awk Programming Language", page 161


Dim t As Variant, k As Long


For k = LBound(v, 2) To UBound(v, 2)
t = v(i, k)
v(i, k) = v(j, k)
v(j, k) = t
Next k
End Sub


Private Sub swapo(a As Object, b As Object)
Dim t As Object


Set t = a
Set a = b
Set b = t
End Sub
'---- end VBA code ----






MDBJ said:
I have an old checkbook/billing issue.

I'm trying to figure a combination of billing amounts that equal an
amount that was paid.

simple terms, lets say there were vaild bills outstanding in the amount
of
1,1,2,2,4,4,4,4,6,6,8

lets say there was a payment of 20$

how can I test every possible combination of my bills, including shorter
then all outstanding bills
so I do want
4+4+4+8 and
6+6+8 and
8+2+2+4+4 all to show up--

the actual #'s involved I need to find are more complex, decimals, but
some do repeat

I need a suggestion as to how to test all addition possibilities for my
outstanding invoices at the time I recieved a payment.. any pointers?
 
Dana,

What I find even more interesting is the number of solutions to the problem of the 24 numbers below
summing to 44,007.32, 44,007.31, and 44,007.30 - try it. With all the integers it makes sense -
increase one, decrease another, ad naseum, but for these it really is surprising.

483.34
758.06
852.67
1,494.61
1,806.25
1,842.28
2,070.88
2,130.14
2,913.33
3,946.90
3,957.38
4,154.26
4,504.18
4,831.08
5,083.52
5,092.55
5,121.39
5,824.48
6,361.67
6,835.00
6,875.09
6,898.54
8,662.80
10,854.69

Bernie
MS Excel MVP


Dana DeLouis said:
Note that it can take a looong time, depending on how many numbers you have.

As a side note, I've always found it interesting how many solutions there usually are.
As a small example, suppose one had the unique numbers 1-27, and asked how many combinations equal
189.
It's hard to believe there are 1,265,204
If you had the numbers 1-30, and asked how many total 232, it jumps to 8,679,280

--
Dana DeLouis


Bernie Deitrick said:
Below is the code from Harlan Grove. Follow the instructions at the top concerning references,
and then run FindSums. Note that it can take a looong time, depending on how many numbers you
have. It will insert a new sheet with possilbe solutions.

HTH,
Bernie
MS Excel MVP


Option Explicit
'This *REQUIRES* VBAProject references to
'Microsoft Scripting Runtime
'Microsoft VBScript Regular Expressions 1.0
'Written by Harlan Grove

Sub FindSums()
Const TOL As Double = 0.000001 'modify as needed
Dim c As Variant


Dim j As Long, k As Long, n As Long, p As Boolean
Dim s As String, t As Double, u As Double
Dim v As Variant, x As Variant, y As Variant
Dim dc1 As New Dictionary, dc2 As New Dictionary
Dim dcn As Dictionary, dco As Dictionary
Dim re As New RegExp


re.Global = True
re.IgnoreCase = True


On Error Resume Next


Set x = Application.InputBox( _
Prompt:="Enter range of values:", _
Title:="findsums", _
Default:="", _
Type:=8 _
)


If x Is Nothing Then
Err.Clear
Exit Sub
End If


y = Application.InputBox( _
Prompt:="Enter target value:", _
Title:="findsums", _
Default:="", _
Type:=1 _
)


If VarType(y) = vbBoolean Then
Exit Sub
Else
t = y
End If


On Error GoTo 0


Set dco = dc1
Set dcn = dc2


Call recsoln


For Each y In x.Value2
If VarType(y) = vbDouble Then
If Abs(t - y) < TOL Then
recsoln "+" & Format(y)


ElseIf dco.Exists(y) Then
dco(y) = dco(y) + 1


ElseIf y < t - TOL Then
dco.Add Key:=y, Item:=1


c = CDec(c + 1)
Application.StatusBar = "[1] " & Format(c)


End If


End If
Next y


n = dco.Count


ReDim v(1 To n, 1 To 3)


For k = 1 To n
v(k, 1) = dco.Keys(k - 1)
v(k, 2) = dco.Items(k - 1)
Next k


qsortd v, 1, n


For k = n To 1 Step -1
v(k, 3) = v(k, 1) * v(k, 2) + v(IIf(k = n, n, k + 1), 3)
If v(k, 3) > t Then dcn.Add Key:="+" & Format(v(k, 1)), Item:=v(k, 1)
Next k


On Error GoTo CleanUp
Application.EnableEvents = False
Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual


For k = 2 To n
dco.RemoveAll
swapo dco, dcn


For Each y In dco.Keys
p = False


For j = 1 To n
If v(j, 3) < t - dco(y) - TOL Then Exit For


x = v(j, 1)
s = "+" & Format(x)
If Right(y, Len(s)) = s Then p = True


If p Then
re.Pattern = "\" & s & "(?=(\+|$))"
If re.Execute(y).Count < v(j, 2) Then
u = dco(y) + x


If Abs(t - u) < TOL Then
recsoln y & s


ElseIf u < t - TOL Then
dcn.Add Key:=y & s, Item:=u


c = CDec(c + 1)
Application.StatusBar = "[" & Format(k) & "] " & Format(c)


End If
End If
End If
Next j
Next y


If dcn.Count = 0 Then Exit For
Next k


If (recsoln() = 0) Then _
MsgBox Prompt:="all combinations exhausted", Title:="No Solution"


CleanUp:
Application.EnableEvents = True
Application.Calculation = xlCalculationAutomatic
Application.StatusBar = False


End Sub


Private Function recsoln(Optional s As String)
Const OUTPUTWSN As String = "findsums solutions" 'modify to taste


Static r As Range
Dim ws As Worksheet


If s = "" And r Is Nothing Then
On Error Resume Next
Set ws = ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets(OUTPUTWSN)


If ws Is Nothing Then
Err.Clear
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Set ws = ActiveSheet
Set r = Worksheets.Add.Range("A1")
r.Parent.Name = OUTPUTWSN
ws.Activate
Application.ScreenUpdating = False


Else
ws.Cells.Clear
Set r = ws.Range("A1")


End If


recsoln = 0


ElseIf s = "" Then
recsoln = r.Row - 1
Set r = Nothing


Else
r.Value = s
Set r = r.Offset(1, 0)
recsoln = r.Row - 1


End If


End Function


Private Sub qsortd(v As Variant, lft As Long, rgt As Long)
'ad hoc quicksort subroutine
'translated from Aho, Weinberger & Kernighan,
'"The Awk Programming Language", page 161


Dim j As Long, pvt As Long


If (lft >= rgt) Then Exit Sub


swap2 v, lft, lft + Int((rgt - lft + 1) * Rnd)


pvt = lft


For j = lft + 1 To rgt
If v(j, 1) > v(lft, 1) Then
pvt = pvt + 1
swap2 v, pvt, j
End If
Next j


swap2 v, lft, pvt


qsortd v, lft, pvt - 1
qsortd v, pvt + 1, rgt
End Sub


Private Sub swap2(v As Variant, i As Long, j As Long)
'modified version of the swap procedure from
'translated from Aho, Weinberger & Kernighan,
'"The Awk Programming Language", page 161


Dim t As Variant, k As Long


For k = LBound(v, 2) To UBound(v, 2)
t = v(i, k)
v(i, k) = v(j, k)
v(j, k) = t
Next k
End Sub


Private Sub swapo(a As Object, b As Object)
Dim t As Object


Set t = a
Set a = b
Set b = t
End Sub
'---- end VBA code ----






MDBJ said:
I have an old checkbook/billing issue.

I'm trying to figure a combination of billing amounts that equal an amount that was paid.

simple terms, lets say there were vaild bills outstanding in the amount of
1,1,2,2,4,4,4,4,6,6,8

lets say there was a payment of 20$

how can I test every possible combination of my bills, including shorter then all outstanding
bills
so I do want
4+4+4+8 and
6+6+8 and
8+2+2+4+4 all to show up--

the actual #'s involved I need to find are more complex, decimals, but some do repeat

I need a suggestion as to how to test all addition possibilities for my outstanding invoices at
the time I recieved a payment.. any pointers?
 
Bernie Deitrick said:
What I find even more interesting is the number of solutions to
the problem of the 24 numbers below summing to 44,007.32,
44,007.31, and 44,007.30 - try it. With all the integers it
makes sense - increase one, decrease another, ad naseum, but for
these it really is surprising.
....

It shouldn't be surprising. If this were simple, there'd be well known
algorithms to do it. There aren't, but there's LOTS of explanations
that there aren't precisely because there are so many combinations
that need to be checked. With N numbers, there are always 2^N-N-1
nontrivial combinations. Tiny percentages of such huge numbers are
themselves large numbers.
 
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