Set consolidation
Given two sets of items then if any item is common to any set then the result of applying consolidation to those sets is a set of sets whose contents is:
- The two input sets if no common item exists between the two input sets of items.
- The single set that is the union of the two input sets if they share a common item.
Given N sets of items where N > 2 then the result is the same as repeatedly replacing all combinations of two sets by their consolidation until no further consolidation between set pairs is possible. If N < 2 then consolidation has no strict meaning and the input can be returned.
Here are some examples:
Example 1:
Given the two sets {A,B}
and {C,D}
then there is no common element between
the sets and the result is the same as the input.
Example 2:
Given the two sets {A,B}
and {B,D}
then there is a common element B
between the sets and the result is the single set {B,D,A}
. (Note that order of
items in a set is immaterial: {A,B,D}
is the same as {B,D,A}
and {D,A,B}
,
etc).
Example 3:
Given the three sets {A,B}
and {C,D}
and {D,B}
then there is no common
element between the sets {A,B}
and {C,D}
but the sets {A,B}
and {D,B}
do
share a common element that consolidates to produce the result {B,D,A}
. On
examining this result with the remaining set, {C,D}
, they share a common
element and so consolidate to the final output of the single set {A,B,C,D}
Example 4:
The consolidation of the five sets:
{H,I,K}
, {A,B}
, {C,D}
, {D,B}
, and {F,G,H}
Is the two sets:
{A, C, B, D}
, and {G, F, I, H, K}
Test
{{test}}Console output