#868 - Belfry Maths
There is a method that is used by Bell ringers to generate all variations of the order that bells are rung.
The same method can be used to create all permutations of a set of letters. Consider the letters to be permuted initially in order from smallest to largest. At each step swap the largest letter with the letter on its left or right whichever generates a permutation that has not yet been seen. If neither gives a new permutation then try the next largest letter and so on. This procedure continues until all permutations have been generated.
For example, \(3\) swaps are required to reach the permutation CBA when starting with ABC.
The swaps are ABC \(\to\) ACB \(\to\) CAB \(\to\) CBA.
Also \(59\) swaps are required to reach BELFRY when starting with these letters in alphabetical order.
Find the number of swaps that are required to reach NOWPICKBELFRYMATHS when starting with these letters in alphabetical order.
Problem text © Project Euler, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Original: projecteuler.net/problem=868. Published Sunday, 17th December 2023, 10:00 am. Solved by 580 members at time of mirroring.
Why this is useful
Algorithmic Development. Graph/state-space search transfers to routing, dependency resolution, and execution-path optimisation (Phases 16, 17).
We classify relevance honestly - not every Euler problem is a trading application.
Prerequisites
Lessons that prepare you:
17.1 Python for Quants: NumPy, pandas, and Vectorization · 19.5 Combinatorics: Counting, Binomials, and Inclusion–Exclusion · 19.9 Graph Algorithms: BFS, DFS, Dijkstra, and Minimum Spanning Trees · 19.11 Integer Partitions and Counting Structures · 7.1 Probability Spaces, Random Variables, and Distributions
Recommended stepping-stone problems: #98 · #191 · #346
Concepts: combinatorics string-processing
Likely techniques: bfs-dfs hashing
Learning mode
Pick how much scaffolding you want. Your choice is remembered per problem.
Understand the problem
- What exactly is the input to problem 868? Is it a bound (59), a supplied dataset, or a definition you must generate from?
- What is the required output - restate it precisely: a single exact integer.
- Which objects exactly are in scope, and which are excluded by the wording (strict vs non-strict inequality, 'distinct', 'proper', 'below' vs 'up to')?
- What constraint does the bound 59 impose, and is it inclusive or exclusive?
- What are the edge cases: the smallest legal object, zero/one, ties, and the boundary at exactly 59?
- Why is brute force hard HERE specifically? Estimate the number of candidates implied by 59 and the cost of testing one.
- Which string-processing fact would, if true, collapse the search - and can you state it as a testable claim before you look for a proof?
Predict & plan (before you code)
- Predict the strategy: in one sentence, what will your solution do? (The classification says string-processing / bfs-dfs - do you agree, and why?)
- Predict the complexity of your intended method in terms of N = 59, and the wall-clock time you expect. Write both down now.
- Predict the key data structure: what is stored, keyed by what, and how large will it get at full scale?
- Predict the failure mode: what is most likely to break - an off-by-one on the bound, a definition misread, precision, or memory?
- Predict the output of the small case from rung 3 BEFORE running it (the statement says: "For example, 3 swaps are required to reach the permutation CBA when starting with ABC.") - then run it. A surprise here is worth more than an hour of debugging later.
Scratchpad
Mathematical notes, formulas, pseudocode, hypotheses, complexity notes. Saved automatically with your progress.
Python workbench
Real Python (Pyodide) in a sandboxed Web Worker - no network, no filesystem, no DOM access. Ctrl/Cmd+Enter runs. Escape leaves the editor. Stop terminates the worker.
Check your answer
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Progressive hints
Optimization
You have a correct answer. That is the start of the learning, not the end.
- Reduce the time complexity. What is the bottleneck, and what mathematical fact removes it?
- Reduce memory. Can you stream, or keep only the last k states?
- Replace brute force with a closed form, a sieve, a recurrence, or a symmetry argument.
- Prove the optimized version computes the same thing.
- Compare two implementations and time them.
Explain it
Which step of your solution were you least confident about, and what evidence would settle it?
What did you try first, and what specifically made you abandon it - a proof, a timing, or a wrong small-case answer?
Where did the string-processing structure do the real work? Name the single observation that collapsed the search space.
Could you have reached the bfs-dfs idea faster? Which words in the statement were pointing at it, and did you notice them?
What was the bug that cost you the most time, and what CLASS of bug was it (off-by-one, definition misread, precision, state under-specified)?
How would your solution change if the bound 59 were multiplied by 1000? Does it survive, or does it need a different idea?
What is the honest complexity of what you wrote (not what you intended), and where is the remaining slack?
Which problem you have already solved is this most similar to, and what is the shared skeleton - is it really 'bfs-dfs' underneath?
State the transferable technique in one sentence, without mentioning this problem's story at all.
Self-assess (mastery is not a correct number)
You reach Mastered only when you have solved it, rated yourself at least Solid across the dimensions, and written a real explanation.
Confidence
Low confidence schedules this problem for spaced review, even if you solved it.
Mastery check
- Variation: change the bound (or a rule) in the statement. Does your method still work? What breaks first?
- Constraints: if the limit were 10× larger, which step fails, and what would you replace it with?
- Related problem: #98 · #191 · #346
- Transfer: where else does this technique appear? Name a lesson and a real computational setting.
- Spaced re-attempt: come back after the review interval and re-solve it with no hints.