Question

Write a method that checks whether all elements in the indicated column are the same?

Answer 1

A method to check if all elements in a column are the same involves setting a reference value and iterating through each row to compare elements, returning false upon finding a mismatch and true if all are the same.

Step-by-step explanation:

When writing a method to check whether all elements in a column are the same, you need to iterate through the rows and compare the elements of the specified column. Here is a step-by-step explanation using pseudocode:

1. Determine the column number you want to check.
2. Set the first element of that column as the reference value.
3. Iterate through all the rows, checking that each element in the specified column matches the reference value.
4. If you find an element that does not match, return false to indicate that not all elements are the same.
5. If you reach the end of the rows without finding a differing element, return true, indicating that all elements are identical.

Here's an example in pseudocode:

def checkColumnForSameness(matrix, column):
referenceValue = matrix[0][column]
for row in matrix:
if row[column] != referenceValue:
return false
return true

Remember to handle edge cases such as if the column number is out of bounds or the matrix is empty.