Arrays and Iteration
Array Sum (Linear Scan)
Walk an array once, accumulating each element into a running total. This is
the canonical single-pass linear scan and the simplest possible loop
invariant: after step i, total equals the sum of arr[0..i].
Algorithm
The canonical input from the lesson spec is
arr = [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6]. After eight passes the running total is
31.
linear scan
Visit each element exactly once in index order.
running total
`total` accumulates the sum as the loop advances.
Basic Implementation
basic.kt
Replay: real traced execution (multi-file project)
fun main() {
val arr = intArrayOf(3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6)
var total = 0
for (i in arr.indices) {
total = total + arr[i]
}
println(total)
}
arr ← [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6]
1fun main() {2 val arr = intArrayOf(3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6)3 var total = 0values this step[3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6]arrtotal ← 0
2val arr = intArrayOf(3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6)3var total = 04for (i in arr.indices) {values this step0total[3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6]arrtotal ← 3
4for (i in arr.indices) {5 total = total + arr[i]6}values this step0 → 3total0i3arr[i]total ← 4
4for (i in arr.indices) {5 total = total + arr[i]6}values this step3 → 4total1i1arr[i]total ← 8
4for (i in arr.indices) {5 total = total + arr[i]6}values this step4 → 8total2i4arr[i]total ← 9
4for (i in arr.indices) {5 total = total + arr[i]6}values this step8 → 9total3i1arr[i]total ← 14
4for (i in arr.indices) {5 total = total + arr[i]6}values this step9 → 14total4i5arr[i]total ← 23
4for (i in arr.indices) {5 total = total + arr[i]6}values this step14 → 23total5i9arr[i]total ← 25
4for (i in arr.indices) {5 total = total + arr[i]6}values this step23 → 25total6i2arr[i]total ← 31
4for (i in arr.indices) {5 total = total + arr[i]6}values this step25 → 31total7i6arr[i]
Trace Output
trace.kt
Replay: real traced execution (multi-file project)
fun main() {
val arr = intArrayOf(3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6)
var total = 0
for (i in arr.indices) {
val before = total
total = total + arr[i]
println("step $i: arr[$i]=${arr[i]} total $before -> $total")
}
println("final total = $total")
}
total ← 3, stdout ← step 0: arr[0]=3 total 0 -> 3
5val before = total6total = total + arr[i]7println("step $i: arr[$i]=${arr[i]} total $before -> $total")values this step3totalstep 0: arr[0]=3 total 0 -> 3stdout0before3arr[i]total ← 4, stdout ← step 1: arr[1]=1 total 3 -> 4
5val before = total6total = total + arr[i]7println("step $i: arr[$i]=${arr[i]} total $before -> $total")values this step4totalstep 1: arr[1]=1 total 3 -> 4stdout3before1arr[i]total ← 8, stdout ← step 2: arr[2]=4 total 4 -> 8
5val before = total6total = total + arr[i]7println("step $i: arr[$i]=${arr[i]} total $before -> $total")values this step8totalstep 2: arr[2]=4 total 4 -> 8stdout4before4arr[i]total ← 9, stdout ← step 3: arr[3]=1 total 8 -> 9
5val before = total6total = total + arr[i]7println("step $i: arr[$i]=${arr[i]} total $before -> $total")values this step9totalstep 3: arr[3]=1 total 8 -> 9stdout8before1arr[i]total ← 14, stdout ← step 4: arr[4]=5 total 9 -> 14
5val before = total6total = total + arr[i]7println("step $i: arr[$i]=${arr[i]} total $before -> $total")values this step14totalstep 4: arr[4]=5 total 9 -> 14stdout9before5arr[i]total ← 23, stdout ← step 5: arr[5]=9 total 14 -> 23
5val before = total6total = total + arr[i]7println("step $i: arr[$i]=${arr[i]} total $before -> $total")values this step23totalstep 5: arr[5]=9 total 14 -> 23stdout14before9arr[i]total ← 25, stdout ← step 6: arr[6]=2 total 23 -> 25
5val before = total6total = total + arr[i]7println("step $i: arr[$i]=${arr[i]} total $before -> $total")values this step25totalstep 6: arr[6]=2 total 23 -> 25stdout23before2arr[i]total ← 31, stdout ← step 7: arr[7]=6 total 25 -> 31
5val before = total6total = total + arr[i]7println("step $i: arr[$i]=${arr[i]} total $before -> $total")values this step31totalstep 7: arr[7]=6 total 25 -> 31stdout25before6arr[i]stdout ← final total = 31
8 }9 println("final total = $total")10}values this stepfinal total = 31stdout31total
Complexity
- Time: O(n)
- Space: O(1)
Implementation notes
- Kotlin: use the explicit
for (i in arr.indices)loop withvar total = 0. The stdlibarr.sum()is fine for production but hides the loop the lesson spec is teaching. val arr = intArrayOf(3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6)documents the fixed-size array contract;arr.indicesgives the explicit index range without leaning on a helper that hides the iteration.- The replay shows
i,arr[i], andtotalbefore and after each addition, matching the lesson spec's state-transition table.