Possible list permutation using a given formula - list

Question

I am trying to get my head wrap around lists in Prolog. To do this I am trying to create a sort of game. You pass in a list of numbers 1-9 that can be repeated, the list can be any length. The rules are that starting from the first element(e) you can only move to e+2 or e+3 until you get to the end. The goal is to "land" on the highest numbers. In essence it is kind of like hopscotch. The problem I am running into is determining all the possible permutation for paths. So far I have the following.
paths([], []). %empty list returns empty list
paths([X], [X]). %list with one element returns that one element
paths([X1, X2], [X1]). %list with 2 elements returns the first element
paths([X1, X2, X3], [X1,X3]). %list with three elements returns the first and third element
paths() :- % the recursive case for a list with 4+ elements
An list to use would be: [1,2,3,4,5,6,8,7,9,3,6,5,7,8,9]
I need to determine all possible paths using the rule mentioned about. I wish lists could be indexed in Prolog :(
Any logic guidance would be appreciated.

Answer 1

The requirements aren't completely clear, but it seems that:
The second argument is required to have the same first element as the
first argument (you "hop" on the first "square" first always, using
your hopscotch metaphore)
You aren't requiring that the last element of the first list be the
last element of the second list (you aren't requiring that you "land
on" the last "square").
An empty list succeeds with an empty list result (rather than just failing on an empty list - which is another valid approach).
Then this could be implemented as follows. You do not need many explicit 2- and 3-element list cases since they are handled by the recursive clause and simpler base cases.
path([], []).
path([X], [X]).
path([X,_|T], [X|R]) :- % hop over 1 element
path(T, R).
path([X,_,_|T], [X|R]) :- % hop over 2 elements
path(T, R).
For a simple example:
| ?- path([1,2,3,4,5,6], R).
R = [1,3,5] ? ;
R = [1,3,6] ? ;
R = [1,4,6] ? ;
R = [1,4]
yes
If I don't have your requirements exactly right, you should be able to adjust this to suit your needs as it shows how to handle a recursive case. It also sounds like you are headed in the direction of trying to optimize the values in your hops, which I shall also leave as an exercise.
This can also be done with a DCG (definite clause grammar)
path([]) --> [].
path([X]) --> [X].
path([X|T]) --> ([X,_] | [X,_,_]), path(T).
Which would be exercised:
| ?- phrase(path(R), [1,2,3,4,5,6]).
R = [1,3,5] ? ;
R = [1,3,6] ? ;
R = [1,4,6] ? ;
R = [1,4] ? ;
(1 ms) no
| ?-
In light of the extra requirement that the last step taken must be one that falls within the list, here is an updated version of the path/2 predicate:
path([], []).
path([X], [X]).
path([X,_], [X]).
path([X,_,Y|T], [X|R]) :- % hop over 1 element
path([Y|T], R).
path([X,_,_,Y|T], [X|R]) :- % hop over 2 elements
path([Y|T], R).

Answer 2

I think that there is a reason to avoid indexing: simplicity. If you decompose your problem, maybe you could start writing a step/3 predicate like
step([_,X|T],X,T).
step([_,_,X|T],X,T).
and then
paths([],[]).
paths(L,[X|Xs]) :- step(L,X,T), paths(T,Xs).
note: I don't understand very well your game, some example of playground and solution would be welcome.

Answer 3

%passing in a list and return all possible paths using K+2 or K+3 with K being the first element of the list.
%empty list returns empty list
%list with one element returns that one element
%list with 2 elements returns the first element
%list with three elements returns the first and third element
%list with four/four+ elements needs to be called recursively, prefix them with the first element and append them together
%RL means ReturnList
%FL means FinalList
%List is the appended list containing all the paths
paths([], []).
paths([X], [[X]]).
paths([X1, X2], [[X1]]).
paths([X1, X2, X3], [[X1,X3]]).
paths([X1, X2, X3, X4 | T], List) :-
paths([X3,X4|T], RL), paths([X4|T], RL2),
prefix_all(X1, RL, FL1), prefix_all(X1, RL2, FL2),
append(FL1, FL2, List).
So if run with the list [1,2,3,4,5] is would produce the following:
| ?- paths([1,2,3,4,5],X).
X = [[1,3,5],[1,4]] ? ;
no