Create list from 2 numbers and 2 for loops - list

Question

I have 2 numbers let's say number1=5 and number2=3 and I want to create a list in this form
((1(1 2 3)) (2(1 2 3)) (3(1 2 3)) (4(1 2 3)) (5(1 2 3)))
So the number1 indicates the number of the elements in the list and number2 indicates the total elements that will be as the second part of every element..
I have smth like this untill now
(define mylist '())
(define (pushlist item item2)
(do ((j 1 (+ j 1))) ((> j item2))
(set! mylist(list mylist (list item j)))))
(define (createlist number number2)
(do ((j 1 (+ j 1))) ((> j number))
(pushlist j number2)
))
(createlist 5 3)
Unfortunately it doesn't work.. It doesn't give the result I want.. It gives me this (((((((((((((((() (1 1)) (1 2)) (1 3)) (2 1)) (2 2)) (2 3)) (3 1)) (3 2)) (3 3)) (4 1)) (4 2)) (4 3)) (5 1)) (5 2)) (5 3))

Answer 1

There are many ways to solve this problem - for example, using explicit recursion, or using higher-order procedures. Your approach is not recommended, in Scheme you should try to avoid thinking about loops and mutation operations. Although it is possible to write such a solution, it won't be idiomatic. I'll try to explain how to write a more idiomatic solution, using explicit recursion first:
; create a list from i to n
(define (makelist i n)
(if (> i n)
'()
(cons i (makelist (add1 i) n))))
; create a list from i to m, together with
; a list returned by makelist from 1 to n
(define (makenumlist i m n)
(if (> i m)
'()
(cons (list i (makelist 1 n))
(makenumlist (add1 i) m n))))
; call previous functions
(define (createlist number1 number2)
(makenumlist 1 number1 number2))
Now, an even more idiomatic solution would be to use higher-order procedures. This will work in Racket:
; create a list from i to n
(define (makelist n)
(build-list n add1))
; create a list from i to m, together with
; a list returned by makelist from 1 to n
(define (makenumlist m n)
(build-list m
(lambda (i)
(list (add1 i) (makelist n)))))
; call previous functions
(define (createlist number1 number2)
(makenumlist number1 number2))
See how we can avoid explicit looping? that's the Scheme way of thinking, the way you're expected to solve problems - embrace it!

Answer 2

I don't think that your pushlist procedure is doing what you you expect it to.
(define (pushlist item item2)
(do ((j 1 (+ j 1)))
((> j item2))
(set! mylist (list mylist (list item j)))))
If you have a list (x y z) and you want to push a new value v into it, you'd do
(set! lst (cons v lst))
because (cons v (x y z)) == (v x y z). By doing
(set! mylist (list mylist (list item j)))
you're making mylist always have exactly two elements, where the first is a deeper and deeper nested list. Óscar López's answer gives a more idiomatic approach to this problem. Here's a similar idiomatic approach:
(define (range n)
; returns a list (1 ... n)
(let rng ((n n) (l '()))
(if (zero? n)
l
(rng (- n 1) (cons n l)))))
If the sublists (1 ... n) can all be the same list (i.e., the actual list object is the same), then you can create it just once:
(define (createlist m n)
(let ((sublist (range n)))
(map (lambda (main)
(list main sublist))
(range m))))
Otherwise, if they need to be distinct, you can generate one for each of 1 ... m:
(define (createlist m n)
(map (lambda (main)
(list main (range n)))
(range m)))