Array is one of the fundamental data structures in programming. It allows us to store multiple values of the same data type in a single variable. In this blog post, we are going to discuss how to check if an array is symmetric in Java.

What is a Symmetric Array?

A symmetric array is an array where the elements at corresponding positions from the start and end of the array are equal. In other words, if we reverse the array and the reversed array is the same as the original array, the array is considered symmetric.

Approach to Check Symmetric Array

To check if an array is symmetric, we can compare the elements at corresponding positions from the start and end of the array. If they are equal, we continue to check the next pair. If any pair of elements is not equal, the array is not symmetric. The algorithm can be summarized as follows:

1. Initialize two pointers, start and end, pointing to the first and last elements of the array, respectively.
2. Iterate through the array until start is less than or equal to end.
3. Compare the values at array[start] and array[end].
4. If the values are not equal, the array is not symmetric and we exit the loop.
5. Increment start and decrement end by 1.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 until start is less than or equal to end.
7. If we successfully iterate through the entire array without encountering any non-matching pairs, the array is symmetric.

Checking Symmetric Array in Java

Here is an example Java function that checks if an array is symmetric:

public class SymmetricArrayChecker {
    public static boolean isSymmetric(int[] array) {
        int start = 0;
        int end = array.length - 1;
        
        while (start <= end) {
            if (array[start] != array[end]) {
                return false;
            }
            
            start++;
            end--;
        }
        
        return true;
    }
}

To use this function, simply pass an integer array to the isSymmetric method, and it will return true if the array is symmetric, and false otherwise.

Example Usage

int[] symmetricArray = {1, 2, 3, 2, 1};
int[] nonSymmetricArray = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};

boolean isSymmetricArray = SymmetricArrayChecker.isSymmetric(symmetricArray);
boolean isNonSymmetricArray = SymmetricArrayChecker.isSymmetric(nonSymmetricArray);

System.out.println("Is symmetricArray symmetric? " + isSymmetricArray);
System.out.println("Is nonSymmetricArray symmetric? " + isNonSymmetricArray);

Conclusion

In this blog post, we have discussed how to check if an array is symmetric in Java. We have presented an algorithm and provided an example Java function that implements this algorithm. By using this approach, you can easily determine if an array is symmetric or not.

#java #arrays