Easiest way to make tenth hundredth etc to go alongside first and second

When working with numbers, it is often necessary to convert them into their corresponding ordinal form. For example, converting the number 1 to “first” or the number 2 to “second”. In Julia, there are several ways to achieve this. In this article, we will explore three different approaches to solve this problem.

Approach 1: Using a Dictionary

One way to solve this problem is by using a dictionary to map the numbers to their corresponding ordinal forms. We can define a dictionary with the numbers as keys and their ordinal forms as values. Then, we can simply look up the number in the dictionary to get its ordinal form.

# Define the dictionary
ordinal_dict = Dict(1 => "first", 2 => "second", 3 => "third", 4 => "fourth", 5 => "fifth", 6 => "sixth", 7 => "seventh", 8 => "eighth", 9 => "ninth", 10 => "tenth")

# Function to convert number to ordinal form
function convert_to_ordinal(n)
    return ordinal_dict[n]
end

# Test the function
println(convert_to_ordinal(1))  # Output: "first"
println(convert_to_ordinal(2))  # Output: "second"

Approach 2: Using a Switch Statement

Another approach is to use a switch statement to handle each number individually and return its ordinal form. We can define a function that takes the number as input and uses a switch statement to determine its ordinal form.

# Function to convert number to ordinal form
function convert_to_ordinal(n)
    ordinal_form = ""
    remainder = n % 10
    if remainder == 1 && n != 11
        ordinal_form = string(n, "st")
    elseif remainder == 2 && n != 12
        ordinal_form = string(n, "nd")
    elseif remainder == 3 && n != 13
        ordinal_form = string(n, "rd")
    else
        ordinal_form = string(n, "th")
    end
    return ordinal_form
end

# Test the function
println(convert_to_ordinal(1))  # Output: "1st"
println(convert_to_ordinal(2))  # Output: "2nd"

Approach 3: Using the Inflector.jl Package

A third approach is to use the Inflector.jl package, which provides a set of functions for converting numbers to their ordinal forms. This package offers more flexibility and handles edge cases more efficiently.

# Install the Inflector.jl package
using Pkg
Pkg.add("Inflector")

# Import the Inflector module
using Inflector

# Function to convert number to ordinal form
function convert_to_ordinal(n)
    return ordinalize(n)
end

# Test the function
println(convert_to_ordinal(1))  # Output: "1st"
println(convert_to_ordinal(2))  # Output: "2nd"

After exploring these three approaches, it is clear that using the Inflector.jl package is the best option. It provides a more comprehensive solution and handles edge cases more efficiently. Additionally, it eliminates the need for manual mapping or switch statements, making the code more concise and readable.