zby,
The challenge is to write a program for finding the right series of steps. I guess what you are saying is where do I draw the lines between what I "know" and what I let the program figure out on its own.

For instance, it is pointless to weigh groups that have an unequal number of balls since it will not lead to any useful information. Is it ok to add that logic?

I guess I just don't know how to answer that. The two solutions I know that work require dividing the 12 balls into 3 groups of 4. I wouldn't want a program that didn't consider other sizes unless there was some mathematical way of knowing that no other group/sizes were possible. I however wouldn't think anything of a solution that didn't consider groups of unequal number of balls since they would never be expected to balance.

Sorry I can't give an exhaustive list of things that are ok and not ok. I am not interested in a translation of a known solution to code though.

Cheers - L~R

In reply to Re^10: Odd Ball Challenge by Limbic~Region
in thread Odd Ball Challenge by Limbic~Region

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