MATLAB Script: Dealing Cards

I played cards (poorly) over Christmas, and thought a good way to break through the end-of-year boredom at work would be to write a quick MATLAB script that dealt a given number of cards from a randomly shuffled deck to a given number of players.

I got to use the eval command again, which is always exciting.

% Randomly shuffle a deck of cards
% Distribute to a given number of players (user input)
% Display the hands for each player

% Assign a number for each card
% 1-13 are for Spades (in order)
% 14-26 are for Clubs
% 27-39 are for Diamonds
% 40-52 are for Hearts
card_names{1} = '2 of Spades';
card_names{2} = '3 of Spades';
card_names{3} = '4 of Spades';
card_names{4} = '5 of Spades';
card_names{5} = '6 of Spades';
card_names{6} = '7 of Spades';
card_names{7} = '8 of Spades';
card_names{8} = '9 of Spades';
card_names{9} = '10 of Spades';
card_names{10} = 'Jack of Spades';
card_names{11} = 'Queen of Spades';
card_names{12} = 'King of Spades';
card_names{13} = 'Ace of Spades';
card_names{14} = '2 of Clubs';
card_names{15} = '3 of Clubs';
card_names{16} = '4 of Clubs';
card_names{17} = '5 of Clubs';
card_names{18} = '6 of Clubs';
card_names{19} = '7 of Clubs';
card_names{20} = '8 of Clubs';
card_names{21} = '9 of Clubs';
card_names{22} = '10 of Clubs';
card_names{23} = 'Jack of Clubs';
card_names{24} = 'Queen of Clubs';
card_names{25} = 'King of Clubs';
card_names{26} = 'Ace of Clubs';
card_names{27} = '2 of Diamonds';
card_names{28} = '3 of Diamonds';
card_names{29} = '4 of Diamonds';
card_names{30} = '5 of Diamonds';
card_names{31} = '6 of Diamonds';
card_names{32} = '7 of Diamonds';
card_names{33} = '8 of Diamonds';
card_names{34} = '9 of Diamonds';
card_names{35} = '10 of Diamonds';
card_names{36} = 'Jack of Diamonds';
card_names{37} = 'Queen of Diamonds';
card_names{38} = 'King of Diamonds';
card_names{39} = 'Ace of Diamonds';
card_names{40} = '2 of Hearts';
card_names{41} = '3 of Hearts';
card_names{42} = '4 of Hearts';
card_names{43} = '5 of Hearts';
card_names{44} = '6 of Hearts';
card_names{45} = '7 of Hearts';
card_names{46} = '8 of Hearts';
card_names{47} = '9 of Hearts';
card_names{48} = '10 of Hearts';
card_names{49} = 'Jack of Hearts';
card_names{50} = 'Queen of Hearts';
card_names{51} = 'King of Hearts';
card_names{52} = 'Ace of Hearts';
% Shuffle the deck
shuffled_deck = randperm(52);
% Ask the user for # of players and # of cards per player
clc
num_players = input('How many players? Enter here: ');
num_cards = input('How many cards per player? Enter here: ');
disp('----------------------')
% Create empty player hand arrays
for k=1:1:num_players
  plyr_hnd_cmd_str = ['player_hand_',num2str(k), '= [];'];
  eval(plyr_hnd_cmd_str);
end
% Deal cards out to the players
total_cards_to_deal = num_players * num_cards;
i=1;
while i < total_cards_to_deal
    for j=1:1:num_players
        deal_card_cmd_str = ['player_hand_', num2str(j), ' = [player_hand_',num2str(j), ', shuffled_deck(i)];'];
        eval(deal_card_cmd_str);
        i = i+1;
    end    
end
% Display each player's hand
for k=1:1:num_players
    disp_plyr_str = ['Player ', num2str(k), '''s hand: '];
    disp(disp_plyr_str)
    for m=1:1:num_cards
        card_name_cmd_str = ['card_name_str = card_names{player_hand_', num2str(k), '(m)};'];
        eval(card_name_cmd_str)
        disp(card_name_str)
    end
    disp('----------------------')
end

MATLAB Script: Best MBA Course

Upon the completion of my MBA at BU, I wanted to figure out what my top 5 courses (out of 18) were.

So I wrote a brute-force, unsexy MATLAB script that did a round-robin style side-by-side comparison.

It worked out fairly well. I even put in a very rudimentary tiebreaker loop wherein the user is asked to break the tie. Basically a "head to head" comparison, which, upon further review, should be pre-determined, since the user had already done a head-to-head comparison of the two courses before. Room for improvement.

Here it is:

% Determines the ranking of best MBA courses taken

% The user picks the best course by choosing between all combinations

clc

clear

num_courses = 18;

% Create the list of courses

% Course 1: "OB 712: Managing Organizations"

course_names{1} = 'OB 712: Managing Organizations';

% Course 2: "AC 711: Accounting"

course_names{2} = 'AC 711: Accounting';

% Course 3: "MK 724: Marketing Management"

course_names{3} = 'MK 724: Marketing Management';

% Course 4: "QM 717: Statistics"

course_names{4} = 'QM 717: Statistics';

% Course 5: "FE 730: Economics"

course_names{5} = 'FE 730: Economics';

% Course 6: "IS 711: IT Strategies"

course_names{6} = 'IS 711: IT Strategies';

% Course 7: "OM 726: Operations"

course_names{7} = 'OM 726: Operations';

% Course 8: "SI 751: Strategy"

course_names{8} = 'SI 751: Strategy';

% Course 9: "PL 700: Law and Ethics"

course_names{9} = 'PL 700: Law and Ethics';

% Course 10: "ES 700: Executive Presentation"

course_names{10} = 'ES 700: Executive Presentation';

% Course 11: "OB 853: Negotiations"

course_names{11} = 'OB 853: Negotiations';

% Course 12: "OM 880: Product Design"

course_names{12} = 'OM 880: Product Design';

% Course 13: "MK 864: Pricing"

course_names{13} = 'MK 864: Pricing';

% Course 14: "MK 862: High-Tech Marketing"

course_names{14} = 'MK 862: High-Tech Marketing';

% Course 15: "IS 827: Platforms"

course_names{15} = 'IS 827: Platforms';

% Course 16: "OB 848: Leadership"

course_names{16} = 'OB 848: Leadership';

% Course 17: "MK 852: Marketing Analytics"

course_names{17} = 'MK 852: Marketing Analytics';

% Course 18: "SI 845: Technology Strategy"

course_names{18} = 'SI 845: Technology Strategy';

% ES 700 and FE 722 were not considered for ranking

% Create a 2x18 matrix of randomly determined combinations

rand_course_combs = rand_combs(num_courses);

%rand_course_combs = rand_combs2(num_courses); %Alternative algorithm that doesn't use Statistics Toolbox

len_rand_course_combs = length(rand_course_combs);

points_array = zeros(1,num_courses);

better_course = 0;

for i=1:1:len_rand_course_combs

    course_1_name = char(course_names(rand_course_combs(i,1)));

    course_2_name = char(course_names(rand_course_combs(i,2)));

    prompt_str = [course_1_name, ' (1) vs. ',course_2_name, ' (2): '];

    clc

    pct_cmplt = 100*((i-1)/len_rand_course_combs);

    pct_cmplt_str = [num2str(pct_cmplt), '% complete'];

    disp(pct_cmplt_str)

    disp('Which one was better?');

    better_course = input(prompt_str);

       if better_course == 1

           points_array(rand_course_combs(i,1)) = points_array(rand_course_combs(i,1)) + 1;

       elseif better_course == 2

           points_array(rand_course_combs(i,2)) = points_array(rand_course_combs(i,2)) + 1;

       end

end

% Sort, rank, and display

sorted_points_array = sort(points_array,'descend');

len_points_array = length(points_array);

rank_array = zeros(1,len_points_array);

i=1;

while i <= len_points_array

   rank_array_temp = find(points_array == sorted_points_array(i));

   if length(rank_array_temp) > 1

       % Assumes only two values will be "tied". Should probably make this

       % more robust.

       % Break the tie by prompting user to pick the better option

       disp('Found a tie!')

       disp('Need to break it!')

       disp('Which one was better?')

       course_1_name = course_names{rank_array_temp(1)};

       course_2_name = course_names{rank_array_temp(2)};

       prompt_str = [course_1_name, ' (1) vs. ',course_2_name, ' (2): '];

       tiebreaker_choice = input(prompt_str);

       if tiebreaker_choice == 1

      rank_array(i) = rank_array_temp(1);

      rank_array(i+1) = rank_array_temp(2);

       else

        rank_array(i) = rank_array_temp(2);

        rank_array(i+1) = rank_array_temp(1);

       end

       i=i+2;

   else

   rank_array(i) = find(points_array == sorted_points_array(i));

   i=i+1;

   end

end

len_rank_array = length(rank_array);

for j = 1:1:len_rank_array

    clc

   disp_str = [num2str(j), ': ',course_names{rank_array(j)}, ' : ',num2str(sorted_points_array(j)), ' points.']; 

    disp(disp_str)

end

Here were the results:

1: OM 880: Product Design : 17 points.

2: IS 827: Platforms : 16 points.

3: OB 853: Negotiations : 15 points.

4: MK 862: High-Tech Marketing : 14 points.

5: MK 852: Marketing Analytics : 13 points.

6: MK 724: Marketing Management : 12 points.

7: SI 751: Strategy : 11 points.

8: FE 730: Economics : 10 points.

9: AC 711: Accounting : 9 points.

10: SI 845: Technology Strategy : 8 points.

11: OB 712: Managing Organizations : 7 points.

12: MK 864: Pricing : 6 points.

13: ES 700: Executive Presentation : 4 points.

14: OM 726: Operations : 4 points.

15: OB 848: Leadership : 3 points.

16: IS 711: IT Strategies : 2 points.

17: QM 717: Statistics : 2 points.

18: PL 700: Law and Ethics : 0 points.