Finding the longest word in a list (WordList[])

Question

Hi guys I am having problems with finding the longest word available in WordList["English"] I have found that the longest word has 24 characters thanks to this line

Max[StringLength[WordList[]]]

but I don't know how to find the position of the word Knowing her length. I thought I need some selection rule but I fail to implement it. any help?

So you want to know the longest word, its position in the list or both? — Kuba, Aug 14 '16 at 10:45
the word, however i think i need the position to use Take[WordList[],n]... — Alucard, Aug 14 '16 at 10:46
You need the position for Take but don't assume you need Take. — Kuba, Aug 14 '16 at 10:47
Now that you know that the longest entry in WordList[] is 24 characters long, why not Select[] all the entries in it whose StringLength[] is == 24? (This is one of the things I like about this language; sometimes the solution statement directly translates to usable code.) — J. M.'s missing motivation, Aug 14 '16 at 10:48
@J.M. i tried with select, but i think the syntax i used was wrong and couldnt make it work — Alucard, Aug 14 '16 at 10:51
What was the code you used with Select[]? We can suss out what you did wrong if you post it. — J. M.'s missing motivation, Aug 14 '16 at 10:53
@J.M. Select[WorldList[], StringLength[#] = 24 & ] i tried with Cases too with no results ( it's the first time i use select and cases) — Alucard, Aug 14 '16 at 10:55
@Alucard, try using == (Equal[]) instead of = (Set[]). — J. M.'s missing motivation, Aug 14 '16 at 10:57
Do post your code as an answer if you managed to get it to work. — J. M.'s missing motivation, Aug 14 '16 at 11:02

Alucard · Accepted Answer · 2016-08-14T21:13:11.543

8

ok one solution I found, aside the one given by Kuba , is

length = Max[StringLength[WordList[]]]
Select[WordList[], StringLength[#] == length & ]

a second solution with the function Pick[] is

Pick[WordList[], StringLength[WordList[]], length]

A third one with Cases[]

f = StringLength[#] == 24 &;
Cases[WordList[], x_ /; f[x]]

a BarChart with the absolutetiming:

edited Aug 14 '16 at 21:13

answered Aug 14 '16 at 11:07

Alucard

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Well done. If you need further exercise, think about how to implement this with Pick[] or Cases[]. – J. M.'s missing motivation Aug 14 '16 at 11:13
@J.M. i will thanks – Alucard Aug 14 '16 at 11:18
@J.M. i found the two additional solutions but i did not understand the difference between the patterns used with Cases and the function with select[].what's the difference?they do exactly the same thing... – Alucard Aug 14 '16 at 12:44
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@Alucard This post should answer your question. – Aug 14 '16 at 14:36

Finding the longest word in a list (WordList[])

1 Answers1