Review descriptions for initial duplication. (#802)

Insti · web-flow · commit 73ebd1303221 · 2017-05-29T20:49:34.000+02:00
Pull Request #775 prepended a problem's blurb to its description. This resulted in a few descriptions having obvious duplication in the first few lines. This PR reviews all descriptions and: * Removes gratuitous duplication. * Ensures the first line does not exceed 80 characters. * Fixes a few spelling/grammar errors. * Re-arranges a few descriptions for clarity. * Removes a few occurrences of 'write a program' Refs: [PR 775](#775) [Write a program](#321)
diff --git a/exercises/accumulate/description.md b/exercises/accumulate/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-Implement the `accumulate` operation, which, given a collection and an operation to perform on each element of the collection, returns a new collection containing the result of applying that operation to each element of the input collection.
+Implement the `accumulate` operation, which, given a collection and an
+operation to perform on each element of the collection, returns a new
+collection containing the result of applying that operation to each element of
+the input collection.
 
 Given the collection of numbers:
 
diff --git a/exercises/acronym/description.md b/exercises/acronym/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-Convert a long phrase to its acronym.
+Convert a phrase to its acronym.
 
 Techies love their TLA (Three Letter Acronyms)!
 
diff --git a/exercises/bank-account/description.md b/exercises/bank-account/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Simulate a bank account supporting opening/closing, withdraws, and deposits of money. Watch out for concurrent transactions!
+Simulate a bank account supporting opening/closing, withdrawals, and deposits
+of money. Watch out for concurrent transactions!
 
 A bank account can be accessed in multiple ways. Clients can make
 deposits and withdrawals using the internet, mobile phones, etc. Shops
diff --git a/exercises/book-store/description.md b/exercises/book-store/description.md
@@ -1,8 +1,5 @@
-To try and encourage more sales of different books from a popular 5 book series, a bookshop has decided to offer discounts of multiple-book purchases.
-
-To try and encourage more sales of the 5 different books
-they sell of a popular series, a bookshop has decided to
-offer discounts of multi-book purchases. 
+To try and encourage more sales of different books from a popular 5 book
+series, a bookshop has decided to offer discounts on multiple book purchases.
 
 One copy of any of the five books costs $8. 
 
diff --git a/exercises/bracket-push/description.md b/exercises/bracket-push/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,2 @@
-Make sure the brackets and braces all match.
-
-Ensure that all the brackets and braces are matched correctly,
-and nested correctly.
+Given a string containing brackets `[]`, braces `{}` and parentheses `()`,
+verify that all the pairs are matched and nested correctly.
diff --git a/exercises/change/description.md b/exercises/change/description.md
@@ -1,8 +1,5 @@
-Correctly determine change to be given using the least number of coins.
-
-Correctly determine the fewest number of coins to be given to the user
-such that the sum of the coins' value would equal the correct amount
-of change.
+Correctly determine the fewest number of coins to be given to a customer such
+that the sum of the coins' value would equal the correct amount of change.
 
 ## For example
 
diff --git a/exercises/circular-buffer/description.md b/exercises/circular-buffer/description.md
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-A data structure that uses a single, fixed-size buffer as if it were connected end-to-end.
-
 A circular buffer, cyclic buffer or ring buffer is a data structure that
 uses a single, fixed-size buffer as if it were connected end-to-end.
 
diff --git a/exercises/clock/description.md b/exercises/clock/description.md
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 Implement a clock that handles times without dates.
 
-Create a clock that is independent of date.
-
 You should be able to add and subtract minutes to it.
 
 Two clocks that represent the same time should be equal to each other.
diff --git a/exercises/counter/description.md b/exercises/counter/description.md
@@ -1,11 +1,10 @@
-Design a test suite for a line/letter/character counter tool.
-
 **NOTE: This exercise has been deprecated.**
 
 Please see the discussion in https://github.com/exercism/x-common/issues/80
 for more context.
 
 --------
+Design a test suite for a line/letter/character counter tool.
 
 This is a special exercise. Instead of creating code that works with
 an existing test suite you get to define the test suite. To help you
diff --git a/exercises/diamond/description.md b/exercises/diamond/description.md
@@ -1,7 +1,3 @@
-Given a letter, print a diamond starting with 'A' with the supplied letter at the widest point.
-
-## Diamond kata
-
 The diamond kata takes as its input a letter, and outputs it in a diamond 
 shape. Given a letter, it prints a diamond starting with 'A', with the 
 supplied letter at the widest point.
diff --git a/exercises/flatten-array/description.md b/exercises/flatten-array/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-Take a nested list and return a single list with all values except nil/null.
+Take a nested list and return a single flattened list with all values except nil/null.
 
 The challenge is to write a function that accepts an arbitrarily-deep nested list-like structure and returns a flattened structure without any nil/null values.
  
diff --git a/exercises/grade-school/description.md b/exercises/grade-school/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Given students' names along with the grade that they are in, create a roster for the school.
+Given students' names along with the grade that they are in, create a roster
+for the school.
 
 In the end, you should be able to:
 
diff --git a/exercises/grains/description.md b/exercises/grains/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Calculate the number of grains of wheat on a chessboard given that the number on each square doubles.
+Calculate the number of grains of wheat on a chessboard given that the number
+on each square doubles.
 
 There once was a wise servant who saved the life of a prince. The king
 promised to pay whatever the servant could dream up. Knowing that the
diff --git a/exercises/grep/description.md b/exercises/grep/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Search a file for lines matching a regular expression pattern. Return the line number and contents of each matching line.
+Search a file for lines matching a regular expression pattern. Return the line
+number and contents of each matching line.
 
 The Unix [`grep`](http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/grep.html) command can be used to search for lines in one or more files 
 that match a user-provided search query (known as the *pattern*).
@@ -59,4 +60,4 @@ hello again
 The `grep` command should support multiple flags at once.
 
 For example, running `grep -l -v "hello" file1.txt file2.txt` should
-print the names of files that do not contain the string "hello".
+print the names of files that do not contain the string "hello".
diff --git a/exercises/kindergarten-garden/description.md b/exercises/kindergarten-garden/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Given a diagram, determine which plants each child in the kindergarten class is responsible for.
+Given a diagram, determine which plants each child in the kindergarten class is
+responsible for.
 
 The kindergarten class is learning about growing plants. The teachers
 thought it would be a good idea to give them actual seeds, plant them in
diff --git a/exercises/largest-series-product/description.md b/exercises/largest-series-product/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Given a string of digits, calculate the largest product for a contiguous substring of digits of length n.
+Given a string of digits, calculate the largest product for a contiguous
+substring of digits of length n.
 
 For example, for the input `'1027839564'`, the largest product for a
 series of 3 digits is 270 (9 * 5 * 6), and the largest product for a
diff --git a/exercises/matrix/description.md b/exercises/matrix/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Given a string representing a matrix of numbers, return the rows and columns of that matrix.
+Given a string representing a matrix of numbers, return the rows and columns of
+that matrix.
 
 So given a string with embedded newlines like:
 
diff --git a/exercises/nucleotide-codons/description.md b/exercises/nucleotide-codons/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Write a function that returns the name of an amino acid a particular codon, possibly using shorthand, encodes for.
+Write a function that returns the name of an amino acid a particular codon,
+possibly using shorthand, encodes for.
 
 In DNA sequences of 3 nucleotides, called codons, encode for amino acids. Often
 several codons encode for the same amino acid. The International Union of Pure
diff --git a/exercises/ocr-numbers/description.md b/exercises/ocr-numbers/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Given a 3 x 4 grid of pipes, underscores, and spaces, determine which number is represented, or whether it is garbled.
+Given a 3 x 4 grid of pipes, underscores, and spaces, determine which number is
+represented, or whether it is garbled.
 
 # Step One
 
diff --git a/exercises/octal/description.md b/exercises/octal/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-Convert a octal number, represented as a string (e.g. '1735263'), to its decimal equivalent using first principles (i.e. no, you may not use built-in or external libraries to accomplish the conversion).
+Convert an octal number, represented as a string (e.g. '1735263'), to its
+decimal equivalent using first principles (i.e. no, you may not use built-in or
+external libraries to accomplish the conversion).
 
 Implement octal to decimal conversion.  Given an octal input
 string, your program should produce a decimal output.
diff --git a/exercises/pangram/description.md b/exercises/pangram/description.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 Determine if a sentence is a pangram. A pangram (Greek: παν γράμμα, pan gramma,
 "every letter") is a sentence using every letter of the alphabet at least once.
-The best known English pangram is "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
+The best known English pangram is: 
+> The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
 
 The alphabet used is ASCII, and case insensitive, from 'a' to 'z'
 inclusively.
diff --git a/exercises/perfect-numbers/description.md b/exercises/perfect-numbers/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Determine if a number is perfect, abundant, or deficient based on Nicomachus' (60 - 120 CE) classification scheme for natural numbers.
+Determine if a number is perfect, abundant, or deficient based on
+Nicomachus' (60 - 120 CE) classification scheme for natural numbers.
 
 The Greek mathematician [Nicomachus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicomachus) devised a classification scheme for natural numbers, identifying each as belonging uniquely to the categories of **perfect**, **abundant**, or **deficient** based on their [aliquot sum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliquot_sum). The aliquot sum is defined as the sum of the factors of a number not including the number itself. For example, the aliquot sum of 15 is (1 + 3 + 5) = 9
 
diff --git a/exercises/poker/description.md b/exercises/poker/description.md
@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
 Pick the best hand(s) from a list of poker hands.
 
-Write an algorithm to pick the best poker hand(s) from a list.
-
 See [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_poker_hands) for an
 overview of poker hands.
diff --git a/exercises/protein-translation/description.md b/exercises/protein-translation/description.md
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 Translate RNA sequences into proteins.
 
-Let's translate RNA sequences into proteins. [general ref](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translation_(biology))
-
 RNA can be broken into three nucleotide sequences called codons, and then translated to a polypeptide like so:
 
 RNA: `"AUGUUUUCU"` => translates to
@@ -38,3 +36,6 @@ UAU, UAC              | Tyrosine
 UGU, UGC              | Cysteine
 UGG                   | Tryptophan
 UAA, UAG, UGA         | STOP
+
+
+Learn more about [protein translation on Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translation_(biology))
diff --git a/exercises/proverb/description.md b/exercises/proverb/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-For want of a horseshoe nail, a kingdom was lost, or so the saying goes. Output the full text of this proverbial rhyme.
+For want of a horseshoe nail, a kingdom was lost, or so the saying goes. Output
+the full text of this proverbial rhyme.
 
 For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
 For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
diff --git a/exercises/pythagorean-triplet/description.md b/exercises/pythagorean-triplet/description.md
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-There exists exactly one Pythagorean triplet for which a + b + c = 1000. Find the product a * b * c.
-
 A Pythagorean triplet is a set of three natural numbers, {a, b, c}, for
 which,
 
@@ -12,3 +10,7 @@ For example,
 ```
 3**2 + 4**2 = 9 + 16 = 25 = 5**2.
 ```
+
+There exists exactly one Pythagorean triplet for which a + b + c = 1000.
+
+Find the product a * b * c.
diff --git a/exercises/queen-attack/description.md b/exercises/queen-attack/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Given the position of two queens on a chess board, indicate whether or not they are positioned so that they can attack each other.
+Given the position of two queens on a chess board, indicate whether or not they
+are positioned so that they can attack each other.
 
 In the game of chess, a queen can attack pieces which are on the same
 row, column, or diagonal.
diff --git a/exercises/rectangles/description.md b/exercises/rectangles/description.md
@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
-Count the rectangles in an ASCII diagram.
-
-Create a program to count the rectangles in an ASCII diagram like the one below.
+Count the rectangles in an ASCII diagram like the one below.
 
 ```
    +--+
diff --git a/exercises/rotational-cipher/description.md b/exercises/rotational-cipher/description.md
@@ -1,9 +1,5 @@
 Create an implementation of the rotational cipher, also sometimes called the Caesar cipher.
 
-# Rotational Cipher
-
-Create an implementation of the rotational cipher, also sometimes called the Caesar cipher.
-
 The Caesar cipher is a simple shift cipher that relies on
 transposing all the letters in the alphabet using an integer key
 between `0` and `26`. Using a key of `0` or `26` will always yield
diff --git a/exercises/scale-generator/description.md b/exercises/scale-generator/description.md
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-Generate musical scales, given a starting note and a set of intervals.
-
 Given a tonic, or starting note, and a set of intervals, generate
 the musical scale starting with the tonic and following the
 specified interval pattern.
diff --git a/exercises/secret-handshake/description.md b/exercises/secret-handshake/description.md
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-Given a decimal number, convert it to the appropriate sequence of events for a secret handshake.
-
 > There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand
 > binary, and those who don't.
 
@@ -16,6 +14,8 @@ binary decide to come up with a secret "handshake".
 10000 = Reverse the order of the operations in the secret handshake.
 ```
 
+Given a decimal number, convert it to the appropriate sequence of events for a secret handshake.
+
 Here's a couple of examples:
 
 Given the input 3, the function would return the array
diff --git a/exercises/series/description.md b/exercises/series/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Given a string of digits, output all the contiguous substrings of length `n` in that string.
+Given a string of digits, output all the contiguous substrings of length `n` in
+that string.
 
 For example, the string "49142" has the following 3-digit series:
 
diff --git a/exercises/sieve/description.md b/exercises/sieve/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Use the Sieve of Eratosthenes to find all the primes from 2 up to a given number.
+Use the Sieve of Eratosthenes to find all the primes from 2 up to a given
+number.
 
 The Sieve of Eratosthenes is a simple, ancient algorithm for finding all
 prime numbers up to any given limit. It does so by iteratively marking as
diff --git a/exercises/space-age/description.md b/exercises/space-age/description.md
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-Given an age in seconds, calculate how old someone is in terms of a given planet's solar years.
-
 Given an age in seconds, calculate how old someone would be on:
 
    - Earth: orbital period 365.25 Earth days, or 31557600 seconds
diff --git a/exercises/strain/description.md b/exercises/strain/description.md
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
-Implement the `keep` and `discard` operation on collections. Given a collection and a predicate on the collection's elements, `keep` returns a new collection containing those elements where the predicate is true, while `discard` returns a new collection containing those elements where the predicate is false.
-
-Write two functions that each take a function and a list.  One of them will
-return the list of items for which the passed in function is true, and the
-other will return the items for which it is false.
+Implement the `keep` and `discard` operation on collections. Given a collection
+and a predicate on the collection's elements, `keep` returns a new collection
+containing those elements where the predicate is true, while `discard` returns
+a new collection containing those elements where the predicate is false.
 
 For example, given the collection of numbers:
 
diff --git a/exercises/sublist/description.md b/exercises/sublist/description.md
@@ -1,9 +1,6 @@
-Write a function to determine if a list is a sublist of another list.
-
-Write a function that given two lists determines if the first list is
-contained within the second list, if the second list is contained within
-the first list, if both lists are contained within each other or if none
-of these are true.
+Given two lists determine if the first list is contained within the second
+list, if the second list is contained within the first list, if both lists are
+contained within each other or if none of these are true.
 
 Specifically, a list A is a sublist of list B if by dropping 0 or more elements
 from the front of B and 0 or more elements from the back of B you get a list
diff --git a/exercises/sum-of-multiples/description.md b/exercises/sum-of-multiples/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Given a number, find the sum of all the multiples of particular numbers up to but not including that number.
+Given a number, find the sum of all the multiples of particular numbers up to
+but not including that number.
 
 If we list all the natural numbers up to but not including 20 that are
 multiples of either 3 or 5, we get 3, 5, 6 and 9, 10, 12, 15, and 18.
diff --git a/exercises/tournament/description.md b/exercises/tournament/description.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-Tally the results of a small football competition. Based on an input file
-containing which team played against which and what the outcome was
-create a file with a table like this:
+Tally the results of a small football competition.
+
+Based on an input file containing which team played against which and what the
+outcome was, create a file with a table like this:
 
 ```
 Team                           | MP |  W |  D |  L |  P
diff --git a/exercises/transpose/description.md b/exercises/transpose/description.md
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-Take input text and output it transposed.
-
 Given an input text output it transposed.
 
 Roughly explained, the transpose of a matrix:
@@ -56,4 +54,4 @@ BE
 
 In general, all characters from the input should also be present in the transposed output.
 That means that if a column in the input text contains only spaces on its bottom-most row(s), 
-the corresponding output row should contain the spaces in its right-most column(s).
+the corresponding output row should contain the spaces in its right-most column(s).
diff --git a/exercises/trinary/description.md b/exercises/trinary/description.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-Convert a trinary number, represented as a string (e.g. '102012'), to its decimal equivalent using first principles.
+Convert a trinary number, represented as a string (e.g. '102012'), to its
+decimal equivalent using first principles.
 
 The program should consider strings specifying an invalid trinary as the
 value 0.
diff --git a/exercises/two-bucket/description.md b/exercises/two-bucket/description.md
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-Given two buckets of different size, demonstrate how to measure an exact number of liters.
-
 Given two buckets of different size, demonstrate how to measure an exact number of liters by strategically transferring liters of fluid between the buckets.
 
 Since this mathematical problem is fairly subject to interpretation / individual approach, the tests have been written specifically to expect one overarching solution.
@@ -27,4 +25,4 @@ To conclude, the only valid moves are:
 - emptying one bucket and doing nothing to the other
 - filling one bucket and doing nothing to the other
 
-Written with <3 at [Fullstack Academy](http://www.fullstackacademy.com/) by [Lindsay](http://lindsaylevine.com).
+Written with <3 at [Fullstack Academy](http://www.fullstackacademy.com/) by [Lindsay](http://lindsaylevine.com).
diff --git a/exercises/word-search/description.md b/exercises/word-search/description.md
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-Create a program to solve a word search puzzle.
-
 In word search puzzles you get a square of letters and have to find specific
 words in them.
 
@@ -23,5 +21,5 @@ There are several programming languages hidden in the above square.
 Words can be hidden in all kinds of directions: left-to-right, right-to-left,
 vertical and diagonal.
 
-Create a program that given a puzzle and a list of words returns the location
-of the first and last letter of each word.
+Given a puzzle and a list of words return the location of the first and last
+letter of each word.
diff --git a/exercises/zebra-puzzle/description.md b/exercises/zebra-puzzle/description.md
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Solve the zebra puzzle.
 
 Each of the five houses is painted a different color, and their
 inhabitants are of different national extractions, own different pets,
-drink different beverages and smoke different brands of cigarets.
+drink different beverages and smoke different brands of cigarettes.
 
 Which of the residents drinks water?
 Who owns the zebra?
