ndim.hhs

/**
 * @author Jason Reynolds
 * @param - input - the matrix or tensor or list to enter to verify the dimension of 
 * @returns a number, that is the dimension of the structure. for example a 2d array is 2 dimensions. a list is 1 dim, a 3d array (tensor) is 3 dim, etc
 * 
 * Function that takes in a structure namely a list, matrix, or tensor and returns the dimension of said structure
 */




function ndim(input) {

    *import math: is_number
    *import math: shape
    *import math: deep_copy

    if (arguments.length !== 1) {
        throw new Error('Exception occurred in ndim - wrong argument number');
    }

    //declare raw_in to be a clone of input or input itself depending on whether its a Mat/Tensor or not, respectively
    let in_type = (input instanceof Mat || input instanceof Tensor)
    let raw_in = (in_type) ? input.clone() : deep_copy(input);

    //if the input is... an array OR an instance of Mat OR an instance of Tensor (covers all grounds here) then do the algorithm
    if (Array.isArray(input) || (input instanceof Mat) || (input instanceof Tensor)) {

        //degrade to JS array if Tensor or Mat object 

        /***not even this is necessary since shape() handles it***/

        if (input instanceof Mat || input instanceof Tensor) {
            raw_in = raw_in.val;
        }

        return (shape(raw_in).length);
        /********* I think this is all unnecessary and we can simply have shape() which gives us the length of each dimension, and then find the
         * length of shape aka THE #dimensions. 
        
        //initalize dims empty
        let dims = [];
        let max_i = max(shape(raw_in));
        if (input instanceof Tensor) {
            max_i = max(raw_in.shape)
        }
        //do this for the number of loops necessary
        for (let i = 0; i < max_i; i++) {
            //push an item into dims to increase the size, reflecting that its a higher dimension
            dims.push(raw_in.length);
            //decrease the dimension of the array/Mat/Tensor by 1 by assigning it to the first row of the array (ex; [[2,3],[4,5]] --> [2,3])
            if (Array.isArray(raw_in[0])) {
                raw_in = raw_in[0];
            }
            //if the loop has reached its limit and its no longer an array but a number, break
            else {
                break;
            }
        } */

        //return the size of dims, i.e. the number of elements pushed or the number of times we decreased the dimension + 1
        //return dims.length;
    }


    //if its a number just return 0;
    else if (is_number(input)) {
        return 0;
    }

    //should it be null? nothing? throw error? NaN?
    else {
        throw new Error('Exception occurred in ndim - incorrect structure provided as input');
    }
}