An algorithm that sets in an MxN matrix the entire row and column to 0 if an element is 0.

zerome_out.go

/**
 * Problem: Write an algorithm such that if an element in an MxN matrix is 0, its entire row and column is set to 0.
 * Not a very elegant solution but it gets the job done on my way to learn go!
 */
// zerome_out.go
package main

import (
	"fmt"
)

func main() {
	matrix := [][]int{
		{1, 1, 2, 3, 4},
		{6, 7, 8, 1, 6},
		{4, 5, 0, 7, 9},
		{1, 2, 3, 4, 5},
		{3, 1, 5, 6, 1},
	}

	PrintMatrix(matrix)

	matrixWithZeros := ZeroMeOut(matrix)

	fmt.Println("=======================\n")

	PrintMatrix(matrixWithZeros)
}

func ZeroMeOut(matrix [][]int) [][]int {
	y := len(matrix)
	x := len(matrix[0])

	var zeroLocations [][]int

	// Find all the zeros in the matrix and save the position
	for i, row := range matrix {
		for j := range row {

			if matrix[i][j] == 0 {
				location := []int{i, j}
				zeroLocations = append(zeroLocations, location)
			}
		}
	}

	// Use the positions to turn the corresponding row and column to zeros
	for _, element := range zeroLocations {

		i := element[0]
		j := element[1]

		for column := 0; column < x; column++ {
			matrix[i][column] = 0
		}

		for row := 0; row < y; row++ {
			matrix[row][j] = 0
		}
	}

	return matrix
}

func PrintMatrix(matrix [][]int) {
	for _, row := range matrix {
		for _, value := range row {
			fmt.Print(int(value))
		}
		fmt.Println("\n")
	}
}