Difference of Squares

Challenge Overview

Find the difference between the square of the sum and the sum of the squares of the first N natural numbers.

Visit the difference-of-squares exercise on Exercism to read the full instructions and download the exercise files.

Community Solutions

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The following are the top 3 community solutions by stars:

Solution 1 by @sepeth (⭐ 2) — View on Exercism
Solution 2 by @blackerby (⭐ 0) — View on Exercism
Solution 3 by @abcdefguan (⭐ 1) — View on Exercism

Source: Exercism ocaml/difference-of-squares

💡 View Solution

let square_of_sum n =
  let sum = n * (n + 1) / 2 in
  sum * sum

let sum_of_squares n =
  n * (n + 1) * (2 * n + 1) / 6

let difference_of_squares n =
  square_of_sum n - sum_of_squares n