MergeSortedArray
Problem
Solution
To merge 2 sorted lists, pick the least element from the 2 lists and add
it to the result. Repeat until both of the input lists are empty. However, here
the result list is nums1
. Naively merging the lists into nums1
would
overwrite entries in nums1
that we still need to compare. To get around this,
shift the entries in nums1
to the end of the list, and then merge the lists.
Code
https://github.com/GeorgeRPu/tech-interview-prep/blob/main/solutions/MergeSortedArray.py
from typing import List
def merge(nums1: List[int], m: int, nums2: List[int], n: int):
"""Merge the n-length array ``nums2`` into the (m + n)-length array
``nums1``.
"""
# shift all the elements of nums1 to be flush with the end of the list
for i in range(m + n - 1, n - 1, -1):
nums1[i] = nums1[i - n]
for i in range(n):
nums1[i] = 0
# merge the two lists
i = 0
j = 0
while i < m and j < n:
if nums1[i + n] < nums2[j]:
nums1[i + j] = nums1[i + n]
i += 1
else:
nums1[i + j] = nums2[j]
j += 1
while i < m:
nums1[i + j] = nums1[i + n]
i += 1
while j < n:
nums1[i + j] = nums2[j]
j += 1
Test
>>> from MergeSortedArray import merge
>>> nums1 = [1, 2, 3, 0, 0, 0]
>>> nums2 = [2, 5, 6]
>>> merge(nums1, 3, nums2, 3)
>>> nums1
[1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 6]
>>> nums1 = [1]
>>> nums2 = []
>>> merge(nums1, 1, nums2, 0)
>>> nums1
[1]
>>> nums1 = [0]
>>> nums2 = [1]
>>> merge(nums1, 0, nums2, 1)
>>> nums1
[1]
Functions
|
Merge the n-length array |