14. K-way Merge
Problem 1: Merge k Sorted Lists (Leetcode:23)
Problem Statement
You are given an array of k
linked-lists lists
, each linked-list is sorted in ascending order.
Merge all the linked-lists into one sorted linked-list and return it.
Example 1:
Input: lists = [[1,4,5],[1,3,4],[2,6]]
Output: [1,1,2,3,4,4,5,6]
Explanation: The linked-lists are:
[
1->4->5,
1->3->4,
2->6
]
merging them into one sorted linked list:
1->1->2->3->4->4->5->6
Example 2:
Input: lists = []
Output: []
Example 3:
Input: lists = [[]]
Output: []
Constraints:
k == lists.length
0 <= k <= 104
0 <= lists[i].length <= 500
-104 <= lists[i][j] <= 104
lists[i]
is sorted in ascending order.- The sum of
lists[i].length
will not exceed104
.
Problem 2: Median of Two Sorted Arrays (Leetcode:4)
Problem Statement
Given two sorted arrays nums1
and nums2
of size m
and n
respectively, return the median of the two sorted arrays.
The overall run time complexity should be O(log (m+n))
.
Example 1:
Input: nums1 = [1,3], nums2 = [2]
Output: 2.00000
Explanation: merged array = [1,2,3] and median is 2.
Example 2:
Input: nums1 = [1,2], nums2 = [3,4]
Output: 2.50000
Explanation: merged array = [1,2,3,4] and median is (2 + 3) / 2 = 2.5.
Constraints:
nums1.length == m
nums2.length == n
0 <= m <= 1000
0 <= n <= 1000
1 <= m + n <= 2000
-106 <= nums1[i], nums2[i] <= 106
Problem 3: Kth Smallest Element in a Sorted Matrix (Leetcode:378)
Problem Statement
Given an n x n
matrix
where each of the rows and columns is sorted in ascending order, return the kth
smallest element in the matrix.
Note that it is the kth
smallest element in the sorted order, not the kth
distinct element.
You must find a solution with a memory complexity better than O(n2)
.
Example 1:
Input: matrix = [[1,5,9],[10,11,13],[12,13,15]], k = 8
Output: 13
Explanation: The elements in the matrix are [1,5,9,10,11,12,13,13,15], and the 8th smallest number is 13
Example 2:
Input: matrix = [[-5]], k = 1
Output: -5
Constraints:
n == matrix.length == matrix[i].length
1 <= n <= 300
-109 <= matrix[i][j] <= 109
- All the rows and columns of
matrix
are guaranteed to be sorted in non-decreasing order.1 <= k <= n2
Follow up:
- Could you solve the problem with a constant memory (i.e.,
O(1)
memory complexity)?- Could you solve the problem in
O(n)
time complexity? The solution may be too advanced for an interview but you may find reading this paper fun.
Problem 4: Smallest Range Covering Elements from K Lists (Leetcode:632)
Problem Statement
You have k
lists of sorted integers in non-decreasing order. Find the smallest range that includes at least one number from each of the k
lists.
We define the range [a, b]
is smaller than range [c, d]
if b - a < d - c
or a < c
if b - a == d - c
.
Example 1:
Input: nums = [[4,10,15,24,26],[0,9,12,20],[5,18,22,30]]
Output: [20,24]
Explanation:
List 1: [4, 10, 15, 24,26], 24 is in range [20,24].
List 2: [0, 9, 12, 20], 20 is in range [20,24].
List 3: [5, 18, 22, 30], 22 is in range [20,24].
Example 2:
Input: nums = [[1,2,3],[1,2,3],[1,2,3]]
Output: [1,1]
Constraints:
nums.length == k
1 <= k <= 3500
1 <= nums[i].length <= 50
-105 <= nums[i][j] <= 105
nums[i]
is sorted in non-decreasing order.
Problem 5: Find K Pairs with Smallest Sums (Leetcode:373)
Problem Statement
You are given two integer arrays nums1
and nums2
sorted in non-decreasing order and an integer k
.
Define a pair (u, v)
which consists of one element from the first array and one element from the second array.
Return the k
pairs (u1, v1), (u2, v2), ..., (uk, vk)
with the smallest sums.
Example 1:
Input: nums1 = [1,7,11], nums2 = [2,4,6], k = 3
Output: [[1,2],[1,4],[1,6]]
Explanation: The first 3 pairs are returned from the sequence: [1,2],[1,4],[1,6],[7,2],[7,4],[11,2],[7,6],[11,4],[11,6]
Example 2:
Input: nums1 = [1,1,2], nums2 = [1,2,3], k = 2
Output: [[1,1],[1,1]]
Explanation: The first 2 pairs are returned from the sequence: [1,1],[1,1],[1,2],[2,1],[1,2],[2,2],[1,3],[1,3],[2,3]
Constraints:
1 <= nums1.length, nums2.length <= 105
-109 <= nums1[i], nums2[i] <= 109
nums1
andnums2
both are sorted in non-decreasing order.1 <= k <= 104
k <= nums1.length * nums2.length
Problem 6: K-th Smallest Prime Fraction (Leetcode:786)
Problem Statement
You are given a sorted integer array arr
containing 1
and prime numbers, where all the integers of arr
are unique. You are also given an integer k
.
For every i
and j
where 0 <= i < j < arr.length
, we consider the fraction arr[i] / arr[j]
.
Return the kth
smallest fraction considered. Return your answer as an array of integers of size 2
, where answer[0] == arr[i]
and answer[1] == arr[j]
.
Example 1:
Input: arr = [1,2,3,5], k = 3
Output: [2,5]
Explanation: The fractions to be considered in sorted order are:
1/5, 1/3, 2/5, 1/2, 3/5, and 2/3.
The third fraction is 2/5.
Example 2:
Input: arr = [1,7], k = 1
Output: [1,7]
Constraints:
2 <= arr.length <= 1000
1 <= arr[i] <= 3 * 104
arr[0] == 1
arr[i]
is a prime number fori > 0
.- All the numbers of
arr
are unique and sorted in strictly increasing order.1 <= k <= arr.length * (arr.length - 1) / 2
Follow up: Can you solve the problem with better than O(n2)
complexity?
Problem 7: Super Ugly Number (Leetcode:313)
Problem Statement
A super ugly number is a positive integer whose prime factors are in the array primes
.
Given an integer n
and an array of integers primes
, return the nth
super ugly number.
The nth
super ugly number is guaranteed to fit in a 32-bit signed integer.
Example 1:
Input: n = 12, primes = [2,7,13,19]
Output: 32
Explanation: [1,2,4,7,8,13,14,16,19,26,28,32] is the sequence of the first 12 super ugly numbers given primes = [2,7,13,19].
Example 2:
Input: n = 1, primes = [2,3,5]
Output: 1
Explanation: 1 has no prime factors, therefore all of its prime factors are in the array primes = [2,3,5].
Constraints:
1 <= n <= 105
1 <= primes.length <= 100
2 <= primes[i] <= 1000
primes[i]
is guaranteed to be a prime number.- All the values of
primes
are unique and sorted in ascending order.