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2 | 2 |
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3 | 3 | ### Strategy (The "Why") |
4 | 4 |
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5 | | -**Restate the problem:** We need to find the minimum number of operations to make all array values equal to k. In each operation, we can select a valid integer h and set all values greater than h to h. A valid h means all values strictly greater than h are identical. |
| 5 | +**Restate the problem:** We need to make all array values equal to k using operations. In each operation, we can select a valid integer h and set all values greater than h to h. A valid integer h means all values strictly greater than h are identical. |
6 | 6 |
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7 | 7 | **1.1 Constraints & Complexity:** |
8 | | -- Input size: `1 <= nums.length <= 100`, `1 <= nums[i] <= 100`, `1 <= k <= 100` |
9 | | -- **Time Complexity:** O(n) where n is the length of nums, as we iterate through the array once to collect distinct values |
10 | | -- **Space Complexity:** O(n) in the worst case to store distinct values greater than k |
11 | | -- **Edge Case:** If any element is less than k, it's impossible to make all elements equal to k, so return -1 |
| 8 | +- Input size: `1 <= nums.length <= 100`, `1 <= nums[i] <= 100` |
| 9 | +- **Time Complexity:** O(n) where n is the length of nums, as we iterate once to find distinct values |
| 10 | +- **Space Complexity:** O(n) for the set storing distinct values greater than k |
| 11 | +- **Edge Case:** If any element is less than k, it's impossible to make all elements equal to k, so we return -1 |
12 | 12 |
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13 | 13 | **1.2 High-level approach:** |
14 | | -The key insight is that we need one operation for each distinct value greater than k. We can reduce values from highest to lowest, and each distinct value requires one operation. |
| 14 | +We count the number of distinct values greater than k. Each distinct value requires one operation to reduce it. The answer is simply the count of distinct values greater than k. |
15 | 15 |
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16 | | - |
| 16 | + |
17 | 17 |
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18 | 18 | **1.3 Brute force vs. optimized strategy:** |
19 | | -- **Brute Force:** Try all possible sequences of operations, which would be exponential. |
20 | | -- **Optimized Strategy:** Count the number of distinct values greater than k. This is exactly the number of operations needed, as we can reduce them one by one from highest to lowest. |
| 19 | +- **Brute Force:** Try all possible sequences of operations, which is exponential |
| 20 | +- **Optimized Strategy:** Recognize that we need one operation per distinct value greater than k, giving us O(n) time |
| 21 | +- **Emphasize the optimization:** We can directly count distinct values without simulating operations |
21 | 22 |
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22 | 23 | **1.4 Decomposition:** |
23 | 24 | 1. Check if any element is less than k (impossible case) |
24 | 25 | 2. Collect all distinct values that are greater than k |
25 | | -3. Return the count of distinct values, which equals the number of operations needed |
| 26 | +3. Count the number of distinct values |
| 27 | +4. Return the count as the minimum number of operations |
26 | 28 |
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27 | 29 | ### Steps (The "How") |
28 | 30 |
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29 | 31 | **2.1 Initialization & Example Setup:** |
30 | | -Let's use the example: `nums = [5, 2, 5, 4, 5]`, `k = 2` |
31 | | -- Initialize check for values less than k |
32 | | -- Initialize a set to collect distinct values greater than k |
| 32 | +Let's use the example: `nums = [5,2,5,4,5]`, `k = 2` |
| 33 | +- Initialize an empty set: `distinct_greater = set()` |
33 | 34 |
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34 | 35 | **2.2 Start Checking:** |
35 | | -We iterate through the array to check for impossible cases and collect distinct values. |
| 36 | +We iterate through each number in the array. |
36 | 37 |
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37 | 38 | **2.3 Trace Walkthrough:** |
38 | | -Using the example `nums = [5, 2, 5, 4, 5]`, `k = 2`: |
39 | 39 |
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40 | | -| Element | Is < k? | Is > k? | Distinct Set | Action | |
41 | | -|---------|---------|---------|--------------|--------| |
42 | | -| 5 | No | Yes | {5} | Add 5 | |
43 | | -| 2 | No | No | {5} | Skip | |
44 | | -| 5 | No | Yes | {5} | Already in set | |
45 | | -| 4 | No | Yes | {5, 4} | Add 4 | |
46 | | -| 5 | No | Yes | {5, 4} | Already in set | |
47 | | - |
48 | | -After processing: distinct values > k = {5, 4}, count = 2 |
| 40 | +| Number | Is > k? | Add to Set? | distinct_greater | |
| 41 | +|--------|---------|-------------|------------------| |
| 42 | +| 5 | Yes | Yes | {5} | |
| 43 | +| 2 | No | No | {5} | |
| 44 | +| 5 | Yes | No (already in set) | {5} | |
| 45 | +| 4 | Yes | Yes | {5, 4} | |
| 46 | +| 5 | Yes | No (already in set) | {5, 4} | |
49 | 47 |
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50 | 48 | **2.4 Increment and Loop:** |
51 | | -For each element greater than k, we add it to our set of distinct values. The loop continues until all elements are processed. |
| 49 | +After processing all numbers, we have `distinct_greater = {5, 4}`. |
52 | 50 |
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53 | 51 | **2.5 Return Result:** |
54 | | -The result is the number of distinct values greater than k, which is 2. This means we need 2 operations: first reduce 5 to 4, then reduce 4 to 2. |
| 52 | +The count of distinct values greater than k is 2, so we need 2 operations. First operation with h=4 reduces 5 to 4, second operation with h=2 reduces 4 to 2. The result is 2. |
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