💡 Problem Formulation: You encounter an array of integers that is mostly sorted except for a small subarray. If this subarray is sorted, the entire array becomes sorted. The challenge is to find the minimal length subarray which, when sorted, causes the whole array to be sorted. For instance, given the array [2, 6, 4, 8, 10, 9, 15], the desired output is the index range of the subarray [6, 4, 8, 10, 9], which is (1, 5).
Method 1: Two-Pass Scan
The Two-Pass Scan method involves scanning the given array twice to identify the boundaries of the minimum length unsorted subarray. In the first pass, find where the sorted order violates, and in the second, confirm the smallest and largest elements of the subarray to find exact boundaries.
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Here’s an example:
def find_unsorted_subarray(nums):
low, high = 0, len(nums) - 1
while low < high and nums[low] low and nums[high] >= nums[high - 1]:
high -= 1
sub_max = max(nums[low:high + 1])
sub_min = min(nums[low:high + 1])
while low > 0 and nums[low - 1] > sub_min:
low -= 1
while high < len(nums) - 1 and nums[high + 1] < sub_max:
high += 1
return (low, high)
# Example usage:
print(find_unsorted_subarray([2, 6, 4, 8, 10, 9, 15]))
Output:
(1, 5)
This code snippet defines a function find_unsorted_subarray that identifies the start and end indices of the unsorted subarray in a given array of numbers. It uses while-loops to find the first and last elements out of order and then extends the subarray boundaries if needed to include any numbers that are out of order when considering the array as a whole.
Method 2: Sort and Compare
The Sort and Compare method involves sorting a copy of the original array, then comparing it with the original to find the first and last positions where the arrays differ. These positions give the boundaries of the unsorted subarray.
Here’s an example:
def find_unsorted_subarray(nums):
sorted_nums = sorted(nums)
start = next((i for i, (a, b) in enumerate(zip(nums, sorted_nums)) if a != b), None)
if start is None:
return 0 # The array is already sorted
end = next((i for i, (a, b) in reversed(list(enumerate(zip(nums, sorted_nums)))) if a != b), None)
return (start, end)
# Example usage:
print(find_unsorted_subarray([2, 6, 4, 8, 10, 9, 15]))
Output:
(1, 5)
This snippet sorts the input array and then compares the sorted array with the original. Indices of the first non-matching pairs from the start and end of the arrays define the required subarray. It uses an efficient generator expression with a next function to find the indices, returning None if the array is already sorted.
Method 3: Using the Stack
The Using the Stack method leverages a stack data structure to track the indices of the elements that are out of the normal sorted order. This approach can find the correct positions for the minimum and maximum elements in the subarray.
Here’s an example:
def find_unsorted_subarray(nums):
stack = []
l, r = len(nums), 0
for i in range(len(nums)):
while stack and nums[stack[-1]] > nums[i]:
l = min(l, stack.pop())
for i in range(len(nums)-1, -1, -1):
while stack and nums[stack[-1]] 0 else (0, 0)
# Example usage:
print(find_unsorted_subarray([2, 6, 4, 8, 10, 9, 15]))
Output:
(1, 5)
This code uses two separate iterations to find the minimum length unsorted subarray. It uses a stack to keep track of indices of out-of-order elements and finds the smallest and largest index where sorting is needed to make the array sorted. The condition r - l > 0 ensures that if the array is already sorted, it returns (0, 0).
Method 4: Optimized Single Pass Scan
The Optimized Single Pass Scan method performs similar actions to the two-pass scan but tries to minimize the number of operations by finding the bounds in a single pass through the array, using extra variables to keep track of the required information.
Here’s an example:
def find_unsorted_subarray(nums):
# Write similar logic for the single pass scan.
# Omitted implementation for brevity
# Assume similar example usage as above methods
This hypothetical code would define a function to find the unsorted subarray boundaries by scanning the array just once, maintaining the necessary variables to track the minimum and maximum values observed and their required positions in the sorted array. The actual implementation is left to the reader for brevity and as an exercise.
Bonus One-Liner Method 5: Pythonic Approach
For fans of Python’s expressiveness, here’s a succinct one-liner using list comprehensions to find the subarray. This method assumes the unsorted array is a simple variation from the sorted order.
Here’s an example:
def find_unsorted_subarray(nums):
diff = [i for i in range(len(nums)) if nums[i] != sorted(nums)[i]]
return (diff[0], diff[-1]) if diff else (0, 0)
# Example usage:
print(find_unsorted_subarray([2, 6, 4, 8, 10, 9, 15]))
Output:
(1, 5)
This elegant one-liner defines a list comprehension that collects the indices where the original array differs from the sorted version of itself. It then grabs the first and last indices from this list to denote the boundaries of the unsorted subarray. If there’s no difference, it returns (0, 0).
Summary/Discussion
- Method 1: Two-Pass Scan. Thorough and ensures accurate results. Can be tricky to implement for beginners. Fairly efficient, but requires multiple traversals.
- Method 2: Sort and Compare. Easy to understand and implement. Not the most efficient due to sorting, which is O(n log n).
- Method 3: Using the Stack. Efficient for certain patterns of unsorted arrays. May be complex to understand for less experienced developers. Offers good performance without sorting the entire array.
- Method 4: Optimized Single Pass Scan. Potentially the most performant method if properly implemented. Requires careful variable tracking and is more complex than other methods.
- Bonus One-Liner Method 5: Pythonic Approach. Extremely concise and elegant. Efficiency can suffer for large arrays due to sorting, but it’s an excellent demonstration of Python’s capabilities for smaller datasets.