Contains Duplicate

Problem Link

Problem Statement

Given an integer array nums, return true if any value appears at least twice in the array, and return false if every element is distinct.

Example 1:

Input: nums =

Output: true

Example 2:

Input: nums =

Output: false

Example 3:

Input: nums =

Output: true

Solutions:

1. Brute force

Given that we have an array of elements to identify if a given element is duplicated, we will compare the element with the rest of the array and this needs to be done for all the elements in the array.

Time complexity: O(n^2) Space Complexity: O(1)

Code: 

var a []int
for i := range a { // select an element `e`
	// check through the remaining array for occurrence of `e`
	for j := i+1; j< len(a); j++ { 
		if a[i] == a[j] { // if it occurs then array contains duplicate
			return true
		}
	}
}

return false // all elements are distinct

2. Sorting

Here we will sort the array first, thus given an array

after sorting we will get

, Now we iterate over the array and just check the adjacent elements are same or not as they will now be grouped together after sorting.

Time complexity: O(nlogn) (sorting takes O(nlogn), iteration takes O(n))
Space complexity: O(1)

var a []int

sort.Ints(a) //check sort pkg

for i := 0; i<len(a)-1; i++ {
	if a[i] == a[i+1]{
		return true
	}
}

return false

3. Hash Map

Given that we need to identify how many times a distinct element occurs, hash map is an ideal way to do this. Because of the property that the key of a map is unique. Accessing the key is O(1) as well.

Time complexity: O(n) 

Space Complexity: O(m) where m is the number of unique elements (m ≤n)

Code:
 

var a []int
m := make(map[int]struct{})

for i := range a {
	_, exists := m[a[i]] // check if the key already exists in the map
	// if so then this is the 2nd time we are encountering this element
	if exists {
		return true
	}
	
	m[a[i]] = struct{}{}
}

return false

Check https://dave.cheney.net/2014/03/25/the-empty-struct for more info on empty struct.

Thank you for reading through, let me know if you have any feedback.

• Basic
• Data Structure
• Hash Map
• Introduction