Find The Duplicate Number
Detailed guide and Python implementation for the 'Find The Duplicate Number' problem.
Problem Statement
Given an array of integers nums containing n + 1 integers where each integer is in the range [1, n] inclusive.
There is only one repeated number in nums, return this repeated number.
You must solve the problem without modifying the array nums and using only constant extra space.
Implement a function findDuplicate(nums: list) -> int that returns the duplicate number.
- •1 <= n <= 100000
- •nums.length == n + 1
- •1 <= nums[i] <= n
- •There is only one repeated number in nums, but it could be repeated more than once
Examples
[1,3,4,2,2]
2
The duplicate number is 2. It appears twice in the array.
[3,1,3,4,2]
3
The duplicate number is 3. It appears twice in the array.
[3,3,3,3,3]
3
The duplicate number is 3. It appears five times.
Need a Hint?
Edge Cases to Watch
- Empty input structures
- Single element inputs
- Large numerical bounds
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