What is the optimal time complexity of solving Kth Largest Element In Array?

The optimized solution achieves a time complexity of O(n) by using sorting, mathematical shortcuts, or hash table lookups.

What is the auxiliary space complexity for Kth Largest Element In Array?

The space complexity is O(1) since we only use a minimal/constant amount of extra memory for tracking variables (or auxiliary space if dynamic structures are allocated).

What are the typical edge cases we must handle in Kth Largest Element In Array?

Key edge cases include empty collections, negative or large bounds causing integer overflow, arrays with only one element, or inputs where target criteria are not met.

How can we optimize the brute force approach for Kth Largest Element In Array?

Brute force methods often inspect all possible combinations. We optimize this by sorting the input list to enable binary search, or tracking processed items in a set to avoid redundant nested loop lookups.

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Kth Largest Element In Array

Learn how to solve the 'Kth Largest Element In Array' problem. This detailed resource details brute force and optimized approaches.

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Problem Statement

Easy

Given an integer array nums and an integer k, return the kth largest element in the array.

Note that it is the kth largest element in the sorted order, not the kth distinct element.

Can you solve it in O(n) complexity?

Write a function findKthLargest(nums: List[int], k: int) -> int.

Constraints

•1 <= k <= len(nums) <= 10^5
•-10^4 <= nums[i] <= 10^4

Examples

Example 1

Input

nums = [3,2,1,5,6,4], k = 2

Output

Explanation

The sorted array is [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The 2nd largest element is 5.

Example 2

Input

nums = [3,2,3,1,2,4,5,5,6], k = 4

Output

Explanation

The sorted array is [1,2,2,3,3,4,5,5,6]. The 4th largest element is 4.

Need a Hint?

Analyze the input constraints. Try sorting first (O(n log n)) or using a hash map/set to track seen elements in O(n) time.

Edge Cases to Watch

Empty list or null input variables
Single item lists/arrays
Extremely large input bounds causing integer or stack overflow

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