Min Cost Climbing Stairs
Detailed guide and Python implementation for the 'Min Cost Climbing Stairs' problem.
1. Concept Overview
The 'Min Cost Climbing Stairs' problem is a key challenge in the 1D DP section.
This implementation focuses on medium-level logic in Python.
We prioritize technical accuracy and code readability in our provided solutions.
2. Real-World Applications
3. Visual Intuition
Visualizing the logic flow for Min Cost Climbing Stairs.
4. Prerequisites
5. Step-by-Step Thinking
1. Understand the problem
Read the problem statement for Min Cost Climbing Stairs carefully.
2. Formulate brute force
Draft a simple iterative solution.
3. Identify inefficiency
Look for redundant calculations.
4. Optimize search path
Use hashing or sorting to speed up the process.
5. Final Implementation
Clean up the code for production standards.
Problem Statement
You are given an integer array cost where cost[i] is the cost of ith step on a staircase. Once you pay the cost, you can either climb one or two steps.
You can either start from the step with index 0, or the step with index 1.
Return the minimum cost to reach the top of the floor.
Write a function minCostClimbingStairs(cost: List[int]) -> int.
- •2 <= len(cost) <= 1000
- •0 <= cost[i] <= 999
Examples
cost = [10,15,20]
15
Start at index 1, pay 15, and climb to the top. Total is 15.
cost = [1,100,1,1,1,100,1,1,100,1]
6
Start at index 0, pay 1, climb to 2, pay 1, climb to 4, pay 1, climb to 6, pay 1, climb to 7, pay 1, climb to 9, pay 1, climb to top. Total is 6.
Need a Hint?
Edge Cases to Watch
- Empty input structures
- Single element inputs
- Large numerical bounds
Ready to Solve?
Open the problem in PyRun's browser-based Python editor. Your code runs fully offline — no server required.
Interview Insights & Variations
Complexity Analysis Breakdown
Why Time: Directly evaluates all possibilities.
Why Space: Uses standard local memory.
Why Time: Optimized paths reduce total operations.
Why Space: May trade memory for speed.
Optimized Solution Python Code
Optimized Solution Python Code
def min_cost_climbing_stairs_opt(cost):
cost.append(0)
for i in range(len(cost) - 3, -1, -1):
cost[i] += min(cost[i + 1], cost[i + 2])
return min(cost[0], cost[1])Brute Force Code (Spoiler Guarded)
Brute Force Code (Spoiler Guarded)
def min_cost_climbing_stairs_brute(cost):
def solve(i):
if i >= len(cost): return 0
return cost[i] + min(solve(i + 1), solve(i + 2))
return min(solve(0), solve(1))Algorithm Pattern Checklist
When dealing with 1D DP data patterns.
Core Prerequisites
Revision Key Notes
Common Mistakes & Pitfalls
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