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Non Overlapping Intervals

Learn how to solve the 'Non Overlapping Intervals' problem. This detailed resource details brute force and optimized approaches.

Problem Statement

Easy

Given an array of intervals intervals where intervals[i] = [starti, endi], return the minimum number of intervals you need to remove to make the rest of the intervals non-overlapping.

Write a function eraseOverlapIntervals(intervals: List[List[int]]) -> int.

Constraints
  • 1 <= len(intervals) <= 10^5
  • intervals[i].length == 2
  • -5 * 10^4 <= starti < endi <= 5 * 10^4

Examples

Example 1
Input
intervals = [[1,2],[2,3],[3,4],[1,3]]
Output
1
Explanation

[1,3] can be removed and the rest are non-overlapping.

Example 2
Input
intervals = [[1,2],[1,2],[1,2]]
Output
2
Explanation

Remove two [1,2] to make the rest non-overlapping.

Example 3
Input
intervals = [[1,2],[2,3]]
Output
0
Explanation

Already non-overlapping.

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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