Back to Practice Dashboard
Top 150 InterviewEasy

Permutations

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

Problem Statement

Easy

Given an array nums of distinct integers, return all the possible permutations. You can return the answer in any order.

Implement a function permute(nums: list) -> list.

Constraints
  • 1 <= nums.length <= 6
  • -10 <= nums[i] <= 10
  • All the integers of nums are unique

Examples

Example 1
Input
[1,2,3]
Output
[[1,2,3],[1,3,2],[2,1,3],[2,3,1],[3,1,2],[3,2,1]]
Explanation

All 3! = 6 permutations of [1,2,3] are generated.

Example 2
Input
[0,1]
Output
[[0,1],[1,0]]
Explanation

All 2! = 2 permutations of [0,1] are generated.

Example 3
Input
[1]
Output
[[1]]
Explanation

Only one permutation exists for a single element.

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

Ready to Solve?

Open the problem in PyRun's browser-based Python editor. Your code runs fully offline — no server required.

Open in Editor