LeetCode 160. Intersection of Two Linked Lists

Description

https://leetcode.com/problems/intersection-of-two-linked-lists/

Write a program to find the node at which the intersection of two singly linked lists begins.

For example, the following two linked lists:

begin to intersect at node c1.

Example 1:

Input: intersectVal = 8, listA = [4,1,8,4,5], listB = [5,0,1,8,4,5], skipA = 2, skipB = 3
Output: Reference of the node with value = 8
Input Explanation: The intersected node's value is 8 (note that this must not be 0 if the two lists intersect). From the head of A, it reads as [4,1,8,4,5]. From the head of B, it reads as [5,0,1,8,4,5]. There are 2 nodes before the intersected node in A; There are 3 nodes before the intersected node in B.

Example 2:

Input: intersectVal = 2, listA = [0,9,1,2,4], listB = [3,2,4], skipA = 3, skipB = 1
Output: Reference of the node with value = 2
Input Explanation: The intersected node's value is 2 (note that this must not be 0 if the two lists intersect). From the head of A, it reads as [0,9,1,2,4]. From the head of B, it reads as [3,2,4]. There are 3 nodes before the intersected node in A; There are 1 node before the intersected node in B.

Example 3:

Input: intersectVal = 0, listA = [2,6,4], listB = [1,5], skipA = 3, skipB = 2
Output: null
Input Explanation: From the head of A, it reads as [2,6,4]. From the head of B, it reads as [1,5]. Since the two lists do not intersect, intersectVal must be 0, while skipA and skipB can be arbitrary values.
Explanation: The two lists do not intersect, so return null.

Notes:

  • If the two linked lists have no intersection at all, return null.
  • The linked lists must retain their original structure after the function returns.
  • You may assume there are no cycles anywhere in the entire linked structure.
  • Your code should preferably run in O(n) time and use only O(1) memory.

Explanation

Find from the second list which node exists in the first list

Python Solution

# Definition for singly-linked list.
# class ListNode:
#     def __init__(self, x):
#         self.val = x
#         self.next = None

class Solution:
    def getIntersectionNode(self, headA: ListNode, headB: ListNode) -> ListNode:
        
        visited = set()
        
        while headA != None:            
            visited.add(headA)
            headA = headA.next

        while headB != None:            
            if headB in visited:
                return headB
            headB = headB.next
        
        return None
      
  • Time complexity: O(N).
  • Space complexity: O(1).

3 Thoughts to “LeetCode 160. Intersection of Two Linked Lists”

  1. /** Java solution ***

    public ListNode getIntersectionNode(ListNode headA, ListNode headB) {

    if (headA == null || headB == null) return null;

    int lenA = getLength(headA), lenB = getLength(headB);

    if (lenA > lenB) {
    for (int i = 0; i < lenA – lenB; ++i) headA = headA.next;
    } else {
    for (int i = 0; i < lenB – lenA; ++i) headB = headB.next;
    }
    while (headA != null && headB != null && headA != headB) {
    headA = headA.next;
    headB = headB.next;
    }
    return (headA != null && headB != null) ? headA : null;
    }
    public int getLength(ListNode head) {
    int cnt = 0;
    while (head != null) {
    ++cnt;
    head = head.next;
    }
    return cnt;
    }

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