Search⌘ K
AI Features
Home
Courses
Decode the Coding Interview in Go: Real-World Examples

Spiral Matrix

Explore how to solve the spiral matrix problem by iterating over matrix layers in clockwise order using Go. Understand the layer-by-layer traversal method to extract elements efficiently and analyze its time and space complexity. This lesson equips you with a practical approach to handling complex matrix traversal challenges common in coding interviews.

We'll cover the following...

Description

Given an m * n matrix, you have to return all the matrix elements in spiral order. The spiral order signifies traversing the matrix in clockwise order.

Let’s review the spiral order below:

Coding exercise

Go (1.6.2)
package main
import (
  "fmt"
  "encoding/json"
)
func spiralOrder(matrix [][]int) []int{
    // Write your code here.
    return []int{}
}
Spiral Matrix

Solution

To solve this problem, we will use a layer by layer approach. In this approach, we iterate over the outer layers’ elements in clockwise order, followed by the inner layer’s elements.

For each layer, we will start from the top left corner and iterate over the elements in that layer. We define the top-left coordinates, say (r1, c1) and bottom-right coordinates, say (r2, c2).

As we explore the layers in clockwise order, we have to:

  1. Iterate the top row, (r1, c), where c ranges from c1 ...