Kth Smallest Number in M Sorted Lists
Explore how to apply the K-way merge pattern to merge and sort multiple sorted integer lists. Learn to identify the kth smallest element across all lists, including duplicates, and handle edge cases such as empty lists or when k exceeds total elements. This lesson equips you to implement efficient solutions for merging sorted data.
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Statement
Given a list, lists, containing k, find the
Even if some values appear multiple times across the lists, each occurrence is treated as a unique element when determining the
If k exceeds the total number of elements across all lists, return the largest element among them. If the lists are empty, return 0.
Constraints:
-
lists[i].length -
lists[i][j] -
k
Examples
Understand the problem
Let’s take a moment to make sure you’ve correctly understood the problem. The quiz below helps you check if you’re solving the correct problem:
Smallest Number in Sorted Lists
What is the output if the following lists and the value of k are given as input?
list1 = [1, 4, 5]
list2 = [4, 7, 8]
list3 = [2, 6, 9]
k = 5
7
5
6
Figure it out!
We have a game for you to play. Rearrange the logical building blocks to develop a clearer understanding of how to solve this problem.
Try it yourself
Implement your solution in main.go in the following coding playground. We have provided a useful code template in the other file that you may build on to solve this problem.
package mainfunc kSmallestNumber(lists [][]int, k int) int {// Replace this placeholder return statement with your codereturn -1}