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Grokking the Coding Interview Patterns in JavaScript

Circular Array Loop

Explore how to detect cycles in a circular array where each element dictates movement steps forward or backward. Learn to apply fast and slow pointer methods to identify repeating sequences with consistent direction and length constraints. This lesson helps you implement efficient cycle detection algorithms relevant to coding interviews.

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Statement

There is a circular list of non-zero integers called nums. Each number in the list tells you how many steps to move forward or backward from your current position:

  • If nums[i] is positive, move nums[i] steps forward.

  • If nums[i] is negative, move nums[i] steps backward.

As the list is circular:

  • Moving forward from the last element takes you back to the first element.

  • Moving backward from the first element takes you to the last element.

A cycle in this list means:

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