You are given an integer array, nums, and an integer, val. Your task is to remove all occurrences of val from nums in place, meaning no additional memory allocation should be used. The relative order of the elements in the array may be changed. After modifying the array, return the number of elements that are not equal to val.

Let $k$ represent the number of elements in nums that are not equal to val. To successfully solve this problem, you need to ensure the following:

• Modify the array, nums, such that the first $k$ elements contain values that are not equal to val.

• The remaining elements in the array do not matter, and the size of nums is irrelevant after the first $k$ elements.

• Return the value of $k$.

Constraints:

• $0 \leq$ nums.length $\leq 100$

• $0 \leq$ nums[i] $\leq 50$

• $0 \leq$ val $\leq 100$

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:

We have a game for you to play. Rearrange the logical building blocks to develop a clearer understanding of how to solve this problem.

Implement your solution in the following coding playground.