Coding questions · Microsoft
Find all balanced k in a permutation
This question evaluates understanding of permutations, array range reasoning, index mapping, and efficient algorithm design for detecting contiguous subarrays that exactly contain the prefix set {1..k}.
You are given a permutation of length containing each integer from to exactly once.
For each where , determine whether there exists a contiguous subarray of whose elements are exactly the set (in any order).
- If such a subarray exists, call balanced.
- Output a binary string of length where (1-based) is
'1'if is balanced, otherwise'0'.
Input
- Integer
- Array of length , a permutation of
Output
- A string of length consisting of
'0'and'1'
Notes / expectations
- Aim for an efficient algorithm (e.g., or ), not enumerating all subarrays.
Find All Balanced k in a Permutation
Constraints
- 1 <= n <= 2 * 10^5
- p is a permutation of the integers from 1 to n
Examples
Example 1
Input: (5, [3, 1, 2, 5, 4])
Output: '11101'
Explanation: For k = 1, 2, and 3, the positions of {1..k} form contiguous segments. For k = 4 they do not. For k = 5, the whole array works.
Example 2
Input: (5, [2, 1, 4, 3, 5])
Output: '11011'
Explanation: The sets {1}, {1,2}, {1,2,3,4}, and {1,2,3,4,5} each occupy contiguous positions, but {1,2,3} does not.
Hints
- Instead of checking every subarray, think about where each value 1, 2, ..., k appears in the permutation.
- For a fixed k, the values 1 through k form a valid contiguous subarray exactly when their minimum and maximum positions span a segment of length k.