Is Distance Between Bus Stops easy or hard?

Distance Between Bus Stops is categorized as an Easy problem on LeetCode with an acceptance rate above 50%. It mainly tests understanding of array traversal and recognizing that a circular path has exactly two possible routes between any two points.

How to solve Distance Between Bus Stops in O(n)?

Iterate through the distance array and compute two values: the total distance of the circular route and the distance between start and destination when traveling clockwise. The counterclockwise distance is total minus clockwise. Return the smaller of these two values. The array is scanned once, giving O(n) time complexity.

Distance Between Bus Stops Python or Java solution?

Both Python and Java implementations follow the same idea: iterate through the distance array, compute the clockwise segment, calculate the total distance, and return the minimum of clockwise and counterclockwise values. The logic remains identical across languages and runs in O(n) time with O(1) space.

What is the best approach for Distance Between Bus Stops?

The most efficient approach computes both possible paths between the two stops: the clockwise segment and the counterclockwise segment. First sum the distances between start and destination, then compute the total route distance and subtract the clockwise segment to get the alternative path. The result is the minimum of the two. This runs in O(n) time and O(1) space.

What data structure is used in Distance Between Bus Stops?

The primary data structure is an array that stores distances between adjacent bus stops. The algorithm iterates through this array and performs simple arithmetic operations to compute path lengths. No additional data structures are required.

What is the time complexity of Distance Between Bus Stops?

The optimal solution runs in O(n) time where n is the number of bus stops. The algorithm performs a single pass through the distance array to compute segment and total distances. Space complexity remains O(1) because only a few integer variables are used.

Is Distance Between Bus Stops asked at Google, Amazon, or Meta?

This problem represents a typical array traversal and circular path calculation question. Variants of circular distance and ring traversal problems appear in interviews at companies like Amazon and Google, especially in early algorithm rounds focused on arrays and basic logic.

Description Hints 1 Solution Video 6:46

1184. Distance Between Bus Stops

Easy56.7% acceptance2 companies

A bus has n stops numbered from 0 to n - 1 that form a circle. We know the distance between all pairs of neighboring stops where distance[i] is the distance between the stops number i and (i + 1) % n.

The bus goes along both directions i.e. clockwise and counterclockwise.

Return the shortest distance between the given start and destination stops.

Example 1:

Input: distance = [1,2,3,4], start = 0, destination = 1
Output: 1
Explanation: Distance between 0 and 1 is 1 or 9, minimum is 1.

Example 2:

Input: distance = [1,2,3,4], start = 0, destination = 2
Output: 3
Explanation: Distance between 0 and 2 is 3 or 7, minimum is 3.

Example 3:

Input: distance = [1,2,3,4], start = 0, destination = 3
Output: 4
Explanation: Distance between 0 and 3 is 6 or 4, minimum is 4.

Constraints:

1 <= n <= 10^4
distance.length == n
0 <= start, destination < n
0 <= distance[i] <= 10^4

Asked at 2 companies

Amazon

Google

Topics

Array

Hints open one at a time

Hint 1

Find the distance between the two stops if the bus moved in clockwise or counterclockwise directions.

6:46

Still stuck?Read 3 approaches, or watch a walkthrough.

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