Is Minimum Common Value easy or hard?

Minimum Common Value is categorized as an Easy problem. The core idea is recognizing that both arrays are sorted and applying a two-pointer traversal. Once that pattern is identified, the implementation is straightforward.

Minimum Common Value Python/Java solution

Most implementations follow the same logic across languages. In Python or Java, use two indices to traverse the arrays while comparing values. If elements match, return the value; otherwise move the pointer with the smaller element.

How to solve Minimum Common Value in O(n)?

Traverse both sorted arrays simultaneously using two pointers. Compare the current elements and advance the pointer pointing to the smaller value. When both values are equal, return that value as the minimum common element. This produces O(n + m) time complexity with constant space.

What is the best approach for Minimum Common Value?

The two-pointer technique is the best approach because both arrays are already sorted. Start pointers at the beginning of each array and move the pointer pointing to the smaller value until both values match. This method runs in O(n + m) time and uses O(1) extra space, which is optimal.

Is Minimum Common Value asked at Google/Amazon/Meta?

Problems involving two-pointer scanning and set intersection frequently appear in interviews at companies like Amazon, Google, and Meta. Variations of this problem test your ability to exploit sorted arrays and choose the correct data structure for membership checks.

What data structure is used in Minimum Common Value?

The optimal solution mainly uses pointer indices on arrays. An alternative solution uses a HashSet to store elements from one array and check membership while iterating through the other. The choice depends on whether you prioritize memory efficiency or implementation simplicity.

What is the time complexity of Minimum Common Value?

The optimal solution using the two-pointer technique runs in O(n + m) time, where n and m are the lengths of the two arrays. Each pointer moves forward at most once through its array. The space complexity is O(1).

Description Hints 2 Solution Video 9:48

2540. Minimum Common Value

Easy60.9% acceptance3 companies

Given two integer arrays nums1 and nums2, sorted in non-decreasing order, return the minimum integer common to both arrays. If there is no common integer amongst nums1 and nums2, return -1.

Note that an integer is said to be common to nums1 and nums2 if both arrays have at least one occurrence of that integer.

Example 1:

Input: nums1 = [1,2,3], nums2 = [2,4]
Output: 2
Explanation: The smallest element common to both arrays is 2, so we return 2.

Example 2:

Input: nums1 = [1,2,3,6], nums2 = [2,3,4,5]
Output: 2
Explanation: There are two common elements in the array 2 and 3 out of which 2 is the smallest, so 2 is returned.

Constraints: