Is Shortest Distance in a Plane easy or hard?

Shortest Distance in a Plane is rated Medium difficulty. The math is straightforward, but the challenge is writing the correct SQL self join and ensuring duplicate point pairs are not counted twice.

Shortest Distance in a Plane Python/Java solution

On LeetCode this problem is categorized under Database, so the expected solution is written in SQL (typically MySQL). In general programming languages like Python or Java, the equivalent approach would iterate over all point pairs and compute Euclidean distance, which also runs in O(n^2) time.

How to solve Shortest Distance in a Plane in O(n)?

An O(n) SQL solution is not feasible for this schema because the database must compare distances between pairs of points. Without spatial indexing or specialized geometric structures, the query requires evaluating all pairs, which leads to O(n^2) complexity.

What is the best approach for Shortest Distance in a Plane?

The best approach uses a self join that compares each point with only one ordered set of other points. By enforcing a condition such as p1.x < p2.x OR (p1.x = p2.x AND p1.y < p2.y), the query evaluates every unique pair once. The distance is computed using the Euclidean formula and the minimum value is returned with MIN().

Is Shortest Distance in a Plane asked at Google/Amazon/Meta?

SQL problems involving self joins, pair comparisons, and aggregation are common in database interview rounds at companies like Amazon and Meta. While this exact problem may vary, the join and aggregation pattern appears frequently in analytics and data engineering interviews.

What data structure is used in Shortest Distance in a Plane?

The problem operates directly on a relational database table. The main mechanism is a SQL self join that pairs rows from the same table and calculates distances using mathematical expressions.

What is the time complexity of Shortest Distance in a Plane?

The time complexity is O(n^2) because every pair of points must be compared to determine the smallest distance. Even with optimized join conditions that remove duplicates, the algorithm still evaluates roughly n*(n-1)/2 pairs.

612. Shortest Distance in a Plane - Practice Online

Q: Is Shortest Distance in a Plane asked at Google/Amazon/Meta?

SQL problems involving self joins, pair comparisons, and aggregation are common in database interview rounds at companies like Amazon and Meta. While this exact problem may vary, the join and aggregation pattern appears frequently in analytics and data engineering interviews.

Q: What data structure is used in Shortest Distance in a Plane?

The problem operates directly on a relational database table. The main mechanism is a SQL self join that pairs rows from the same table and calculates distances using mathematical expressions.

Q: What is the time complexity of Shortest Distance in a Plane?

The time complexity is O(n^2) because every pair of points must be compared to determine the smallest distance. Even with optimized join conditions that remove duplicates, the algorithm still evaluates roughly n*(n-1)/2 pairs.

Table: Point2D

+-------------+------+
| Column Name | Type |
+-------------+------+
| x           | int  |
| y           | int  |
+-------------+------+
(x, y) is the primary key column (combination of columns with unique values) for this table.
Each row of this table indicates the position of a point on the X-Y plane.

The distance between two points p₁(x₁, y₁) and p₂(x₂, y₂) is sqrt((x₂ - x₁)² + (y₂ - y₁)²).

Write a solution to report the shortest distance between any two points from the Point2D table. Round the distance to two decimal points.

The result format is in the following example.

Example 1:

Input: 
Point2D table:
+----+----+
| x  | y  |
+----+----+
| -1 | -1 |
| 0  | 0  |
| -1 | -2 |
+----+----+
Output: 
+----------+
| shortest |
+----------+
| 1.00     |
+----------+
Explanation: The shortest distance is 1.00 from point (-1, -1) to (-1, 2).