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Odd Even Jump

You are given an integer array arr. From some starting index, you can make a series of jumps. The (1st, 3rd, 5th, ...) jumps in the series are called odd-numbered jumps, and the (2nd, 4th, 6th, ...) jumps in the series are called even-numbered jumps. Note that the jumps are numbered, not the indices.

You may jump forward from index i to index j (with i < j) in the following way:

  • During odd-numbered jumps (i.e., jumps 1, 3, 5, ...), you jump to the index j such that arr[i] <= arr[j] and arr[j] is the smallest possible value. If there are multiple such indices j, you can only jump to the smallest such index j.
  • During even-numbered jumps (i.e., jumps 2, 4, 6, ...), you jump to the index j such that arr[i] >= arr[j] and arr[j] is the largest possible value. If there are multiple such indices j, you can only jump to the smallest such index j.
  • It may be the case that for some index i, there are no legal jumps.

A starting index is good if, starting from that index, you can reach the end of the array (index arr.length - 1) by jumping some number of times (possibly 0 or more than once).

Return the number of good starting indices.

 

Example 1:

Input: arr = [10,13,12,14,15]
Output: 2
Explanation: 
From starting index i = 0, we can make our 1st jump to i = 2 (since arr[2] is the smallest among arr[1], arr[2], arr[3], arr[4] that is greater or equal to arr[0]), then we cannot jump any more.
From starting index i = 1 and i = 2, we can make our 1st jump to i = 3, then we cannot jump any more.
From starting index i = 3, we can make our 1st jump to i = 4, so we have reached the end.
From starting index i = 4, we have reached the end already.
In total, there are 2 different starting indices i = 3 and i = 4, where we can reach the end with some number of
jumps.

Example 2:

Input: arr = [2,3,1,1,4]
Output: 3
Explanation: 
From starting index i = 0, we make jumps to i = 1, i = 2, i = 3:
During our 1st jump (odd-numbered), we first jump to i = 1 because arr[1] is the smallest value in [arr[1], arr[2], arr[3], arr[4]] that is greater than or equal to arr[0].
During our 2nd jump (even-numbered), we jump from i = 1 to i = 2 because arr[2] is the largest value in [arr[2], arr[3], arr[4]] that is less than or equal to arr[1]. arr[3] is also the largest value, but 2 is a smaller index, so we can only jump to i = 2 and not i = 3
During our 3rd jump (odd-numbered), we jump from i = 2 to i = 3 because arr[3] is the smallest value in [arr[3], arr[4]] that is greater than or equal to arr[2].
We can't jump from i = 3 to i = 4, so the starting index i = 0 is not good.
In a similar manner, we can deduce that:
From starting index i = 1, we jump to i = 4, so we reach the end.
From starting index i = 2, we jump to i = 3, and then we can't jump anymore.
From starting index i = 3, we jump to i = 4, so we reach the end.
From starting index i = 4, we are already at the end.
In total, there are 3 different starting indices i = 1, i = 3, and i = 4, where we can reach the end with some
number of jumps.

Example 3:

Input: arr = [5,1,3,4,2]
Output: 3
Explanation: We can reach the end from starting indices 1, 2, and 4.

 

Constraints:

  • 1 <= arr.length <= 2 * 104
  • 0 <= arr[i] < 105

Problem Description

The problem asks to find the number of "good" starting indices in an integer array arr. A starting index is considered "good" if, starting from that index, you can reach the end of the array by making a series of jumps. The jumps alternate between "odd-numbered jumps" and "even-numbered jumps".

  • Odd-numbered jumps: Jump to the smallest index j such that arr[i] <= arr[j] and i < j.
  • Even-numbered jumps: Jump to the smallest index j such that arr[i] >= arr[j] and i < j.

Solution Explanation

The solution utilizes dynamic programming and a sorted map (or equivalent data structure) to efficiently determine the next jump index. Here's a breakdown:

1. Preprocessing:

  • We create a sorted map (TreeMap in Java, SortedDict in Python, map in C++, redblacktree in Go) to store the indices of array elements, sorted by their values. This allows for efficient lookup of the next jump index.

2. Dynamic Programming (with Memoization):

  • dfs(i, k) is a recursive function that determines whether it's possible to reach the end of the array from index i with jump type k (0 for even, 1 for odd).
  • g[i][k] stores the next jump index from index i using jump type k. It's pre-computed using the sorted map. A value of -1 indicates no valid jump.
  • f[i][k] is a memoization array that stores whether it's possible to reach the end from index i with jump type k. This avoids redundant calculations.

3. Main Logic:

  • The main part of the solution iterates through each starting index i and calls dfs(i, 1) (starting with an odd jump).
  • The count of starting indices for which dfs(i, 1) returns true is the answer.

Time Complexity: O(N log N)

The dominant operation is inserting and searching in the sorted map, which takes O(log N) time for each of the N elements.

Space Complexity: O(N)

The space is used by the memoization array f and the sorted map.

Code Explanation (Python)

class Solution:
    def oddEvenJumps(self, arr: List[int]) -> int:
        @cache  # This is Python's decorator for memoization
        def dfs(i: int, k: int) -> bool:
            if i == n - 1:
                return True
            if g[i][k] == -1:  # No valid jump
                return False
            return dfs(g[i][k], k ^ 1)  # Recursively check the next jump
 
        n = len(arr)
        g = [[0] * 2 for _ in range(n)]  # Stores the next jump index
        sd = SortedDict()  # Sorted dictionary to store indices
        for i in range(n - 1, -1, -1):
            # Find the next jump index using bisect_left (smallest >=) and bisect_right (largest <=)
            j = sd.bisect_left(arr[i])
            g[i][1] = sd.values()[j] if j < len(sd) else -1
            j = sd.bisect_right(arr[i]) - 1
            g[i][0] = sd.values()[j] if j >= 0 else -1
            sd[arr[i]] = i  # Add the current element to the sorted dictionary
        return sum(dfs(i, 1) for i in range(n)) # Count good starting indices
 

The other languages (Java, C++, Go) follow a very similar structure, with the primary differences being in the specific data structures and syntax used. The core logic of dynamic programming and efficient lookup using a sorted map remains consistent.