How to Solve Count Hills and Valleys in an Array Leetcode Problem - Interview Coder Guide
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How to Solve Count Hills and Valleys in an Array Problem

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Easy#2316
LeetCode Problem

Count Hills and Valleys in an Array

You are given a 0-indexed integer array nums. An index i is part of a hill in nums if the closest non-equal neighbors of i are smaller than nums[i]. Similarly, an index i is part of a valley in nums i...

Array

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Problem Breakdown

Understanding the Count Hills and Valleys in an Array Problem

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Problem Statement

You are given a 0-indexed integer array nums. An index i is part of a hill in nums if the closest non-equal neighbors of i are smaller than nums[i]. Similarly, an index i is part of a valley in nums if the closest non-equal neighbors of i are larger than nums[i]. Adjacent indices i and j are part of the same hill or valley if nums[i] == nums[j]. Note that for an index to be part of a hill or valley, it must have a non-equal neighbor on both the left and right of the index. Return the number of hills and valleys in nums.

EasyProblem #2316
LeetCode

Count Hills and Valleys in an Array

Related Topics
Array
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Examples

Example 1
INPUT
nums = [2,4,1,1,6,5]
OUTPUT
3
EXPLANATION

At index 0: There is no non-equal neighbor of 2 on the left, so index 0 is neither a hill nor a valley. At index 1: The closest non-equal neighbors of 4 are 2 and 1. Since 4 > 2 and 4 > 1, index 1 is a hill. At index 2: The closest non-equal neighbors of 1 are 4 and 6. Since 1 < 4 and 1 < 6, index 2 is a valley. At index 3: The closest non-equal neighbors of 1 are 4 and 6. Since 1 < 4 and 1 < 6, index 3 is a valley, but note that it is part of the same valley as index 2. At index 4: The closest non-equal neighbors of 6 are 1 and 5. Since 6 > 1 and 6 > 5, index 4 is a hill. At index 5: There is no non-equal neighbor of 5 on the right, so index 5 is neither a hill nor a valley. There are 3 hills and valleys so we return 3.

Example 2
INPUT
nums = [6,6,5,5,4,1]
OUTPUT
0
EXPLANATION

At index 0: There is no non-equal neighbor of 6 on the left, so index 0 is neither a hill nor a valley. At index 1: There is no non-equal neighbor of 6 on the left, so index 1 is neither a hill nor a valley. At index 2: The closest non-equal neighbors of 5 are 6 and 4. Since 5 < 6 and 5 > 4, index 2 is neither a hill nor a valley. At index 3: The closest non-equal neighbors of 5 are 6 and 4. Since 5 < 6 and 5 > 4, index 3 is neither a hill nor a valley. At index 4: The closest non-equal neighbors of 4 are 5 and 1. Since 4 < 5 and 4 > 1, index 4 is neither a hill nor a valley. At index 5: There is no non-equal ne

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