LeetCode in Python

42. Trapping Rain Water

Hard

Given n non-negative integers representing an elevation map where the width of each bar is 1, compute how much water it can trap after raining.

Example 1:

Input: height = [0,1,0,2,1,0,1,3,2,1,2,1]

Output: 6

Explanation: The above elevation map (black section) is represented by array [0,1,0,2,1,0,1,3,2,1,2,1]. In this case, 6 units of rain water (blue section) are being trapped.

Example 2:

Input: height = [4,2,0,3,2,5]

Output: 9

Constraints:

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

To solve the “Trapping Rain Water” problem efficiently, you can use a two-pointer approach. Here are the steps to solve the problem:

Approach:

1. Initialize Pointers:
   • Initialize two pointers left and right at the two ends of the array height.
2. Initialize Variables:
   • Initialize variables max_left and max_right to keep track of the maximum height encountered from the left and right sides, respectively.
   • Initialize a variable water to store the total trapped water.
3. Iterate Through Array:
   • While left pointer is less than right pointer, do the following:
     • If height[left] is less than or equal to height[right]:
       • Update max_left to the maximum of max_left and height[left].
       • Add max_left - height[left] to water.
       • Increment left pointer.
     • Else:
       • Update max_right to the maximum of max_right and height[right].
       • Add max_right - height[right] to water.
       • Decrement right pointer.
4. Return Result:
   • After the loop ends, return the total trapped water.

Python Code:

class Solution:
    def trap(self, height):
        n = len(height)
        left, right = 0, n - 1
        max_left = max_right = 0
        water = 0
        
        while left < right:
            if height[left] <= height[right]:
                max_left = max(max_left, height[left])
                water += max_left - height[left]
                left += 1
            else:
                max_right = max(max_right, height[right])
                water += max_right - height[right]
                right -= 1
                
        return water

# Example Usage:
solution = Solution()

# Example 1:
height1 = [0,1,0,2,1,0,1,3,2,1,2,1]
print(solution.trap(height1))  # Output: 6

# Example 2:
height2 = [4,2,0,3,2,5]
print(solution.trap(height2))  # Output: 9

This code defines a Solution class with a trap method to compute how much water can be trapped after raining in the given elevation map represented by the array height. The example usage demonstrates how to create an instance of the Solution class and call the trap method with different inputs.

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