Dataford
Interview QuestionsInterview GuidesExperiencesMock InterviewsPricing
Get started
Detecting Linked List Cycles
00:00
5 left

Detecting Linked List Cycles

EasyPython

Problem

Supermicro server telemetry jobs may process records through a singly linked list. Given an encoded linked list, determine whether following its next pointers eventually revisits a node.

Use Floyd's tortoise-and-hare algorithm. The list is represented by an array of next-node indices: next_indices[i] is the index reached from node i, or -1 if the node has no successor. The list begins at head. You may assume every successor index is valid or -1.

Return true if the list contains a cycle and false otherwise. Do not modify the input.

Formal Specification

Implement has_cycle(next_indices, head), where next_indices is a list of integers and head is an integer node index. Return a boolean.

Constraints

  • 0 <= len(next_indices) <= 10^5
  • -1 <= next_indices[i] < len(next_indices)
  • head is -1 or a valid index
  • The input represents a singly linked list
  • Use O(1) auxiliary space

Function Signature

def has_cycle(next_indices, head):
Interviewer

Your question is Detecting Linked List Cycles. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.

You need to log in / sign up to run or submit.
CodePython 3
You need to log in / sign up to run or submit.Ln 2
Run your code to see test output here.