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382. Linked List Random Node

Difficulty Topics

Description

Given a singly linked list, return a random node's value from the linked list. Each node must have the same probability of being chosen.

Implement the Solution class:

  • Solution(ListNode head) Initializes the object with the head of the singly-linked list head.
  • int getRandom() Chooses a node randomly from the list and returns its value. All the nodes of the list should be equally likely to be chosen.

 

Example 1:

Input
["Solution", "getRandom", "getRandom", "getRandom", "getRandom", "getRandom"]
[[[1, 2, 3]], [], [], [], [], []]
Output
[null, 1, 3, 2, 2, 3]

Explanation
Solution solution = new Solution([1, 2, 3]);
solution.getRandom(); // return 1
solution.getRandom(); // return 3
solution.getRandom(); // return 2
solution.getRandom(); // return 2
solution.getRandom(); // return 3
// getRandom() should return either 1, 2, or 3 randomly. Each element should have equal probability of returning.

 

Constraints:

  • The number of nodes in the linked list will be in the range [1, 104].
  • -104 <= Node.val <= 104
  • At most 104 calls will be made to getRandom.

 

Follow up:

  • What if the linked list is extremely large and its length is unknown to you?
  • Could you solve this efficiently without using extra space?

Solution

linked-list-random-node.py
# Definition for singly-linked list.
# class ListNode:
#     def __init__(self, val=0, next=None):
#         self.val = val
#         self.next = next
class Solution:

    def __init__(self, head: Optional[ListNode]):
        self.A = []
        self.n = 0

        curr = head
        while curr:
            self.A.append(curr.val)
            curr = curr.next
            self.n += 1

    def getRandom(self) -> int:
        n = random.randint(0, self.n - 1)

        return self.A[n]


# Your Solution object will be instantiated and called as such:
# obj = Solution(head)
# param_1 = obj.getRandom()
linked-list-random-node.cpp
/**
 * Definition for singly-linked list.
 * struct ListNode {
 *     int val;
 *     ListNode *next;
 *     ListNode() : val(0), next(nullptr) {}
 *     ListNode(int x) : val(x), next(nullptr) {}
 *     ListNode(int x, ListNode *next) : val(x), next(next) {}
 * };
 */
class Solution {
    vector<int> v;
public:
    /** @param head The linked list's head.
        Note that the head is guaranteed to be not null, so it contains at least one node. */
    Solution(ListNode* head) {
        while (head){
            v.push_back(head->val);
            head = head->next;
        }
        srand(time(0));
    }

    /** Returns a random node's value. */
    int getRandom() {
        int r = rand() % v.size();
        return v[r];
    }
};

/**
 * Your Solution object will be instantiated and called as such:
 * Solution* obj = new Solution(head);
 * int param_1 = obj->getRandom();
 */