Go through the array from left to right and collect as many numbers as possible - c++

Question

CSES problem (https://cses.fi/problemset/task/2216/).
You are given an array that contains each number between 1…n exactly once. Your task is to collect the numbers from 1 to n in increasing order.
On each round, you go through the array from left to right and collect as many numbers as possible. What will be the total number of rounds?
Constraints: 1≤n≤2⋅10^5
This is my code on c++:
int n, res=0;
cin>>n;
int arr[n];
set <int, greater <int>> lastEl;
for(int i=0; i<n; i++) {
cin>>arr[i];
auto it=lastEl.lower_bound(arr[i]);
if(it==lastEl.end()) res++;
else lastEl.erase(*it);
lastEl.insert(arr[i]);
}
cout<<res;
I go through the array once. If the element arr[i] is smaller than all the previous ones, then I "open" a new sequence, and save the element as the last element in this sequence. I store the last elements of already opened sequences in set. If arr[i] is smaller than some of the previous elements, then I take already existing sequence with the largest last element (but less than arr[i]), and replace the last element of this sequence with arr[i].
Alas, it works only on two tests of three given, and for the third one the output is much less than it shoud be. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

Let me explain my thought process in detail so that it will be easier for you next time when you face the same type of problem.
First of all, a mistake I often made when faced with this kind of problem is the urge to simulate the process. What do I mean by "simulating the process" mentioned in the problem statement? The problem mentions that a round takes place to maximize the collection of increasing numbers in a certain order. So, you start with 1, find it and see that the next number 2 is not beyond it, i.e., 2 cannot be in the same round as 1 and form an increasing sequence. So, we need another round for 2. Now we find that, 2 and 3 both can be collected in the same round, as we're moving from left to right and taking numbers in an increasing order. But we cannot take 4 because it starts before 2. Finally, for 4 and 5 we need another round. That's makes a total of three rounds.
Now, the problem becomes very easy to solve if you simulate the process in this way. In the first round, you look for numbers that form an increasing sequence starting with 1. You remove these numbers before starting the second round. You continue this way until you've exhausted all the numbers.
But simulating this process will result in a time complexity that won't pass the constraints mentioned in the problem statement. So, we need to figure out another way that gives the same output without simulating the whole process.
Notice that the position of numbers is crucial here. Why do we need another round for 2? Because it comes before 1. We don't need another round for 3 because it comes after 2. Similarly, we need another round for 4 because it comes before 2.
So, when considering each number, we only need to be concerned with the position of the number that comes before it in the order. When considering 2, we look at the position of 1? Does 1 come before or after 2? It it comes after, we don't need another round. But if it comes before, we'll need an extra round. For each number, we look at this condition and increment the round count if necessary. This way, we can figure out the total number of rounds without simulating the whole process.
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
using namespace std;
int main(int argc, char const *argv[])
{
int n;
cin >> n;
vector <int> v(n + 1), pos(n + 1);
for(int i = 1; i <= n; ++i){
cin >> v[i];
pos[v[i]] = i;
}
int total_rounds = 1; // we'll always need at least one round because the input sequence will never be empty
for(int i = 2; i <= n; ++i){
if(pos[i] < pos[i - 1]) total_rounds++;
}
cout << total_rounds << '\n';
return 0;
}
Next time when you're faced with this type of problem, pause for a while and try to control your urge to simulate the process in code. Almost certainly, there will be some clever observation that will allow you to achieve optimal solution.