Finding the top K frequent Elements - c++

Question

I am trying to solve a question on leetcode which is finding the top k frequent elements. I think my code is correct but the output for a test case is failing.
Input: [ 4,1,-1,2,-1,2,3]
K=2
My answer comes out to be {1,-1} but the expected is {-1,2}. I am not sure where am i getting wrong.
struct myComp{
constexpr bool operator()(pair<int,int> & a,pair<int,int> &b)
const noexcept
{
if(a.second==b.second)
{
return a.first<b.first;
}
return a.second<b.second;
}
};
class Solution {
public:
vector<int> topKFrequent(vector<int>& nums, int k) {
unordered_map<int,int> mp;
for(int i=0;i<nums.size();i++)
{
mp[nums[i]]++;
}
priority_queue<pair<int,int>,vector<pair<int,int>>,myComp> minheap;
for(auto x:mp)
{
minheap.push(make_pair(x.second,x.first));
if(minheap.size()>k)
{
minheap.pop();
}
}
vector<int> x;
while(minheap.size()>0)
{
x.push_back(minheap.top().second);
minheap.pop();
}
return x;
link: https://leetcode.com/problems/top-k-frequent-elements

Answer 1

In the minheap, pairs of <frequency, element> are being pushed. Since we want to sort these pairs on basis of frequency, we need to compare on the basis of frequency only.
Let's say there are two pairs a and b. Then for normal sorting, the comparison would be :
a.first < b.first;
And for reverse sorting, the comparison would be :
a.first > b.first;
In case of min-heap, we need reverse sorting. Hence, the following comparator makes your code pass all the test cases :
struct myComp
{
constexpr bool operator()(pair<int,int> & a,pair<int,int> &b)
const noexcept
{
return a.first > b.first;
}
};

Answer 2

There are several issues with your code.
Obviously there is somewhere using namespace std; in your code. This should be avoided. You will find many posts here on SO explaining, why it this should not be done.
Then we need to qualify all elements from the std library with std::, which makes the scope very clear.
Next: You do not need your own sorting function. Since you insert the elements from the pair in swapped order into the std::priority_queue, the sorting criteria is valid for the counter part, not for the key value. So, your sorting function was anyway wrong, because it was sorting accodring to "second" and not to "first". But if we have a standard sorting, we do not need a special sorting algorithm. A std::pair has a less-than operator. So, the definition can be simply:
std::priority_queue<std::pair<int, int>> minheap;
Then, your if statement
if(minheap.size()>k)
{
minheap.pop();
}
is wrong. You will allow only k values to be inserted. And this are not necessarily the biggest ones. So, you need to insert all values from the std::unordered map. And then they are sorted.
With some cosmetic changes the code will look like the below:
#include <iostream>
#include <utility>
#include <unordered_map>
#include <vector>
#include <queue>
std::vector<int> topKFrequent(std::vector<int>& nums, size_t k) {
std::unordered_map<int, int> mp;
for (size_t i = 0; i < nums.size(); i++)
{
mp[nums[i]]++;
}
std::priority_queue<std::pair<int, int>> minheap;
for (auto x : mp)
{
minheap.push(std::make_pair(x.second, x.first));
}
std::vector<int> x;
for (size_t i{}; i< k; ++i)
{
x.push_back(minheap.top().second);
minheap.pop();
}
return x;
}
int main() {
std::vector data{ 4,1,-1,2,-1,2,3 };
std::vector result = topKFrequent(data, 2);
for (const int i : result) std::cout << i << ' '; std::cout << '\n';
return 0;
}
An additional solution
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <algorithm>
#include <unordered_map>
#include <utility>
auto topKFrequent(std::vector<int>& nums, size_t k) {
// Count occurences
std::unordered_map<int, size_t> counter{};
for (const int& i : nums) counter[i]++;
// For storing the top k
std::vector<std::pair<int, size_t>> top(k);
// Get top k
std::partial_sort_copy(counter.begin(), counter.end(), top.begin(), top.end(),
[](const std::pair<int, size_t >& p1, const std::pair<int, size_t>& p2) { return p1.second > p2.second; });
return top;
}
// Test code
int main() {
std::vector data{ 4,1,-1,2,-1,2,3 };
for (const auto& p : topKFrequent(data, 2))
std::cout << "Value: " << p.first << " \t Count: " << p.second << '\n';
return 0;
}
And of course, we do have also the universal solution for any kind of iterable container. Including the definition for type traits using SFINAE and checking for the correct template parameter.
#include <iostream>
#include <utility>
#include <unordered_map>
#include <algorithm>
#include <vector>
#include <iterator>
#include <type_traits>
// Helper for type trait We want to identify an iterable container ----------------------------------------------------
template <typename Container>
auto isIterableHelper(int) -> decltype (
std::begin(std::declval<Container&>()) != std::end(std::declval<Container&>()), // begin/end and operator !=
++std::declval<decltype(std::begin(std::declval<Container&>()))&>(), // operator ++
void(*std::begin(std::declval<Container&>())), // operator*
void(), // Handle potential operator ,
std::true_type{});
template <typename T>
std::false_type isIterableHelper(...);
// The type trait -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
template <typename Container>
using is_iterable = decltype(isIterableHelper<Container>(0));
// Some Alias names for later easier reading --------------------------------------------------------------------------
template <typename Container>
using ValueType = std::decay_t<decltype(*std::begin(std::declval<Container&>()))>;
template <typename Container>
using Pair = std::pair<ValueType<Container>, size_t>;
template <typename Container>
using Counter = std::unordered_map<ValueType<Container>, size_t>;
// Function to get the k most frequent elements used in any Container ------------------------------------------------
template <class Container>
auto topKFrequent(const Container& data, size_t k) {
if constexpr (is_iterable<Container>::value) {
// Count all occurences of data
Counter<Container> counter{};
for (const auto& d : data) counter[d]++;
// For storing the top k
std::vector<Pair<Container>> top(k);
// Get top k
std::partial_sort_copy(counter.begin(), counter.end(), top.begin(), top.end(),
[](const std::pair<int, size_t >& p1, const std::pair<int, size_t>& p2) { return p1.second > p2.second; });
return top;
}
else
return data;
}
int main() {
std::vector testVector{ 1,2,2,3,3,3,4,4,4,4,5,5,5,5,6,6,6,6,6,7 };
for (const auto& p : topKFrequent(testVector, 2)) std::cout << "Value: " << p.first << " \t Count: " << p.second << '\n';
std::cout << '\n';
double cStyleArray[] = { 1.1, 2.2, 2.2, 3.3, 3.3, 3.3 };
for (const auto& p : topKFrequent(cStyleArray, 2)) std::cout << "Value: " << p.first << " \t Count: " << p.second << '\n';
std::cout << '\n';
std::string s{"abbcccddddeeeeeffffffggggggg"};
for (const auto& p : topKFrequent(s, 2)) std::cout << "Value: " << p.first << " \t Count: " << p.second << '\n';
std::cout << '\n';
double value = 12.34;
std::cout << topKFrequent(value,2) << "\n";
return 0;
}
Developed and tested with Microsoft Visual Studio Community 2019, Version 16.8.2.
Additionally compiled and tested with clang11.0 and gcc10.2
Language: C++17