Contains Duplicate
To solve this coding challenge, you need to determine whether there are any duplicate elements in a given array of integers. If the array contains at least one duplicate element, the function should return
; otherwise, it should return
.
true
false
Explanation
To solve this problem, one efficient approach is to use a set data structure. Sets are particularly useful in this context because they automatically handle duplicatesβany attempt to add an element that already exists in the set will be ignored. Here is a step-by-step explanation of the approach:- Initialize an Empty Set : Start by creating an empty set. This set will keep track of all unique elements encountered as we iterate through the array.
- Iterate Through the Array : Loop through each element in the array.
- Check for Duplicates : For each element, check if it already exists in the set.
-
If it exists, this means the array contains a duplicate, and you can return
true
- If it does not exist, add the element to the set.
-
Return Result
: If the loop completes without finding any duplicates, return
false
- Initialization :
-
set uniqueElements = {}
uniqueElements
- Iteration :
-
for integer element in nums
nums
- Duplicate Check :
-
if element in uniqueElements
element
uniqueElements
-
return true
true
- Add to Set :
-
uniqueElements.add(element)
uniqueElements
- Return False :
-
return false
true
false
Detailed Steps in Pseudocode
Here's the pseudocode with detailed comments explaining each step:
function containsDuplicate(integerArray nums):
# Step 1: Initialize an empty set to track unique elements
set uniqueElements = {}
# Step 2: Iterate through each element in the input array
for integer element in nums:
# Step 3: Check if the element is already in the set
if element in uniqueElements:
# Duplicate found, return true
return true
# Step 4: Add the element to the set since it's not a duplicate
uniqueElements.add(element)
# Step 5: No duplicates were found, return false
return false