Heap/Kth Largest Element in an ArrayMedium

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Kth Largest Element in an Array

Heap·Medium

Given an integer array nums and an integer k, return the kth largest element in the array.

Note that the answer is the kth largest element in sorted order, not the kth distinct element. Duplicates count.

A canonical heap-pattern problem: maintain a min-heap of size k while scanning the array — the heap's root is the kth largest seen so far. A sort-based solution is also acceptable; the reference here uses a min-heap for clarity, but you may sort if you prefer.

Examples

Input: nums = [3,2,1,5,6,4], k = 2

Output: 5

Sorted descending: [6,5,4,3,2,1]. The 2nd largest is 5.

Input: nums = [3,2,3,1,2,4,5,5,6], k = 4

Output: 4

Sorted descending: [6,5,5,4,3,3,2,2,1]. The 4th element is 4.

Input: nums = [1], k = 1

Output: 1

Constraints

1 <= k <= nums.length <= 10^4
-10^4 <= nums[i] <= 10^4

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Tests

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Passed32 ms

First attempt — retry to track metric movement here.

Your approach

Pattern:Heap
Time:O(N)
Space:O(1)

Complete approach — pattern and complexity both named.

Coach

What you got right

You correctly matched the sorted input requirement and implemented a linear-time scan using two pointers.

Where it diverged

No divergence detected. The code correctly aligns with the stated approach.

Next attempt: focus on

Try solving related sliding window problems to build familiarity with two-pointer variants.

Signals

No signals fired — clean run, you stayed in flow.