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Search in Rotated Sorted Array
There is an integer array nums sorted in ascending order (with distinct values).
Prior to being passed to your function, nums is possibly rotated at an unknown pivot index k (0 <= k < nums.length) such that the resulting array is [nums[k], nums[k+1], ..., nums[n-1], nums[0], nums[1], ..., nums[k-1]] (0-indexed). For example, [0,1,2,4,5,6,7] might be rotated at pivot index 3 and become [4,5,6,7,0,1,2].
Given the array nums after the possible rotation and an integer target, return the index of target if it is in nums, or -1 if it is not in nums.
You must write an algorithm with O(log n) runtime complexity.
Examples
Constraints
- 1 <= nums.length <= 5000
- -10^4 <= nums[i] <= 10^4
- All values of nums are unique.
- nums is an ascending array that is possibly rotated.
- -10^4 <= target <= 10^4
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Your approach
- Pattern:Binary Search
- 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.