Introduction

In this blog post, we will explore how to solve the LeetCode problem "461" using AI. LeetCode is a popular platform for preparing for coding interviews, and with the help of AI tools like Chatmagic, we can generate solutions quickly and efficiently - helping you pass the interviews and get the job offer without having to study for months.

Problem Statement

The Hamming distance between two integers is the number of positions at which the corresponding bits are different. Given two integers x and y, return the Hamming distance between them. Example 1: Input: x = 1, y = 4 Output: 2 Explanation: 1 (0 0 0 1) 4 (0 1 0 0) ↑ ↑ The above arrows point to positions where the corresponding bits are different. Example 2: Input: x = 3, y = 1 Output: 1 Constraints: 0 <= x, y <= 231 - 1 Note: This question is the same as 2220: Minimum Bit Flips to Convert Number.

Explanation

• XOR Operation: Use the XOR (exclusive OR) operation on the two integers. The XOR operation results in a number where each bit is 1 if the corresponding bits in the input integers are different, and 0 if they are the same.
  • Bit Counting: Count the number of set bits (1s) in the result of the XOR operation. This count represents the Hamming distance. We can efficiently count set bits using bitwise operations.

• Time Complexity: O(1), Space Complexity: O(1)

Code

    def hammingDistance(x: int, y: int) -> int:
    """
    Calculates the Hamming distance between two integers.

    Args:
        x: The first integer.
        y: The second integer.

    Returns:
        The Hamming distance between x and y.
    """
    xor_result = x ^ y
    distance = 0
    while xor_result > 0:
        distance += xor_result & 1
        xor_result >>= 1
    return distance