Introduction

In this blog post, we will explore how to solve the LeetCode problem "2540" 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

Given two integer arrays nums1 and nums2, sorted in non-decreasing order, return the minimum integer common to both arrays. If there is no common integer amongst nums1 and nums2, return -1. Note that an integer is said to be common to nums1 and nums2 if both arrays have at least one occurrence of that integer. Example 1: Input: nums1 = [1,2,3], nums2 = [2,4] Output: 2 Explanation: The smallest element common to both arrays is 2, so we return 2. Example 2: Input: nums1 = [1,2,3,6], nums2 = [2,3,4,5] Output: 2 Explanation: There are two common elements in the array 2 and 3 out of which 2 is the smallest, so 2 is returned. Constraints: 1 <= nums1.length, nums2.length <= 105 1 <= nums1[i], nums2[j] <= 109 Both nums1 and nums2 are sorted in non-decreasing order.

Explanation

• Two Pointers: Utilize two pointers, one for each array, to iterate through them simultaneously.
  • Comparison: Compare the elements pointed to by the pointers. If they are equal, a common element is found, and the function returns it.
  • Increment: If the element in nums1 is smaller, increment its pointer. Otherwise, increment the pointer for nums2. This efficiently leverages the sorted nature of the arrays.

• Runtime Complexity: O(m + n), where m and n are the lengths of nums1 and nums2 respectively. Storage Complexity: O(1).

Code

    def find_smallest_common_element(nums1, nums2):
    """
    Finds the smallest common element in two sorted integer arrays.

    Args:
        nums1: The first sorted integer array.
        nums2: The second sorted integer array.

    Returns:
        The smallest common element, or -1 if no common element exists.
    """

    ptr1 = 0
    ptr2 = 0

    while ptr1 < len(nums1) and ptr2 < len(nums2):
        if nums1[ptr1] == nums2[ptr2]:
            return nums1[ptr1]
        elif nums1[ptr1] < nums2[ptr2]:
            ptr1 += 1
        else:
            ptr2 += 1

    return -1