How do you solve Maximize Sum of At Most K Distinct Elements on LeetCode?

Maximize Sum of At Most K Distinct Elements (LeetCode #3684) can be solved using Brute Force or Optimal Solution. The optimal approach is Optimal Solution with O(n log n) time complexity and O(n) space complexity. Key insight: Using a set efficiently handles duplicates.

What is the time complexity of Maximize Sum of At Most K Distinct Elements?

The optimal solution for Maximize Sum of At Most K Distinct Elements runs in O(n log n) time and uses O(n) space. Sorting the distinct elements dominates the time complexity, while space is used for the set.

What is the brute force solution for Maximize Sum of At Most K Distinct Elements?

The brute force approach for Maximize Sum of At Most K Distinct Elements is Brute Force, with O(n²) time complexity and O(1) space complexity. Generate all possible combinations of elements and calculate their sums. This method ensures we check all distinct combinations but is inefficient. The optimal Optimal Solution approach improves this to O(n log n).

What algorithm or data structure is used to solve Maximize Sum of At Most K Distinct Elements?

Maximize Sum of At Most K Distinct Elements uses the following concepts: Array, Hash Table, Greedy, Sorting. The recommended patterns to study are: Hash Map, Array.

What are the interview tips for Maximize Sum of At Most K Distinct Elements?

Explain your thought process clearly. Discuss edge cases like all elements being the same. Practice coding the solution without looking at notes.

What are common mistakes when solving Maximize Sum of At Most K Distinct Elements?

Forgetting to handle duplicates. Not sorting the distinct elements.

#3684

Maximize Sum of At Most K Distinct Elements

Easy

ArrayHash TableGreedySortingHash MapArray

LeetCode ↗

Approaches

Brute ForceOptimal

Complexity Comparison

	Brute Force	Optimal Solution★
Time	O(n²)	O(n log n)
Space	O(1)	O(n)

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Intuition

Time O(n log n)Space O(n)

Use a set to remove duplicates, sort the distinct elements, and select the top k elements for maximum sum.

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Algorithm

3 steps

1Step 1: Convert nums to a set to remove duplicates.
2Step 2: Sort the distinct elements in descending order.
3Step 3: Return the first k elements from the sorted list.

solution.py3 lines

1def maxSumKDistinct(nums, k):
2    distinct = sorted(set(nums), reverse=True)
3    return distinct[:k]

ℹ

Complexity note: Sorting the distinct elements dominates the time complexity, while space is used for the set.

1Using a set efficiently handles duplicates.
2Sorting allows easy selection of the largest elements.

Solutions and explanations are original Tejav content. Problem titles © LeetCode — use the LeetCode button above for the full problem statement.