How do you solve Rectangle Area on LeetCode?

Rectangle Area (LeetCode #223) can be solved using Brute Force or Optimal Solution. The optimal approach is Optimal Solution with O(1) time complexity and O(1) space complexity. Key insight: Understanding how to calculate the area of rectangles

What is the brute force solution for Rectangle Area?

The brute force approach for Rectangle Area is Brute Force, with O(1) time complexity and O(1) space complexity. To find the total area covered by two rectangles, we can calculate the area of each rectangle separately and then check if they overlap. If they do, we subtract the overlapping area from the total to avoid double counting. The optimal Optimal Solution approach improves this to O(1).

What algorithm or data structure is used to solve Rectangle Area?

Rectangle Area uses the following concepts: Math, Geometry. The recommended patterns to study are: Geometry, Mathematical Calculations.

What are the interview tips for Rectangle Area?

Always clarify the problem statement and constraints Think about edge cases, like rectangles that touch but don't overlap Practice visualizing the problem with diagrams

What are common mistakes when solving Rectangle Area?

Forgetting to check for overlaps Incorrectly calculating the dimensions of the rectangles

#223

Rectangle Area

Medium

MathGeometryGeometryMathematical Calculations

LeetCode ↗

Approaches

Brute ForceOptimal

Complexity Comparison

	Brute Force	Optimal Solution★
Time	O(1)	O(1)
Space	O(1)	O(1)

💡

Intuition

Time O(1)Space O(1)

The optimal solution calculates the area of each rectangle and the overlapping area in constant time. This avoids any unnecessary iterations or complex calculations, leading to a more efficient solution.

⚙️

Algorithm

5 steps

1Step 1: Calculate the area of the first rectangle.
2Step 2: Calculate the area of the second rectangle.
3Step 3: Calculate the overlap width and height using the maximum and minimum functions.
4Step 4: Compute the overlapping area.
5Step 5: Return the total area minus the overlapping area.

solution.py12 lines

1# Full working Python code
2
3def compute_area(ax1, ay1, ax2, ay2, bx1, by1, bx2, by2):
4    area1 = (ax2 - ax1) * (ay2 - ay1)
5    area2 = (bx2 - bx1) * (by2 - by1)
6    overlap_width = max(0, min(ax2, bx2) - max(ax1, bx1))
7    overlap_height = max(0, min(ay2, by2) - max(ay1, by1))
8    overlap_area = overlap_width * overlap_height
9    return area1 + area2 - overlap_area
10
11# Example usage
12print(compute_area(-2, -2, 2, 2, -2, -2, 2, 2))

ℹ

Complexity note: The optimal solution also runs in constant time because it performs a fixed number of calculations, independent of the input size.

1Understanding how to calculate the area of rectangles
2Recognizing the importance of handling overlaps correctly

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