330. Patching Array
September 12, 2026 · View on GitHub
Description
Given a sorted integer array nums and an integer n, add/patch elements to the array such that any number in the range [1, n] inclusive can be formed by the sum of some elements in the array.
Return the minimum number of patches required.
Example 1:
Input: nums = [1,3], n = 6 Output: 1 Explanation: Combinations of nums are [1], [3], [1,3], which form possible sums of: 1, 3, 4. Now if we add/patch 2 to nums, the combinations are: [1], [2], [3], [1,3], [2,3], [1,2,3]. Possible sums are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, which now covers the range [1, 6]. So we only need 1 patch.
Example 2:
Input: nums = [1,5,10], n = 20 Output: 2 Explanation: The two patches can be [2, 4].
Example 3:
Input: nums = [1,2,2], n = 5 Output: 0
Constraints:
1 <= nums.length <= 10001 <= nums[i] <= 104numsis sorted in ascending order.1 <= n <= 231 - 1
Solutions
Solution 1: Greedy
Thinking
Given a sorted array, insert as few positives as needed so every integer in is a subset sum. Searching every gap is too large.
Suppose is already covered. If the next , merge it and extend to ; otherwise insert itself and double the range. A smaller insert covers less, so filling the current gap is optimal. Stop when .
Let's assume that the number is the smallest positive integer that cannot be represented. Then all the numbers in can be represented. In order to represent the number , we need to add a number that is less than or equal to :
- If the added number equals , since all numbers in can be represented, after adding , all numbers in the range can be represented, and the smallest positive integer that cannot be represented becomes $2x$.
- If the added number is less than , let's assume it's , since all numbers in can be represented, after adding , all numbers in the range can be represented, and the smallest positive integer that cannot be represented becomes .
Therefore, we should greedily add the number to cover a larger range.
We use a variable to record the current smallest positive integer that cannot be represented, initialized to $1[1,..x-1]i$ to record the current index of the array being traversed.
We perform the following operations in a loop:
- If is within the range of the array and , it means that the current number can be covered, so we add the value of to , and increment by $1$.
- Otherwise, it means that is not covered, so we need to supplement a number in the array, and then update to $2x$.
- Repeat the above operations until the value of is greater than .
The final answer is the number of supplemented numbers.
The time complexity is , where is the length of the array . The space complexity is .
Python3
class Solution:
def minPatches(self, nums: List[int], n: int) -> int:
x = 1
ans = i = 0
while x <= n:
if i < len(nums) and nums[i] <= x:
x += nums[i]
i += 1
else:
ans += 1
x <<= 1
return ans
Java
class Solution {
public int minPatches(int[] nums, int n) {
long x = 1;
int ans = 0;
for (int i = 0; x <= n;) {
if (i < nums.length && nums[i] <= x) {
x += nums[i++];
} else {
++ans;
x <<= 1;
}
}
return ans;
}
}
C++
class Solution {
public:
int minPatches(vector<int>& nums, int n) {
long long x = 1;
int ans = 0;
for (int i = 0; x <= n;) {
if (i < nums.size() && nums[i] <= x) {
x += nums[i++];
} else {
++ans;
x <<= 1;
}
}
return ans;
}
};
Go
func minPatches(nums []int, n int) (ans int) {
x := 1
for i := 0; x <= n; {
if i < len(nums) && nums[i] <= x {
x += nums[i]
i++
} else {
ans++
x <<= 1
}
}
return
}
TypeScript
function minPatches(nums: number[], n: number): number {
let x = 1;
let ans = 0;
for (let i = 0; x <= n;) {
if (i < nums.length && nums[i] <= x) {
x += nums[i++];
} else {
++ans;
x *= 2;
}
}
return ans;
}