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Minimum Size Subarray Sum

Explore how to apply the sliding window technique to find the smallest contiguous subarray whose sum meets or exceeds a given target. This lesson helps you understand problem constraints and develop an efficient solution for common coding interview challenges.

Statement

Given an array of positive integers, nums, and a positive integer, target, find the minimum length of a contiguous subarray whose sum is greater than or equal to the target. If no such subarray is found, return 0.

Constraints:

  • 11 \leq target \leq 10410^4
  • 11 \leq nums.length \leq 10310^3
  • 11 \leq nums[i] \leq 10310^3

Examples

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Understand the problem

Let’s take a moment to make sure you’ve correctly understood the problem. The quiz below helps you check if you’re solving the correct problem:

Minimum Size Subarray Sum

1.

What is the output if the following values are given as input?

nums = [1, 2, 7, 1, 8]

target = 9

A.

3

B.

2

C.

5

D.

1


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Figure it out!

We have a game for you to play. Rearrange the logical building blocks to develop a clearer understanding of how to solve this problem.

Sequence - Vertical
Drag and drop the cards to rearrange them in the correct sequence.

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Try it yourself

Implement your solution in the following coding playground:

Python
usercode > main.py
def min_sub_array_len(target, nums):
# Replace this placeholder return statement with your code
return -1
Minimum Size Subarray Sum