LeetCode-Merge k Sorted Lists

Merge k sorted linked lists and return it as one sorted list. Analyze and describe its complexity.

Solution:

Code:

<span style="font-size:14px;">/**
 * Definition for singly-linked list.
 * struct ListNode {
 *     int val;
 *     ListNode *next;
 *     ListNode(int x) : val(x), next(NULL) {}
 * };
 */
class Solution {
public:
    ListNode *mergeKLists(vector<ListNode *> &lists) {
        const int length = lists.size();
        queue<ListNode *> q;
        for (int i = 0; i < length; ++i)
            if (lists[i] != NULL)
                q.push(lists[i]);
        if (q.empty()) return NULL;
        ListNode *first, *second, *begin, *end;
        while (q.size() > 1) {
            first = q.front();
            q.pop();
            second = q.front();
            q.pop();
            if (first->val < second->val) {
                begin = first;
                end = first;
                first = first->next;
            } else {
                begin = second;
                end = second;
                second = second->next;
            }
            while (first != NULL && second != NULL) {
                if (first->val < second->val) {
                    end->next = first;
                    end = first;
                    first = first->next;
                } else {
                    end->next = second;
                    end = second;
                    second = second->next;
                }
            }
            if (first != NULL) end->next = first;
            else end->next = second;
            q.push(begin);
        }
        return q.front();
    }
};</span>