23 Merge k Sorted Lists

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

Example:

Input:
[
  1->4->5,
  1->3->4,
  2->6
]
Output: 1->1->2->3->4->4->5->6

可以复用 Merge Two Sorted Lists 的函数

/**
 * Definition for singly-linked list.
 * public class ListNode {
 *     int val;
 *     ListNode next;
 *     ListNode(int x) { val = x; }
 * }
 */

/**
 *
 * @author dongb
 * Merge Two Sorted Lists
 * TC nlog(k) where k is the number of lists and n is total number of nodes.. SC O(1)
 * 
 */
public class Solution {
    public ListNode mergeKLists(ListNode[] lists) {
        return partion(lists, 0, lists.length - 1);
    }
    
    private ListNode partion(ListNode[] lists, int s, int e) {
        if (s == e)
            return lists[s];
        if (s < e) {
            int m = (s + e) / 2;
            ListNode l1 = partion(lists, s, m);
            ListNode l2 = partion(lists, m + 1, e);
            return mergeTwoLists(l1, l2);
        } else 
            return null;        
    }
    
    private ListNode mergeTwoLists(ListNode l1, ListNode l2) {
        if (l1 == null)
            return l2;
        if (l2 == null)
            return l1;
        
        ListNode dummy = new ListNode(-1);
        ListNode p = dummy;
        
        for (; l1 != null && l2 != null; p = p.next) {
            if (l1.val > l2.val) {
                p.next = l2;
                l2 = l2.next;
            } else {
                p.next = l1;
                l1 = l1.next;
            }
        }
        p.next = l1 != null ? l1 : l2;
        return dummy.next;
    }
}