Leetcode 21. Merge Two Sorted Lists [easy][java]

21. Merge Two Sorted Lists
    Merge two sorted linked lists and return it as a new list. The new list should be made by splicing together the nodes of the first two lists.
    Example
    

Note

1. we should use a dummy head to mark the beginning of the result node list
2. To move the node to next, we should firstly assign value to node.next. Then, move the pointer to next.

Solution 1: iteration, iterate through the two lists and remember to add the remaining of the longer list to the result list
Time Complexity: O(m) where m is the shorter length , Space Complexity: O(m+n)

/**
 * Definition for singly-linked list.
 * public class ListNode {
 *     int val;
 *     ListNode next;
 *     ListNode(int x) { val = x; }
 * }
 */
class Solution {
    public ListNode mergeTwoLists(ListNode l1, ListNode l2) {
        ListNode head = new ListNode(0);
        ListNode dummy = head;
        
        while(l1 != null && l2 != null) {
            // we should first set the value of next node and then move the pointer to next
            if(l1.val <= l2.val) {
                head.next = l1;
                l1 = l1.next;
            } else {
                head.next = l2;
                l2 = l2.next;
            }
            head = head.next;
        }
        
        if(l1 != null) {
            head.next = l1;
        }
        
        if(l2 != null) {
            head.next = l2;
        }
        
        return dummy.next;
    }
}

Solution 2: recursive
Time Complexity: O(m) where m is the shorter length , Space Complexity: O(m+n)

class Solution {
    public ListNode mergeTwoLists(ListNode l1, ListNode l2) {
        
        if(l1 == null)
            return l2;
        if(l2 == null)
            return l1;
        
        ListNode head = new ListNode(0);
        if(l1.val <= l2.val) {
            head = l1;
            head.next = mergeTwoLists(l1.next,l2);
        } else {
            head = l2;
            head.next = mergeTwoLists(l1,l2.next);
        }
            
        return head;
    }
}