LeetCode23 Merge k Sorted Lists（合并K个排序链表）

1. problem description

Merge k sorted linked lists and return it as one sorted list. Analyze and describe its complexity.
合并 k 个排序链表，返回合并后的排序链表。请分析和描述算法的复杂度。

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

2. solution

struct compareFn {
    bool operator() ( ListNode *n1, ListNode *n2 ) {
        return n1->val > n2->val;
    }
};

class Solution {
public:
    ListNode* mergeKLists( vector<ListNode*> &lists ) {
        if( lists.size() == 0 ) return nullptr;
        
        priority_queue< ListNode*, vector<ListNode*>, compareFn > minHeap;
        for( int i=0; i < lists.size(); i++ ) {
            if( lists[i] ) minHeap.push( lists[i] );
        }
        
        ListNode *head = new ListNode(0); // dummy head
        ListNode *curr = head;
        while( !minHeap.empty() ) {
            curr->next = minHeap.top();
            curr = curr->next;
            minHeap.pop();
            if( curr->next ) {
                // means this link list has more elements
                minHeap.push( curr->next );
            } 
        }  
        return head->next;
    }
};