18. 4Sum

Given an array S of n integers, are there elements a, b, c, and d in S such that a + b + c + d = target? Find all unique quadruplets in the array which gives the sum of target.

Note: The solution set must not contain duplicate quadruplets.

For example, given array S = [1, 0, -1, 0, -2, 2], and target = 0.

A solution set is:
[
  [-1,  0, 0, 1],
  [-2, -1, 1, 2],
  [-2,  0, 0, 2]
]

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Given an array S of n integers, are there elements a, b, c, and d in S such that a + b + c + d = target? Find all unique quadruplets in the array which gives the sum of target.

Note: The solution set must not contain duplicate quadruplets.

For example, given array S = [1, 0, -1, 0, -2, 2], and target = 0.

A solution set is:
[
  [-1,  0, 0, 1],
  [-2, -1, 1, 2],
  [-2,  0, 0, 2]
]

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Solution:

Tips:

same idea with 3sum.

Java Code:

public class Solution {
    public List<List<Integer>> fourSum(int[] nums, int target) {
        // first sort array
        Arrays.sort(nums);
        List<List<Integer>> result = new ArrayList<>();
        
        for (int i = nums.length - 1; i >= 3; i--) {
            for (int j = i - 1; j >= 2; j--) {
                int left = 0;
                int right = j - 1;
                
                while (left < right) {
                    int sum = nums[left] + nums[right] + nums[j] + nums[i];
                    if (sum == target) {
                        result.add(Arrays.asList(nums[left], nums[right], nums[j], nums[i]));
                        while (++left < right && nums[left - 1] == nums[left]);
                        while (--right > left && nums[right] == nums[right + 1]);
                    } else if (sum > target) {
                        right--;
                    } else {
                        left++;
                    }
                }
                
                while (j >= 2 && nums[j] == nums[j - 1]) {
                    j--;
                }
            }
            
            while (i >= 3 && nums[i] == nums[i - 1]) {
                i--;
            }
        }
        
        return result;
    }
}