Find the Duplicate Number leetcode 287

题目大意：找到数组中唯一的一个重复的数值。时间复杂度要小于O(n^2)，不能修改数组了。

发现一个很6的算法，把数组当成一个静态链表，也就是说nums[]数组相当于next[]数组，0为起始节点，节点地址范围就是0-n，一共n+1个节点。

因为数组范围是1-n，所以没有节点next会指向0。

而在有n+1个，next指针的情况下，0为起始节点的链表必然会出现环，也就是两个next指向同一个节点，所以这题其实是相当于寻找链表的环的起始点（方法就是快慢指针，快指针在环里追上慢指针，再让一个指针跑到起始点，然后两个指针同速而行，交点就是答案）。

相关题目：Linked List Cycle II

此方法来源：source 

def findArrayDuplicate(array):
    assert len(array) > 0

    # The "tortoise and hare" step.  We start at the end of the array and try
    # to find an intersection point in the cycle.
    slow = len(array) - 1
    fast = len(array) - 1

    # Keep advancing 'slow' by one step and 'fast' by two steps until they
    # meet inside the loop.
    while True:
        slow = array[slow]
        fast = array[array[fast]]

        if slow == fast:
            break

    # Start up another pointer from the end of the array and march it forward
    # until it hits the pointer inside the array.
    finder = len(array) - 1
    while True:
        slow   = array[slow]
        finder = array[finder]

        # If the two hit, the intersection index is the duplicate element.
        if slow == finder:
            return slow

上面是引用一下，AC代码如下：

class Solution(object):
    def findDuplicate(self, nums):
        """
        :type nums: List[int]
        :rtype: int
        """
        assert len(nums) > 0
        slow = 0
        fast = 0
    
        while True:
            slow = nums[slow]
            fast = nums[nums[fast]]
            if slow == fast:
                break
            
        slowp = 0
        
        while True:
            slow   = nums[slow]
            slowp  = nums[slowp]
            if slow == slowp:
                return slow