LeetCode题解——Merge k Sorted Lists

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

/**
 * Definition for singly-linked list.
 * struct ListNode {
 *     int val;
 *     ListNode *next;
 *     ListNode(int x) : val(x), next(NULL) {}
 * };
 */
class Solution {
public:
    ListNode* mergeKLists(vector<ListNode*>& lists) {
        if(lists.size()==0) return NULL;
        
        /*while(lists.size() > 1){
            lists.push_back(mergeTwoLists(lists[0], lists[1]));
            lists.erase(lists.begin());
            lists.erase(lists.begin());
        } time consuming*/
    
        int len = lists.size();
        while (len > 1) {
            for (int i = 0; i < len / 2; ++i) {
                lists[i] = mergeTwoLists(lists[i], lists[len - 1 - i]);
            }
            len = (len + 1) / 2;
        }
        return lists[0];
    }

    ListNode *mergeTwoLists(ListNode *l1, ListNode *l2) {
        if(l1 == NULL) return l2;
        if(l2 == NULL) return l1;

        if(l1->val < l2->val) {
            l1->next = mergeTwoLists(l1->next, l2);
            return l1;
        } else {
            l2->next = mergeTwoLists(l2->next, l1);
            return l2;
        }
    }
};