6 articles
Master the classic Merge Intervals problem (LeetCode 56) asked at Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft. Learn why sorting by start time is the key insight, the exact overlap condition (c ≤ b), a step-by-step visual dry run, 4 common mistakes, Python and JavaScript solutions, and follow-up problems including Insert Interval, Non-overlapping Intervals, and Meeting Rooms II.
Insert a new interval into a sorted non-overlapping list and merge any overlaps in a single sweep.
Find the minimum number of intervals to remove so the rest are non-overlapping, using a greedy earliest-end-time strategy.
Find the minimum arrows needed to burst all balloons arranged as intervals using a greedy sort-by-end approach.
Minimum removals to make intervals non-overlapping. Sort by end time; greedily keep earliest-ending intervals, count conflicts.
Find minimum arrows to burst all balloons (intervals). Sort by end; one arrow can burst all overlapping intervals. Count arrows needed.