Leetcode #1661: Average Time of Process per Machine
In this guide, we solve Leetcode #1661 Average Time of Process per Machine in Python and focus on the core idea that makes the solution efficient.
You will see the intuition, the step-by-step method, and a clean Python implementation you can use in interviews.
Problem Statement
Table: Activity +----------------+---------+ | Column Name | Type | +----------------+---------+ | machine_id | int | | process_id | int | | activity_type | enum | | timestamp | float | +----------------+---------+ The table shows the user activities for a factory website. (machine_id, process_id, activity_type) is the primary key (combination of columns with unique values) of this table.
Quick Facts
- Difficulty: Easy
- Premium: No
- Tags: Database
Intuition
The task is relational in nature, which maps cleanly to DataFrame operations in Python.
By treating tables as DataFrames, joins and group-bys become concise and readable.
Approach
Load the inputs as DataFrames and apply the appropriate merge, filter, or group-by.
Select or rename the columns to match the required output.
Steps:
- Load inputs as DataFrames.
- Apply merge/groupby/filter operations.
- Select the output columns.
Example
+----------------+---------+
| Column Name | Type |
+----------------+---------+
| machine_id | int |
| process_id | int |
| activity_type | enum |
| timestamp | float |
+----------------+---------+
The table shows the user activities for a factory website.
(machine_id, process_id, activity_type) is the primary key (combination of columns with unique values) of this table.
machine_id is the ID of a machine.
process_id is the ID of a process running on the machine with ID machine_id.
activity_type is an ENUM (category) of type ('start', 'end').
timestamp is a float representing the current time in seconds.
'start' means the machine starts the process at the given timestamp and 'end' means the machine ends the process at the given timestamp.
The 'start' timestamp will always be before the 'end' timestamp for every (machine_id, process_id) pair.
It is guaranteed that each (machine_id, process_id) pair has a 'start' and 'end' timestamp.
Python Solution
import duckdb
import pandas as pd
def solution(activity: pd.DataFrame) -> pd.DataFrame:
con = duckdb.connect()
con.register("Activity", activity)
return con.execute("""SELECT
machine_id,
ROUND(
AVG(
CASE
WHEN activity_type = 'start' THEN -timestamp
ELSE timestamp
END
) * 2,
3
) AS processing_time
FROM Activity
GROUP BY 1;""").df()
Complexity
The time complexity is O(n log n) (typical). The space complexity is O(n).
Edge Cases and Pitfalls
Watch for boundary values, empty inputs, and duplicate values where applicable. If the problem involves ordering or constraints, confirm the invariant is preserved at every step.
Summary
This Python solution focuses on the essential structure of the problem and keeps the implementation interview-friendly while meeting the constraints.