Leetcode #1772: Sort Features by Popularity
In this guide, we solve Leetcode #1772 Sort Features by Popularity 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
You are given a string array features where features[i] is a single word that represents the name of a feature of the latest product you are working on. You have made a survey where users have reported which features they like.
Quick Facts
- Difficulty: Medium
- Premium: Yes
- Tags: Array, Hash Table, String, Sorting
Intuition
Fast membership checks and value lookups are the heart of this problem, which makes a hash map the natural choice.
By storing what we have already seen (or counts/indexes), we can answer the question in one pass without backtracking.
Approach
Scan the input once, using the map to detect when the condition is satisfied and to update state as you go.
This keeps the solution linear while remaining easy to explain in an interview setting.
Steps:
- Initialize a hash map for seen items or counts.
- Iterate through the input, querying/updating the map.
- Return the first valid result or the final computed value.
Example
Input: features = ["cooler","lock","touch"], responses = ["i like cooler cooler","lock touch cool","locker like touch"]
Output: ["touch","cooler","lock"]
Explanation: appearances("cooler") = 1, appearances("lock") = 1, appearances("touch") = 2. Since "cooler" and "lock" both had 1 appearance, "cooler" comes first because "cooler" came first in the features array.
Python Solution
class Solution:
def sortFeatures(self, features: List[str], responses: List[str]) -> List[str]:
cnt = Counter()
for s in responses:
for w in set(s.split()):
cnt[w] += 1
return sorted(features, key=lambda w: -cnt[w])
Complexity
The time complexity is , where is the length of features. 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.