From 86cccc252516b64efc67022175c2acdb23514c4b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Harshitha Thondalapally <harshi@Harshithas-Laptop.local>
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2026 10:31:32 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] Completed Two-pointers

---
 src/ArrangeColors.java          |  40 +++++++++
 src/ContainerWithMostWater.java |  46 ++++++++++
 src/TripletSum.java             | 146 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 232 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 src/ArrangeColors.java
 create mode 100644 src/ContainerWithMostWater.java
 create mode 100644 src/TripletSum.java

diff --git a/src/ArrangeColors.java b/src/ArrangeColors.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f39ab9fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ArrangeColors.java
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/*
+Problem - Leetcode 75. Sort Colors
+Approach - •
+We move 0s to the front and 2s to the end, while keeping 1s in the middle.
+Use three pointers: low for 0s, high for 2s, and mid to scan the array.
+Swap accordingly and only move mid forward when the current item is 0 or 1.
+ */
+import java.util.Arrays;
+
+public class ArrangeColors {
+    public void sortColors(int[] nums) {
+        int low = 0;
+        int high = nums.length - 1;
+        int mid = 0;
+        while (mid <= high) {
+            if (nums[mid] == 2) {
+                swap(nums,mid,high);
+                high--;
+            } else if (nums[mid] == 0) {
+                swap(nums,mid,low);
+                mid++;
+                low++;
+            }
+            else {
+                mid++;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    public void swap(int[] nums, int i, int j) {
+        int temp = nums[i];
+        nums[i] = nums[j];
+        nums[j] = temp;
+    }
+    public static void main(String[] args) {
+        ArrangeColors a = new ArrangeColors();
+        int[] nums = {2,0,2,1,1,0};
+        a.sortColors(nums);
+        System.out.println(Arrays.toString(nums));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/ContainerWithMostWater.java b/src/ContainerWithMostWater.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..13027bc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ContainerWithMostWater.java
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+/*
+Problem - Container With Most Water
+Approach - Start with two pointers at both ends and keep checking the area between them.
+Move the pointer pointing to the shorter line.
+Keep track of the maximum area found during this process.
+Time Complexity - O(n)
+Space Complexity - O(1)
+ */
+public class ContainerWithMostWater {
+    public int maxArea(int[] height) {
+        int maxArea = 0;
+        int left = 0;
+        int right = height.length - 1;
+        while (left < right) {
+            int h =0;// initializing height to compute the height on how the pointer moves
+            int width = right - left;
+            if(height[left]<height[right]) {
+                h  = height[left]; // In this case, the left line is shorter than the right line, which means that the left line limits the water's height. Therefore, to find a larger container, let's move the left pointer inward to maximize the area
+                left++;
+            }
+            else {
+                h  = height[right];  //In this case, the left line is shorter than the right line, which means that the left line limits the water's height. Therefore, to find a larger container, let's move the left pointer inward:
+                right--;
+            }
+            int area = h * width; // compute the area
+            maxArea = Math.max(maxArea, area); // compute the maxArea
+        }
+
+        return maxArea;
+    }
+    public static  void main(String[] args) {
+        ContainerWithMostWater maxArea = new ContainerWithMostWater();
+        int[] heights = {};
+        System.out.println(maxArea.maxArea(heights));
+        int[] heights2 = {1};
+        System.out.println(maxArea.maxArea(heights2));
+        int[] heights3 = {0,1,0};
+        System.out.println(maxArea.maxArea(heights3));
+        int[] heights4 = {3, 3, 3, 3};
+        System.out.println(maxArea.maxArea(heights4));
+        int[] heights5 = {1, 2, 3};
+        System.out.println(maxArea.maxArea(heights5));
+        int[] heights6 = {1,8,6,2,5,4,8,3,7};
+        System.out.println(maxArea.maxArea(heights6));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/TripletSum.java b/src/TripletSum.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a4828746
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/TripletSum.java
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+import java.util.*;
+
+/**
+ * 3Sum (Triplet Sum = 0)
+ *
+ * APPROACH 1: HashSet (for each i, solve 2Sum using a hash set)
+ * 1) Sort nums (helps handle duplicates & keeps triplets in consistent order).
+ * 2) Fix an index i as the first element.
+ *    - Skip duplicate anchors (nums[i] == nums[i-1]) to avoid repeating work.
+ * 3) For the remaining part (j = i+1..n-1), use a HashSet to find complements:
+ *    - innerTarget = 0 - nums[i]
+ *    - if we have seen (innerTarget - nums[j]) before, we found a triplet.
+ * 4) Store triplets in a HashSet<List<Integer>> to ensure uniqueness.
+ *
+ * Time Complexity:
+ * - Sorting: O(n log n)
+ * - Outer loop (i): O(n)
+ * - Inner loop (j): O(n) with O(1) average hash operations
+ * => Total: O(n^2) time (dominant), O(n) extra space per i (hash set),
+ * plus result storage.
+ *
+ * Note: Because we use HashSet<List<Integer>>, we also do small constant work
+ * for list creation & sorting 3 elements.
+ *
+ *
+ * APPROACH 2: Two Pointers (classic optimal for 3Sum)
+ * 1) Sort nums.
+ * 2) Fix i as the first number:
+ *    - Skip duplicate anchors.
+ *    - If nums[i] > 0, break (since nums is sorted, sum can't be 0 anymore).
+ * 3) Use two pointers: low = i+1, high = n-1
+ *    - sum = nums[i] + nums[low] + nums[high]
+ *    - sum == 0: record triplet, move both pointers, skip duplicates
+ *    - sum > 0: need smaller sum => high--
+ *    - sum < 0: need larger sum  => low++
+ *
+ * Time Complexity:
+ * - Sorting: O(n log n)
+ * - Outer loop: O(n)
+ * - Two pointers scan per i: O(n)
+ * => Total: O(n^2) time, O(1) extra space (excluding output)
+ */
+public class TripletSum {
+
+    public List<List<Integer>> threeSum(int[] nums) {
+        HashSet<List<Integer>> res = new HashSet<>();
+        Arrays.sort(nums);
+        int n = nums.length;
+        int target = 0;
+
+        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
+            // Skip duplicate "anchor" values
+            if (i != 0 && nums[i] == nums[i - 1]) continue;
+
+            HashSet<Integer> set = new HashSet<>();
+            int innerTarget = target - nums[i];
+
+            for (int j = i + 1; j < n; j++) {
+                int cmp = innerTarget - nums[j];
+
+                if (set.contains(cmp)) {
+                    // Create triplet and normalize order (sorted) before adding to set
+                    List<Integer> list = Arrays.asList(nums[i], nums[j], cmp);
+                    Collections.sort(list); // sorts 3 elements (constant work)
+                    res.add(list);
+                }
+                set.add(nums[j]);
+            }
+        }
+        return new ArrayList<>(res);
+    }
+
+    public List<List<Integer>> threeSumWithTwoPointers(int[] nums) {
+        List<List<Integer>> res = new ArrayList<>();
+        Arrays.sort(nums);
+        int n = nums.length;
+
+        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
+            // Skip duplicate anchors
+            if (i != 0 && nums[i] == nums[i - 1]) continue;
+
+            // Early stop: if nums[i] > 0, all remaining are >= nums[i], sum can't be 0
+            if (nums[i] > 0) break;
+
+            int low = i + 1, high = n - 1;
+
+            while (low < high) {
+                int sum = nums[i] + nums[low] + nums[high];
+
+                if (sum == 0) {
+                    res.add(Arrays.asList(nums[i], nums[low], nums[high]));
+                    low++;
+                    high--;
+
+                    // Skip duplicates for low and high
+                    while (low < high && nums[low] == nums[low - 1]) low++;
+                    while (low < high && nums[high] == nums[high + 1]) high--;
+                } else if (sum > 0) {
+                    high--;
+                } else {
+                    low++;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        return res;
+    }
+
+    private static void printTriplets(String title, List<List<Integer>> triplets) {
+        System.out.println(title);
+        if (triplets.isEmpty()) {
+            System.out.println("  (no triplets)");
+            return;
+        }
+        for (List<Integer> t : triplets) {
+            System.out.println("  " + t);
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static void main(String[] args) {
+        TripletSum solver = new TripletSum();
+
+        // Test cases (common LeetCode style)
+        int[][] tests = {
+                {-1, 0, 1, 2, -1, -4},
+                {0, 1, 1},
+                {0, 0, 0, 0},
+                {-2, 0, 0, 2, 2},
+                {-4, -2, -2, -2, 0, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6}
+        };
+
+        for (int tc = 0; tc < tests.length; tc++) {
+            int[] nums1 = Arrays.copyOf(tests[tc], tests[tc].length);
+            int[] nums2 = Arrays.copyOf(tests[tc], tests[tc].length);
+
+            System.out.println("====================================");
+            System.out.println("Test #" + (tc + 1) + " Input: " + Arrays.toString(tests[tc]));
+
+            List<List<Integer>> ansHash = solver.threeSum(nums1);
+            List<List<Integer>> ansTwoPtr = solver.threeSumWithTwoPointers(nums2);
+
+            printTriplets("HashSet approach result:", ansHash);
+            printTriplets("Two Pointers approach result:", ansTwoPtr);
+        }
+    }
+}
+