Interview Camp 

 
Technique: Queue with Max 

Level: Hard 

Maximum of Sliding Window​: Given an array A and an integer K, find the maximum element in 
each sliding window of size K. 
 
For example, 
 
if A = [4,6,5,2,4,7] and K = 3, windows are as follows: 
 
[​4,6,5​,2,4,7] : Max = 6
[4,​6,5,2​,4,7] : Max = 6
[4,6,​5,2,4​,7] : Max = 5
[4,6,5,​2,4,7​] : Max = 7
 
Output: 6,6,5,7
 
Hint​: You can do this in O(n) time, by using the ​Queue with Max​ technique. 
 
Questions to Clarify: 
Q. How should we output the result? 
A. Print the max of each sliding window. 
 
Q. What if A is empty or null? 
A. Print nothing. 
 
Q. What if K is 0? 
A. Print nothing. 

Solution: 
This is a straightforward application of a Queue with Max. Maintain a Queue with Max and simply 
output the max after processing each element. 

Pseudocode: 
(Note: Never write pseudocode in an actual interview. Unless you're writing a few
lines quickly to plan out your solution. Your actual solution should be in a real
language and use good syntax.)

slidingWindowMax(int[] a, int k)
q = new queuewithMax

add first k elements to the queue

print out first window max

for: i = k to a.length - 1:

 
 
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add a[i]
dequeue q
print out max element

Test Cases:  
Edge Cases: empty array, null array, k=0 
Base Cases: single element array, k=1 
Regular Cases: multiple elements (k=2, k=3) 

Time Complexity:​ O(n) 

Space Complexity:​ O(k) - the queue with max will store up to K elements 
 
public static void slidingWindowMax(int[] a, int windowSize) {
if (a == null || a.length == 0 || windowSize <= 0)
return;

QueueWithMax q = new QueueWithMax();

try {
// add first k elements
for (int i = 0; i < windowSize; i++) {
q.enqueue(a[i]);
}
System.out.println(q.findMax());

// add the rest one by one

for (int i = windowSize; i < a.length; i++) {
q.dequeue();
q.enqueue(a[i]);
System.out.println(q.findMax());
}

} catch (QueueEmptyException e) {
// should not happen
e.printStackTrace();
}
}

public static class QueueWithMax {

Queue<Integer> main;
Deque<Integer> max;

public QueueWithMax() {
main = new LinkedList<>();
max = new LinkedList<>();

 
 
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public void enqueue(int item) {

main.add(item);
while (!max.isEmpty() && max.getLast() < item)
max.removeLast();
max.add(item);
}

public void dequeue() throws QueueEmptyException {

if (main.isEmpty())
throw new QueueEmptyException();
int item = main.remove();
if (max.getFirst() == item)
max.remove();
}

public int findMax() throws QueueEmptyException {

if (max.isEmpty())
throw new QueueEmptyException();
return max.getFirst();
}

public int size() {

return main.size();
}
}

/*
* Helper code, ask the interviewer if they want you to implement.
*/
public static class QueueEmptyException extends Exception {
public QueueEmptyException() {

}
}
 

 
 
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