Tutorialspoint
Problem
Solution
Submissions

K Consecutive Bit Flips

Certification: Advanced Level Accuracy: 0% Submissions: 0 Points: 15

Write a C program to find the minimum number of K consecutive bit flips needed to make all bits in a binary array equal to 1. A K-bit flip consists of choosing a subarray of length K and flipping every bit in it (0 becomes 1, 1 becomes 0). If it's impossible to make all bits 1, return -1.

Example 1
  • Input: nums = [0,1,0], K = 1
  • Output: 2
  • Explanation:
    • Initial array: [0,1,0].
    • Flip bit at index 0: [1,1,0].
    • Flip bit at index 2: [1,1,1].
    • Total flips needed: 2.
Example 2
  • Input: nums = [1,1,0], K = 2
  • Output: -1
  • Explanation:
    • Initial array: [1,1,0].
    • We can flip indices 0-1: [0,0,0] or indices 1-2: [1,0,1].
    • No matter what we do, we cannot make all bits 1.
    • Therefore, return -1.
Constraints
  • 1 ≤ nums.length ≤ 30000
  • 1 ≤ K ≤ nums.length
  • nums[i] is 0 or 1
  • Time Complexity: O(n)
  • Space Complexity: O(n)
ArraysPwCPhillips
Editorial

Login to view the detailed solution and explanation for this problem.

My Submissions
All Solutions
Lang Status Date Code
You do not have any submissions for this problem.
User Lang Status Date Code
No submissions found.

Please Login to continue
Solve Problems

 
 
 
Output Window

Don't have an account? Register

Solution Hints
  • Use a greedy approach: scan from left to right
  • When you encounter a 0, you must flip the K-length subarray starting from that position
  • Keep track of how many flips affect each position using a difference array
  • Use the flip count to determine the current state of each bit
  • If you can't perform a flip (not enough elements left), return -1
  • Count the total number of flips performed

Steps to solve by this approach:

 Step 1: Initialize variables to track total flips and current flip count affecting each position
 Step 2: Use a difference array to efficiently track when flip effects start and end
 Step 3: Iterate through the array from left to right, updating flip count at each position
 Step 4: Calculate the current effective bit value after considering all active flips
 Step 5: If current bit is 0, perform a K-flip starting from current position (if possible)
 Step 6: Update the difference array to mark when the flip effect ends
 Step 7: Return total flips if successful, or -1 if impossible to make all bits 1

Submitted Code :