Skip to content

Commit e2ad3c5

Browse files
committed
Added explanation for [Generate Permutations]
1 parent 551122e commit e2ad3c5

File tree

2 files changed

+168
-1
lines changed

2 files changed

+168
-1
lines changed

en/Backtracking/All Combinations Of Size K.md

Lines changed: 1 addition & 1 deletion
Original file line numberDiff line numberDiff line change
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
22

33
## Summary
44

5-
This document explains an algorithm to generate all possible combinations of size `k` from a range `[1, n]`. The algorithm uses a backtracking approach to explore combinations systematically. It is efficient and handles edge cases such as `k = 0` or `n < k` gracefully.
5+
This section explains an algorithm to generate all possible combinations of size `k` from a range `[1, n]`. The algorithm uses a backtracking approach to explore combinations systematically. It is efficient and handles edge cases such as `k = 0` or `n < k` gracefully.
66

77
---
88

Lines changed: 167 additions & 0 deletions
Original file line numberDiff line numberDiff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
1+
# Generate Permutations
2+
3+
## Summary
4+
5+
This section explains an algorithm to generate all distinct permutations of an array. A permutation refers to a possible arrangement of elements in a set, and this algorithm ensures that all permutations are generated in sorted order.
6+
7+
---
8+
9+
## Problem Statement
10+
11+
Given an array of distinct integers, generate all possible permutations of the array such that:
12+
13+
1. Each permutation is a unique arrangement of elements from the input array.
14+
2. The permutations are returned in sorted order.
15+
16+
This problem has wide-ranging applications in mathematics, combinatorics, and computer science. Generating permutations is essential for solving problems involving arrangements, ordering, and optimization.
17+
18+
### Visual Representation
19+
20+
For example, given the input array `[1, 2, 3]`, the possible permutations are:
21+
22+
```
23+
[1, 2, 3], [1, 3, 2], [2, 1, 3], [2, 3, 1], [3, 1, 2], [3, 2, 1]
24+
```
25+
26+
These permutations represent all possible arrangements of the input elements.
27+
28+
---
29+
30+
## Approach
31+
32+
The solution uses a backtracking algorithm to systematically explore all possible arrangements of the input array. At each step, the algorithm swaps elements to generate new permutations and recursively explores these arrangements.
33+
34+
### Steps
35+
36+
1. **Initialization**:
37+
38+
- Define an empty array `P` to store all permutations.
39+
- Use a helper function `permute` to recursively generate permutations.
40+
41+
2. **Recursive Backtracking**:
42+
43+
- If the current index (`low`) is equal to the last index (`high`), add the current arrangement to `P`.
44+
- Otherwise, for each index `i` from `low` to `high`:
45+
- Swap the element at index `low` with the element at index `i`.
46+
- Recursively call `permute` with the next index (`low + 1`).
47+
- Backtrack by swapping the elements back to their original positions.
48+
49+
3. **Return Result**:
50+
51+
- After all recursive calls, return `P`, which contains all generated permutations.
52+
53+
### Pseudocode
54+
55+
```plaintext
56+
function permutations(arr):
57+
initialize P as []
58+
59+
function permute(arr, low, high):
60+
if low == high:
61+
add copy of arr to P
62+
return
63+
for i from low to high:
64+
swap(arr[low], arr[i])
65+
permute(arr, low + 1, high)
66+
swap(arr[low], arr[i]) // backtrack
67+
68+
permute(arr, 0, arr.length - 1)
69+
return P
70+
```
71+
72+
---
73+
74+
## Time Complexity
75+
76+
- **Worst Case**: `O(n * n!)`
77+
- There are `n!` permutations, and each permutation takes `O(n)` time to generate due to copying the array.
78+
79+
## Space Complexity
80+
81+
- **Worst Case**: `O(n)`
82+
- The recursion stack depth grows up to `n` levels for an array of size `n`.
83+
84+
---
85+
86+
## Applications
87+
88+
- Solving problems involving arrangements or orderings.
89+
- Generating all possible test cases for a given input set.
90+
- Solving optimization problems in machine learning and artificial intelligence.
91+
- Exploring solution spaces in decision-making problems.
92+
93+
---
94+
95+
## Example Walkthrough
96+
97+
### Input
98+
99+
```javascript
100+
permutations([1, 2, 3]);
101+
```
102+
103+
### Process
104+
105+
1. Start with `[1, 2, 3]`.
106+
2. Swap elements to generate new arrangements and recursively explore these arrangements:
107+
- Swap `1` with `1`: `[1, 2, 3]`.
108+
- Recursively generate permutations of `[2, 3]`.
109+
- Swap `2` with `2`: `[1, 2, 3]`.
110+
- Swap `2` with `3`: `[1, 3, 2]`.
111+
- Backtrack and swap `1` with `2`: `[2, 1, 3]`.
112+
- Recursively generate permutations of `[1, 3]`.
113+
- Continue exploring all paths.
114+
115+
### Output
116+
117+
```javascript
118+
[
119+
[1, 2, 3],
120+
[1, 3, 2],
121+
[2, 1, 3],
122+
[2, 3, 1],
123+
[3, 1, 2],
124+
[3, 2, 1],
125+
];
126+
```
127+
128+
---
129+
130+
## Edge Cases
131+
132+
- **Empty Array**: Returns an empty array (`[]`).
133+
- **Single Element**: Returns the array itself (`[[element]]`).
134+
- **Duplicate Elements**: If duplicates are present, the function must be modified to handle them (not covered in this implementation).
135+
136+
---
137+
138+
## Limitations
139+
140+
- This implementation does not handle duplicate elements in the input array. A mechanism to ensure uniqueness is needed for arrays with duplicates.
141+
- Performance may degrade for very large arrays, as the number of permutations grows factorially.
142+
143+
---
144+
145+
## Mathematical Insight
146+
147+
The total number of permutations of an array of size `n` is given by `n!` (factorial of `n`), which represents all possible arrangements of `n` distinct elements.
148+
149+
---
150+
151+
## Additional Notes
152+
153+
This backtracking algorithm ensures all permutations are explored efficiently without unnecessary computations. The recursive nature of the algorithm simplifies the implementation but requires careful handling of swaps and backtracking.
154+
155+
---
156+
157+
## Example Decision Tree
158+
159+
For the input `[1, 2, 3]`, the algorithm explores the following paths:
160+
161+
1. Start with `[1, 2, 3]`.
162+
2. Swap `1` with `1`, then recursively permute `[2, 3]`.
163+
3. Swap `2` with `2`, then recursively permute `[3]`.
164+
4. Swap `3` with `3`, then backtrack and explore other paths by swapping.
165+
5. Continue exploring paths by swapping elements at different indices.
166+
167+
This process generates all permutations systematically.

0 commit comments

Comments
 (0)