Find the Highest Altitude Solution in C++

class Solution {
 public:
  int largestAltitude(vector& gain) {
    int ans = 0;
    int currAltitude = 0;
    for (const int g : gain) {
      currAltitude += g;
      ans = max(ans, currAltitude);
    }
    return ans;
  }
};
    

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Problem Description

So, you think you can climb? Welcome to the “Find the Highest Altitude” challenge, where your goal is to reach the highest point in your imaginary mountain range. Picture this: you’re on a rollercoaster of altitudes, and your friends are throwing gains and losses at you like confetti. Your task? To figure out the highest altitude you can reach after all that chaos.

Imagine you’re hiking, and every time you take a step, your friend yells out a number. If it’s positive, you’re climbing higher; if it’s negative, well, let’s just say you’re not winning any altitude awards. The challenge is to keep track of your highest point, which is basically like trying to remember the best pizza you ever had while eating a mediocre one.

Approach

The approach here is as straightforward as your friend’s logic when they suggest climbing a mountain after a pizza binge. We start at sea level (altitude 0) and iterate through the gains. For each gain, we update our current altitude and check if it’s the highest we’ve seen so far. If it is, we store that value. It’s like keeping track of your best score in a video game, but instead, you’re just trying not to fall off the mountain.

Time and Space Complexity

Time Complexity: O(n), where n is the number of elements in the gain array. We traverse the array once.

Space Complexity: O(1), as we are using a constant amount of space for our variables.

Real-World Example

Let’s say you’re on a hiking trip with your friends. You start at an altitude of 0 meters. As you hike, your friends shout out the altitude changes: +5, -2, +3, +1, -4. By the end of the hike, you want to know the highest altitude you reached. Using our code, you can easily calculate that you peaked at 6 meters.