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82. Remove Duplicates from Sorted List II

Description

Given the head of a sorted linked list, delete all nodes that have duplicate numbers, leaving only distinct numbers from the original list. Return the linked list sorted as well.

 

Example 1:

Input: head = [1,2,3,3,4,4,5]
Output: [1,2,5]

Example 2:

Input: head = [1,1,1,2,3]
Output: [2,3]

 

Constraints:

  • The number of nodes in the list is in the range [0, 300].
  • -100 <= Node.val <= 100
  • The list is guaranteed to be sorted in ascending order.

Solutions

Solution 1: Single Pass

First, we create a dummy head node $dummy$, and set $dummy.next = head$. Then we create a pointer $pre$ pointing to $dummy$, and a pointer $cur$ pointing to $head$, and start traversing the linked list.

When the node value pointed by $cur$ is the same as the node value pointed by $cur.next$, we let $cur$ keep moving forward until the node value pointed by $cur$ is different from the node value pointed by $cur.next$. At this point, we check whether $pre.next$ is equal to $cur$. If they are equal, it means there are no duplicate nodes between $pre$ and $cur$, so we move $pre$ to the position of $cur$; otherwise, it means there are duplicate nodes between $pre$ and $cur$, so we set $pre.next$ to $cur.next$. Then we continue to move $cur$ forward. Continue the above operation until $cur$ is null, and the traversal ends.

Finally, return $dummy.next$.

The time complexity is $O(n)$, and the space complexity is $O(1)$. Here, $n$ is the length of the linked list.

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# Definition for singly-linked list.
# class ListNode:
#     def __init__(self, val=0, next=None):
#         self.val = val
#         self.next = next
class Solution:
    def deleteDuplicates(self, head: Optional[ListNode]) -> Optional[ListNode]:
        dummy = pre = ListNode(next=head)
        cur = head
        while cur:
            while cur.next and cur.next.val == cur.val:
                cur = cur.next
            if pre.next == cur:
                pre = cur
            else:
                pre.next = cur.next
            cur = cur.next
        return dummy.next

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/**
 * Definition for singly-linked list.
 * public class ListNode {
 *     int val;
 *     ListNode next;
 *     ListNode() {}
 *     ListNode(int val) { this.val = val; }
 *     ListNode(int val, ListNode next) { this.val = val; this.next = next; }
 * }
 */
class Solution {
    public ListNode deleteDuplicates(ListNode head) {
        ListNode dummy = new ListNode(0, head);
        ListNode pre = dummy;
        ListNode cur = head;
        while (cur != null) {
            while (cur.next != null && cur.next.val == cur.val) {
                cur = cur.next;
            }
            if (pre.next == cur) {
                pre = cur;
            } else {
                pre.next = cur.next;
            }
            cur = cur.next;
        }
        return dummy.next;
    }
}

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/**
 * Definition for singly-linked list.
 * struct ListNode {
 *     int val;
 *     ListNode *next;
 *     ListNode() : val(0), next(nullptr) {}
 *     ListNode(int x) : val(x), next(nullptr) {}
 *     ListNode(int x, ListNode *next) : val(x), next(next) {}
 * };
 */
class Solution {
public:
    ListNode* deleteDuplicates(ListNode* head) {
        ListNode* dummy = new ListNode(0, head);
        ListNode* pre = dummy;
        ListNode* cur = head;
        while (cur) {
            while (cur->next && cur->next->val == cur->val) {
                cur = cur->next;
            }
            if (pre->next == cur) {
                pre = cur;
            } else {
                pre->next = cur->next;
            }
            cur = cur->next;
        }
        return dummy->next;
    }
};

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/**
 * Definition for singly-linked list.
 * type ListNode struct {
 *     Val int
 *     Next *ListNode
 * }
 */
func deleteDuplicates(head *ListNode) *ListNode {
    dummy := &ListNode{Next: head}
    pre, cur := dummy, head
    for cur != nil {
        for cur.Next != nil && cur.Next.Val == cur.Val {
            cur = cur.Next
        }
        if pre.Next == cur {
            pre = cur
        } else {
            pre.Next = cur.