2765. Longest Alternating Subarray LeetCode Solution
In this guide, you will get 2765. Longest Alternating Subarray LeetCode Solution with the best time and space complexity. The solution to Longest Alternating Subarray problem is provided in various programming languages like C++, Java, and Python. This will be helpful for you if you are preparing for placements, hackathons, interviews, or practice purposes. The solutions provided here are very easy to follow and include detailed explanations.
Table of Contents
- Problem Statement
- Complexity Analysis
- Longest Alternating Subarray solution in C++
- Longest Alternating Subarray solution in Java
- Longest Alternating Subarray solution in Python
- Additional Resources

Problem Statement of Longest Alternating Subarray
You are given a 0-indexed integer array nums. A subarray s of length m is called alternating if:
m is greater than 1.
s1 = s0 + 1.
The 0-indexed subarray s looks like [s0, s1, s0, s1,…,s(m-1) % 2]. In other words, s1 – s0 = 1, s2 – s1 = -1, s3 – s2 = 1, s4 – s3 = -1, and so on up to s[m – 1] – s[m – 2] = (-1)m.
Return the maximum length of all alternating subarrays present in nums or -1 if no such subarray exists.
A subarray is a contiguous non-empty sequence of elements within an array.
Example 1:
Input: nums = [2,3,4,3,4]
Output: 4
Explanation:
The alternating subarrays are [2, 3], [3,4], [3,4,3], and [3,4,3,4]. The longest of these is [3,4,3,4], which is of length 4.
Example 2:
Input: nums = [4,5,6]
Output: 2
Explanation:
[4,5] and [5,6] are the only two alternating subarrays. They are both of length 2.
Constraints:
2 <= nums.length <= 100
1 <= nums[i] <= 104
Complexity Analysis
- Time Complexity: O(n)
- Space Complexity: O(1)
2765. Longest Alternating Subarray LeetCode Solution in C++
class Solution {
public:
int alternatingSubarray(vector<int>& nums) {
int ans = 1;
int dp = 1;
for (int i = 1; i < nums.size(); ++i) {
const int targetDiff = dp % 2 == 0 ? -1 : 1;
// Append nums[i] to the current alternating subarray.
if (nums[i] - nums[i - 1] == targetDiff)
++dp;
// Reset the alternating subarray to nums[i - 1..i].
else if (nums[i] - nums[i - 1] == 1)
dp = 2;
// Reset the alternating subarray to nums[i].
else
dp = 1;
ans = max(ans, dp);
}
return ans == 1 ? -1 : ans;
}
};
/* code provided by PROGIEZ */
2765. Longest Alternating Subarray LeetCode Solution in Java
class Solution {
public int alternatingSubarray(int[] nums) {
int ans = 1;
int dp = 1;
for (int i = 1; i < nums.length; ++i) {
final int targetDiff = dp % 2 == 0 ? -1 : 1;
// Append nums[i] to the current alternating subarray.
if (nums[i] - nums[i - 1] == targetDiff)
++dp;
// Reset the alternating subarray to nums[i - 1..i].
else if (nums[i] - nums[i - 1] == 1)
dp = 2;
// Reset the alternating subarray to nums[i].
else
dp = 1;
ans = Math.max(ans, dp);
}
return ans == 1 ? -1 : ans;
}
}
// code provided by PROGIEZ
2765. Longest Alternating Subarray LeetCode Solution in Python
class Solution:
def alternatingSubarray(self, nums: list[int]) -> int:
ans = 1
dp = 1
for i in range(1, len(nums)):
targetDiff = -1 if dp % 2 == 0 else 1
# Append nums[i] to the current alternating subarray.
if nums[i] - nums[i - 1] == targetDiff:
dp += 1
# Reset the alternating subarray to nums[i - 1..i].
elif nums[i] - nums[i - 1] == 1:
dp = 2
# Reset the alternating subarray to nums[i].
else:
dp = 1
ans = max(ans, dp)
return -1 if ans == 1 else ans
# code by PROGIEZ
Additional Resources
- Explore all LeetCode problem solutions at Progiez here
- Explore all problems on LeetCode website here
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