3149. Find the Minimum Cost Array Permutation LeetCode Solution
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Table of Contents
- Problem Statement
- Complexity Analysis
- Find the Minimum Cost Array Permutation solution in C++
- Find the Minimum Cost Array Permutation solution in Java
- Find the Minimum Cost Array Permutation solution in Python
- Additional Resources

Problem Statement of Find the Minimum Cost Array Permutation
You are given an array nums which is a permutation of [0, 1, 2, …, n – 1]. The score of any permutation of [0, 1, 2, …, n – 1] named perm is defined as:
score(perm) = |perm[0] – nums[perm[1]]| + |perm[1] – nums[perm[2]]| + … + |perm[n – 1] – nums[perm[0]]|
Return the permutation perm which has the minimum possible score. If multiple permutations exist with this score, return the one that is lexicographically smallest among them.
Example 1:
Input: nums = [1,0,2]
Output: [0,1,2]
Explanation:
The lexicographically smallest permutation with minimum cost is [0,1,2]. The cost of this permutation is |0 – 0| + |1 – 2| + |2 – 1| = 2.
Example 2:
Input: nums = [0,2,1]
Output: [0,2,1]
Explanation:
The lexicographically smallest permutation with minimum cost is [0,2,1]. The cost of this permutation is |0 – 1| + |2 – 2| + |1 – 0| = 2.
Constraints:
2 <= n == nums.length <= 14
nums is a permutation of [0, 1, 2, …, n – 1].
Complexity Analysis
- Time Complexity: O(2^n \cdot n^2)
- Space Complexity: O(2^n \cdot n)
3149. Find the Minimum Cost Array Permutation LeetCode Solution in C++
class Solution {
public:
vector<int> findPermutation(vector<int>& nums) {
const int n = nums.size();
vector<vector<int>> mem(n, vector<int>(1 << n));
// bestPick[last][mask] := the best pick, where `last` is the last chosen
// number and `mask` is the bitmask of the chosen numbers
vector<vector<int>> bestPick(n, vector<int>(1 << n));
// Choose 0 as perm[0] since the score function is cyclic.
getScore(nums, /*last=*/0, /*mask=*/1, bestPick, mem);
return construct(bestPick);
}
private:
// Returns the minimum score, where `last` is the last chosen number and
// `mask` is the bitmask of the chosen numbers.
int getScore(const vector<int>& nums, int last, unsigned mask,
vector<vector<int>>& bestPick, vector<vector<int>>& mem) {
if (popcount(mask) == nums.size())
return abs(last - nums[0]); // |perm[n - 1] - nums[perm[0]]|
if (mem[last][mask] > 0)
return mem[last][mask];
int minScore = INT_MAX;
for (int i = 1; i < nums.size(); ++i) {
if (mask >> i & 1)
continue;
const int nextMinScore =
abs(last - nums[i]) + getScore(nums, i, mask | 1 << i, bestPick, mem);
if (nextMinScore < minScore) {
minScore = nextMinScore;
bestPick[last][mask] = i;
}
}
return mem[last][mask] = minScore;
}
vector<int> construct(const vector<vector<int>>& bestPick) {
vector<int> ans;
int last = 0;
int mask = 1;
for (int i = 0; i < bestPick.size(); ++i) {
ans.push_back(last);
last = bestPick[last][mask];
mask |= 1 << last;
}
return ans;
}
};
/* code provided by PROGIEZ */
3149. Find the Minimum Cost Array Permutation LeetCode Solution in Java
class Solution {
public int[] findPermutation(int[] nums) {
final int n = nums.length;
int[][] mem = new int[n][1 << n];
// bestPick[last][mask] := the best pick, where `last` is the last chosen
// number and `mask` is the bitmask of the chosen numbers
int[][] bestPick = new int[n][1 << n];
// Choose 0 as perm[0] since the score function is cyclic.
getScore(nums, /*last=*/0, /*mask=*/1, bestPick, mem);
return construct(bestPick);
}
// Returns the minimum score, where `last` is the last chosen number and
// `mask` is the bitmask of the chosen numbers.
private int getScore(int[] nums, int last, int mask, int[][] bestPick, int[][] mem) {
if (Integer.bitCount(mask) == nums.length)
return Math.abs(last - nums[0]); // |perm[n - 1] - nums[perm[0]]|
if (mem[last][mask] > 0)
return mem[last][mask];
int minScore = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
for (int i = 1; i < nums.length; ++i) {
if ((mask >> i & 1) == 1)
continue;
int nextMinScore = Math.abs(last - nums[i]) + getScore(nums, i, mask | 1 << i, bestPick, mem);
if (nextMinScore < minScore) {
minScore = nextMinScore;
bestPick[last][mask] = i;
}
}
return mem[last][mask] = minScore;
}
private int[] construct(int[][] bestPick) {
int[] ans = new int[bestPick.length];
int last = 0;
int mask = 1;
for (int i = 0; i < bestPick.length; ++i) {
ans[i] = last;
last = bestPick[last][mask];
mask |= 1 << last;
}
return ans;
}
}
// code provided by PROGIEZ
3149. Find the Minimum Cost Array Permutation LeetCode Solution in Python
class Solution:
def findPermutation(self, nums: list[int]) -> list[int]:
n = len(nums)
bestPick = [[0] * (1 << n) for _ in range(n)]
@functools.lru_cache(None)
def getScore(last: int, mask: int) -> int:
if mask.bit_count() == len(nums):
return abs(last - nums[0])
minScore = math.inf
for i in range(1, len(nums)):
if mask >> i & 1:
continue
nextMinScore = abs(last - nums[i]) + getScore(i, mask | (1 << i))
if nextMinScore < minScore:
minScore = nextMinScore
bestPick[last][mask] = i
return minScore
getScore(0, 1)
return self._construct(bestPick)
def _construct(self, bestPick: list[list[int]]) -> list[int]:
ans = []
last = 0
mask = 1
for _ in range(len(bestPick)):
ans.append(last)
last = bestPick[last][mask]
mask |= 1 << last
return 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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