[NeetCode 150] Three Integer Sum

Three Integer Sum

Given an integer array nums, return all the triplets [nums[i], nums[j], nums[k]] where nums[i] + nums[j] + nums[k] == 0, and the indices i, j and k are all distinct.

The output should not contain any duplicate triplets. You may return the output and the triplets in any order.

Example 1:

Input: nums = [-1,0,1,2,-1,-4]

Output: [[-1,-1,2],[-1,0,1]]

Explanation:
nums[0] + nums[1] + nums[2] = (-1) + 0 + 1 = 0.
nums[1] + nums[2] + nums[4] = 0 + 1 + (-1) = 0.
nums[0] + nums[3] + nums[4] = (-1) + 2 + (-1) = 0.
The distinct triplets are [-1,0,1] and [-1,-1,2].

Example 2:

Input: nums = [0,1,1]

Output: []

Explanation: The only possible triplet does not sum up to 0.

Example 3:

Input: nums = [0,0,0]

Output: [[0,0,0]]

Explanation: The only possible triplet sums up to 0.

Constraints:

3 <= nums.length <= 1000
-10^5 <= nums[i] <= 10^5

Solution

The most easy-to-understand way I think is two-pointers algorithm. First, we sort the list of numbers in ascending order. Then, we traverse the list, taking current number as the first number in tuple, we can do two-pointers on the subarray on its right, where the left pointer begins from the number just after current number and the right pointer begin