CodingMediumcod-g026

Subject Dynamic programming 1dLevel Mid–Senior~20 minCommon in Algorithms & data structures interviewsIndustries Software development

Question

You are given an integer array nums. In one operation you pick any value x present in the array, gain x points, and must then delete every occurrence of x as well as every element equal to x-1 and x+1. You repeat until the array is empty. Return the maximum total points you can earn. Values satisfy 1 <= nums[i] <= 10^4 and the array may be empty.

Implement

delete_and_earn(nums: list[int]) → int

Examples

in[[3,4,2]]out6

What a strong answer looks like

State your approach and its time/space complexity out loud before you optimize. Handle the edge cases (empty input, duplicates, overflow), and say why you chose this over the brute force. Green tests are the floor, not the grade.

Learn the concepts

Vibe coding: describe the solution in plain language (or narrate it) and the coach grades your approach. Generating runnable code from your description is coming next.

Run or narrate your approach, then ask the coach.