Develop Reference

returns the smallest positive integer (greater than 0) that does not occur in Array

I have the following question:-
Write a function:
class Solution { public int solution(int[] A); }
that, given an array A of N integers, returns the smallest positive integer (greater than 0) that does not occur in A.
For example, given A = [1, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2], the function should return 5.
Given A = [1, 2, 3], the function should return 4.
Given A = [−1, −3], the function should return 1.
Write an efficient algorithm for the following assumptions:
N is an integer within the range [1..100,000];
each element of array A is an integer within the range [−1,000,000..1,000,000].
now i tried this code:-
using System;
// you can also use other imports, for example:
// using System.Collections.Generic;
// you can write to stdout for debugging purposes, e.g.
// Console.WriteLine("this is a debug message");
class Solution
{
public int solution(int[] A)
{
// write your code in C# 6.0 with .NET 4.5 (Mono)
int n = 1;
Array.Sort(A);
for (int i = 1; i <= 100000; i++)
{
for (int i2 = 0; i2 <= A.Length - 1; i2++)
{
if (A[i2] == i)
{
n = A[i2] + 1;
break;
}
}
}
return n;
}
}
where my code worked well for these test data:-
A = [1, 2, 3]
A = [−1, −3]
while failed for this one:-
A = [1, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2] where it return 7 instead of 5.
any advice why my code failed on the 3rd test?
Thanks

using System.Linq;
int smallestNumber = Enumerable.Range(1, 100000).Except(A).Min();

I would use following approach that uses a HashSet<int> to check if a given integer is missing:
public static int? SmallestMissing(int[] A, int rangeStart = 1, int rangeEnd = 100_000)
{
HashSet<int> hs = new HashSet<int>(A);
for (int i = rangeStart; i <= rangeEnd; i++)
if(!hs.Contains(i)) return i;
return null;
}
A HashSet is a collection if unique values and it's very efficient in lookup items(complexity is O(1)). So you get a very readable and efficient algorithm at the cost of some memory.
Maybe you could optimize it by providing another algorithm in case the array is very large, you don't want to risk an OutOfMemoryException:
public static int? SmallestMissing(int[] A, int rangeStart = 1, int rangeEnd = 100_000)
{
if(A.Length > 1_000_000)
{
Array.Sort(A);
for (int i = rangeStart; i <= rangeEnd; i++)
{
int index = Array.BinarySearch(A, i);
if(index < 0) return i;
}
return null;
}
HashSet<int> hs = new HashSet<int>(A);
for (int i = rangeStart; i <= rangeEnd; i++)
if(!hs.Contains(i)) return i;
return null;
}

If you're allowed to sort the array in-place, which means modifying the input parameter value, here's a simple linear probe for the missing value (on top of the sort of course).
Here's the pseudo-code:
Sort the array
Skip all negatives and 0's at the start
Loopify the following:
Expect 1, if not found at current location return 1
Skip all 1's
Expect 2, if not found at current location return 2
Skip all 2's
Expect 3, if not found at current location return 3
Skip all 3's
... and so on for 4, 5, 6, etc. until end of array
If we get here, return currently expected value which should've been at the end
Here's the code:
public static int FirstMissingValue(int[] input)
{
Array.Sort(input);
int index = 0;
// Skip negatives
while (index < input.Length && input[index] < 1)
index++;
int expected = 1;
while (index < input.Length)
{
if (input[index] > expected)
return expected;
// Skip number and all duplicates
while (index < input.Length && input[index] == expected)
index++;
expected++;
}
return expected;
}
Test-cases:
Console.WriteLine(FirstMissingValue(new[] { 1, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2 }));
Console.WriteLine(FirstMissingValue(new[] { 1, 2, 3 }));
Console.WriteLine(FirstMissingValue(new[] { -1, -3 }));
output:
5
4
1

Your alg won't work in case input array becomes like this: [1,2-1,1,3,5]. I did this based on your alg. Give it a try:
int[] a = new int[] { -1, -2};
IEnumerable<int> uniqueItems = a.Distinct<int>().Where(x => x > 0);
if (uniqueItems.Count() == 0)
{
Console.WriteLine("result: 1");
}
else
{
Array asList = uniqueItems.ToArray();
Array.Sort(asList);
for (int i = 1; i <= 100000; i++)
{
if ((int)asList.GetValue(i - 1) != i)
{
Console.WriteLine("result: " + i);
break;
}
}
}

you can try like this.
public static int solution(int[] A)
{
int smallest = -1;
Array.Sort(A);
if(A[0] > 1)
return 1;
for(int i = 0; i < A.Length; i++)
{
if(A.Length != i+1 && A[i] + 1 != A[i + 1] && A[i+1] > 0)
{
smallest = A[i]+1;
break;
}
else if(A[i] > 0 && A.Length == i+1)
{
smallest = A[i] + 1;
}
}
return smallest > 0 ? smallest:1;
}

Here's the approach that uses O(N) partitioning followed by an O(N) search. This approach does not use any additional storage, but it DOES change the contents of the array.
This code was converted from here. Also see this article.
I've added comments to try to explain how the second stage findSmallestMissing() works. I've not commented the partitioning method, since that's just a variant of a standard partition as might be used in a QuickSort algorithm.
static class Program
{
public static void Main()
{
Console.WriteLine(FindSmallestMissing(1, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2));
Console.WriteLine(FindSmallestMissing(1, 2, 3));
Console.WriteLine(FindSmallestMissing(-1, -3));
}
public static int FindSmallestMissing(params int[] array)
{
return findSmallestMissing(array, partition(array));
}
// Places all the values > 0 before any values <= 0,
// and returns the index of the first value <= 0.
// The values are unordered.
static int partition(int[] arr)
{
void swap(int x, int y)
{
var temp = arr[x];
arr[x] = arr[y];
arr[y] = temp;
}
int pIndex = 0; // Index of pivot.
for (int i = 0; i < arr.Length; i++)
{
if (arr[i] > 0) // pivot is 0, hence "> 0"
swap(i, pIndex++);
}
return pIndex;
}
// This is the clever bit.
// We will use the +ve values in the array as flags to indicate that the number equal to that index is
// present in the array, by making the value negative if it is found in the array.
// This way we can store both the original number AND whether or not the number equal to that index is present
// in a single value.
//
// Given n numbers that are all > 0, find the smallest missing number as follows:
//
// For each array index i in (0..n):
// val = |arr[i]| - 1; // Subtract 1 so val will be between 0 and max +ve value in original array.
// if (val is in range) // If val beyond the end of the array we can ignore it
// and arr[val] is non-negative // If already negative, no need to make it negative.
// make arr[val] negative
//
// After that stage, we just need to find the first positive number in the array, which indicates that
// the number equal to that index + 1 is missing.
// n = number of values at the start of the array that are > 0
static int findSmallestMissing(int[] arr, int n)
{
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
{
int val = Math.Abs(arr[i]) - 1;
if (val < n && arr[val] >= 0)
arr[val] = -arr[val];
}
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
{
if (arr[i] > 0) // Missing number found.
return i + 1;
}
return n + 1; // No missing number found.
}
}

class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
int [] A = new int[] {1, 2, 3};
int n = 0;
bool found = false;
Array.Sort(A);
for (int i = 1; i <= 100000; i++) {
for (int x = 0; x <= A.Length - 1; x++) {
int next = (x + 1) < A.Length ? (x + 1): x;
if (A[x] > 0 && (A[next] - A[x]) > 0) {
n = A[x] + 1;
found = true;
break;
}
}
if(found) {
break;
}
}
Console.WriteLine("Smallest number: " + n);
}
}

int smallestNumber=Enumerable.Range(1,(int.Parse(A.Length.ToString())+1)).Except(A).Min();
Array.Sort(A);
for (int number = 1; number <= 100000; number++)
{
for (int num = number; i2 <= A.Length - 1; num++)
{
if (A[num] == number)
{
smallestNumber = A[num] + 1;
break;
}
}
}
return smallestNumber;
}

The easiest one :)
class Solution
{
public int solution(int[] array)
{
int[] onlyPositiveArray = array.Where(a => a > 0).OrderBy(a => a).Distinct().ToArray();
int smallestNumber = 1;
foreach (var number in onlyPositiveArray)
{
if (smallestNumber != number)
{
break;
}
smallestNumber ++;
}
if (!onlyPositiveArray.Contains(smallestNumber ))
{
return smallestNumber;
}
else
{
return smallestNumber + 1;
}
}
}

PHP Solution:
function solution($A) {
// write your code in PHP7.0
// sort array
sort($A);
// get the first
$smallest = $A[0];
// write while
while( in_array(($smallest),$A) || (($smallest) < 1 ) )
{
$smallest++;
}
return $smallest;
}

My solution, also if someone could test how performant it is?
public int solution(int[] N) {
if (N.Length == 0)
return 1;
else if (N.Length == 1)
return N[0] >= 0 ? N[0] + 1 : 1;
Array.Sort(N);
int min = Array.Find(N, IsUnderZero);
if (min ==
default)
return 1;
HashSet < int > hashSet = new HashSet < int > (N);
int max = N[N.Length - 1];
for (int i = min + 1; i <= max + 1; i++) {
if (!hashSet.Contains(i) && i > 0)
return i;
}
return max + 1;
bool IsUnderZero(int i) => i <= 0;
}

Try the below:
public static int MinIntegerGreaterThanZeroInArray(int[] A)
{
int minInt;
if (A.Length > 0)
{
Array.Sort(A);
for (minInt = 1; minInt <= A.Length; minInt++)
{
int index = Array.BinarySearch(A, minInt);
if (index < 0) return minInt;
}
return minInt;
}
//Array is empty.
throw new InvalidOperationException();
}

public static int Smallest(int[] A)
{
int maxPositiveInt = 1;
HashSet<int> NumDic = new HashSet<int>();
for (int i = 0; i < A.Length; i++)
{
if (A[i] <= 0)
{
continue;
}
if (!NumDic.Contains(A[i]))
{
NumDic.Add(A[i]);
}
maxPositiveInt = Math.Max(A[i], maxPositiveInt);
}
//All numbers are negative
if (NumDic.Count == 0)
{
return 1;
}
int smallestinteger = 1;
for (int i = 0; i < A.Length; i++)
{
if (A[i] <= 0)
{
continue;
}
if (!NumDic.Contains(smallestinteger))
{
return smallestinteger;
}
else
{
smallestinteger++;
}
}
return maxPositiveInt + 1;
}

static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.WriteLine(solution(new int[]{1, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2}));
}
public static int solution(int[] A)
{
Array.Sort(A);
int smallest = A[0];
while (A.Contains(smallest+1)|| (smallest+1)<1)
{
smallest++;
}
return smallest +1;
}

Hackerrank: Climbing the Leaderboard

i have a deal with a hackerrank algorithm problem.
It works at all cases, except 6-7-8-9. It gives timeout error. I had spent so much time at this level. Someone saw where is problem?
static long[] climbingLeaderboard(long[] scores, long[] alice)
{
//long[] ranks = new long[scores.Length];
long[] aliceRanks = new long[alice.Length]; // same length with alice length
long lastPoint = 0;
long lastRank;
for (long i = 0; i < alice.Length; i++)
{
lastPoint = scores[0];
lastRank = 1;
bool isIn = false; // if never drop in if statement
for (long j = 0; j < scores.Length; j++)
{
if (lastPoint != scores[j]) //if score is not same, raise the variable
{
lastPoint = scores[j];
lastRank++;
}
if (alice[i] >= scores[j])
{
aliceRanks[i] = lastRank;
isIn = true;
break;
}
aliceRanks[i] = !isIn & j + 1 == scores.Length ? ++lastRank : aliceRanks[i]; //drop in here
}
}
return aliceRanks;
}

This problem can be solved in O(n) time, no binary search needed at all. First, we need to extract the most useful piece of data given in the problem statement, which is,
The existing leaderboard, scores, is in descending order.
Alice's scores, alice, are in ascending order.
An approach that makes this useful is to create two pointers, one at the start of alice array, let's call it "i", and the second is at the end of scores array, let's call it "j". We then loop until i reaches the end of alice array and at each iteration, we check for three main conditions. We increment i by one if alice[i] is less than scores[j] because the next element of alice may be also less than the current element of scores, or we decrement j if alice[i] is greater than scores[j] because we are sure that the next elements of alice are also greater than those elements discarded in scores. The last condition is that if alice[i] == scores[j], we only increment i.
I solved this question in C++, my goal here is to make you understand the algorithm, I think you can easily convert it to C# if you understand it. If there are any confusions, please tell me. Here is the code:
// Complete the climbingLeaderboard function below.
vector<int> climbingLeaderboard(vector<int> scores, vector<int> alice) {
int j = 1, i = 1;
// this is to remove duplicates from the scores vector
for(i =1; i < scores.size(); i++){
if(scores[i] != scores[i-1]){
scores[j++] = scores[i];
}
}
int size = scores.size();
for(i = 0; i < size-j; i++){
scores.pop_back();
}
vector<int> ranks;
i = 0;
j = scores.size()-1;
while(i < alice.size()){
if(j < 0){
ranks.push_back(1);
i++;
continue;
}
if(alice[i] < scores[j]){
ranks.push_back(j+2);
i++;
} else if(alice[i] > scores[j]){
j--;
} else {
ranks.push_back(j+1);
i++;
}
}
return ranks;
}
I think this may help you too:
vector is like an array list that resizes itself.
push_back() is inserting at the end of the vector.
pop_back() is removing from the end of the vector.

Here is my solution with c#
public static List<int> climbingLeaderboard(List<int> ranked, List<int> player)
{
List<int> result = new List<int>();
ranked = ranked.Distinct().ToList();
var pLength = player.Count;
var rLength = ranked.Count-1;
int j = rLength;
for (int i = 0; i < pLength; i++)
{
for (; j >= 0; j--)
{
if (player[i] == ranked[j])
{
result.Add(j + 1);
break;
}
else if(player[i] < ranked[j])
{
result.Add(j + 2);
break;
}
else if(player[i] > ranked[j]&&j==0)
{
result.Add(1);
break;
}enter code here
}
}
return result;
}

Here is a solution that utilizes BinarySearch. This method returns the index of the searched number in the array, or if the number is not found then it returns a negative number that is the bitwise complement of the index of the next element in the array. Binary search only works in sorted arrays.
public static int[] GetRanks(long[] scores, long[] person)
{
var defaultComparer = Comparer<long>.Default;
var reverseComparer = Comparer<long>.Create((x, y) => -defaultComparer.Compare(x, y));
var distinctOrderedScores = scores.Distinct().OrderBy(i => i, reverseComparer).ToArray();
return person
.Select(i => Array.BinarySearch(distinctOrderedScores, i, reverseComparer))
.Select(pos => (pos >= 0 ? pos : ~pos) + 1)
.ToArray();
}
Usage example:
var scores = new long[] { 100, 100, 50, 40, 40, 20, 10 };
var alice = new long[] { 5, 25, 50, 120 };
var ranks = GetRanks(scores, alice);
Console.WriteLine($"Ranks: {String.Join(", ", ranks)}");
Output:
Ranks: 6, 4, 2, 1

I was bored so i gave this a go with Linq and heavily commented it for you,
Given
public static IEnumerable<int> GetRanks(long[] scores, long[] person)
// Convert scores to a tuple
=> scores.Select(s => (scores: s, isPerson: false))
// convert persons score to a tuple and concat
.Concat(person.Select(s => (scores: s, isPerson: true)))
// Group by scores
.GroupBy(x => x.scores)
// order by score
.OrderBy(x => x.Key)
// select into an indexable tuple so we know everyones rank
.Select((groups, i) => (rank: i, groups))
// Filter the person
.Where(x => x.groups.Any(y => y.isPerson))
// select the rank
.Select(x => x.rank);
Usage
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var scores = new long[]{1, 34, 565, 43, 44, 56, 67};
var alice = new long[]{578, 40, 50, 67, 6};
var ranks = GetRanks(scores, alice);
foreach (var rank in ranks)
Console.WriteLine(rank);
}
Output
1
3
6
8
10

Based on the given constraint brute-force solution will not be efficient for the problem.
you have to optimize your code and the key part here is to look up for exact place which can be effectively done by using binary search.
Here is the solution using binary search:-
static int[] climbingLeaderboard(int[] scores, int[] alice) {
int n = scores.length;
int m = alice.length;
int res[] = new int[m];
int[] rank = new int[n];
rank[0] = 1;
for (int i = 1; i < n; i++) {
if (scores[i] == scores[i - 1]) {
rank[i] = rank[i - 1];
} else {
rank[i] = rank[i - 1] + 1;
}
}
for (int i = 0; i < m; i++) {
int aliceScore = alice[i];
if (aliceScore > scores[0]) {
res[i] = 1;
} else if (aliceScore < scores[n - 1]) {
res[i] = rank[n - 1] + 1;
} else {
int index = binarySearch(scores, aliceScore);
res[i] = rank[index];
}
}
return res;
}
private static int binarySearch(int[] a, int key) {
int lo = 0;
int hi = a.length - 1;
while (lo <= hi) {
int mid = lo + (hi - lo) / 2;
if (a[mid] == key) {
return mid;
} else if (a[mid] < key && key < a[mid - 1]) {
return mid;
} else if (a[mid] > key && key >= a[mid + 1]) {
return mid + 1;
} else if (a[mid] < key) {
hi = mid - 1;
} else if (a[mid] > key) {
lo = mid + 1;
}
}
return -1;
}
You can refer to this link for a more detailed video explanation.

static int[] climbingLeaderboard(int[] scores, int[] alice) {
int[] uniqueScores = IntStream.of(scores).distinct().toArray();
int [] rank = new int [alice.length];
int startIndex=0;
for(int j=alice.length-1; j>=0;j--) {
for(int i=startIndex; i<=uniqueScores.length-1;i++) {
if (alice[j]<uniqueScores[uniqueScores.length-1]){
rank[j]=uniqueScores.length+1;
break;
}
else if(alice[j]>=uniqueScores[i]) {
rank[j]=i+1;
startIndex=i;
break;
}
else{continue;}
}
}
return rank;
}

My solution in javascript for climbing the Leaderboard Hackerrank problem. The time complexity of the problem can be O(i+j), i is the length of scores and j is the length of alice. The space complexity is O(1).
// Complete the climbingLeaderboard function below.
function climbingLeaderboard(scores, alice) {
const ans = [];
let count = 0;
// the alice array is arranged in ascending order
let j = alice.length - 1;
for (let i = 0 ; i < scores.length ; i++) {
const score = scores[i];
for (; j >= 0 ; j--) {
if (alice[j] >= score) {
// if higher than score
ans.unshift(count+1);
} else if (i === scores.length - 1) {
// if smallest
ans.unshift(count+2);
} else {
break;
}
}
// actual rank of the score in leaderboard
if (score !== scores[i-1]) {
count++;
}
}
return ans;
}

Here is my solution
List<int> distinct = null;
List<int> rank = new List<int>();
foreach (int item in player)
{
ranked.Add(item);
ranked.Sort();
ranked.Reverse();
distinct = ranked.Distinct().ToList();
for (int i = 0; i < distinct.Count; i++)
{
if (item == distinct[i])
{
rank.Add(i + 1);
break;
}
}
}
return rank;
This can be modified by removing the inner for loop also
List<int> distinct = null;
List<int> rank = new List<int>();
foreach (int item in player)
{
ranked.Add(item);
ranked.Sort();
ranked.Reverse();
distinct = ranked.Distinct().ToList();
var index = ranked.FindIndex(x => x == item);
rank.Add(index + 1);
}
return rank;

This is my solution in c# for Hackerrank Climbing the Leaderboard based on C++ answer here.
public static List<int> climbingLeaderboard(List<int> ranked, List<int> player)
{
List<int> _ranked = new List<int>();
_ranked.Add(ranked[0]);
for(int a=1; a < ranked.Count(); a++)
if(_ranked[_ranked.Count()-1] != ranked[a])
_ranked.Add(ranked[a]);
int j = _ranked.Count()-1;
int i = 0;
while(i < player.Count())
{
if(j < 0)
{
player[i] = 1;
i++;
continue;
}
if(player[i] < _ranked[j])
{
player[i] = j+2;
i++;
}
else
if(player[i] == _ranked[j])
{
player[i] = j+1;
i++;
}
else
{
j--;
}
}
return player;
}

My solution in Java for climbing the Leaderboard Hackerrank problem.
// Complete the climbingLeaderboard function below.
static int[] climbingLeaderboard(int[] scores, int[] alice) {
Arrays.sort(scores);
HashSet<Integer> set = new HashSet<Integer>();
int[] ar = new int[alice.length];
int sc = 0;
for(int i=0; i<alice.length; i++){
sc = 1;
set.clear();
for(int j=0; j<scores.length; j++){
if(alice[i] < scores[j] && !set.contains(scores[j])){
sc++;
set.add(scores[j]);
}
}
ar[i] = sc;
}return ar;
}

C# money exchange algorithm

I need to determine the given input into all possible banknote combinations.
int[] currency = new int[] { 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 };
int total = 20; // result is { {5,5,5,5} {5,5,10} {10,10} {20} }
int[][] result = GetCombinations(total, 0, currency); // should return the 4 combinations
Here is what I've tried so far.
public static int GetCombinations(int total, int index, int[] list)
{
total = total - list[index];
if (total < 0)
{
return 0;
}
else if (total == 0)
{
return 1;
}
else
{
return 1 + GetCombinations(total, index + 1, list);
}
}
QUESTION for Bounty:
I need a way to get all combinations - not just the count.

You are only calculating {5}, {5, 10}.
You are calculating "How many different coins can use if the cost <= 20?".
So, you have to count for this algorithm.
The correct code is:
public static int GetCombinations(int total, int index, int[] list)
{
if (total == 0)
{
return 1;
}
if(index == list.Length) {
return 0;
}
int ret = 0;
for(; total >= 0; total -= list[index])
{
ret += GetCombinations(total, index + 1, list);
}
return ret;
}
If you want to calculate the number of combinations, you can also solve dynamic programming and memorize for dp[total][index], because GetCombinations(total, index, list) value is same if total and index is same.
EDIT:
If you want ALL combinations, you can do like this:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
class Program {
public static int GetCombinations(int total, int index, int[] list, List<int> cur) {
if (total == 0) {
foreach(var i in cur) {
Console.Write(i + " ");
}
Console.WriteLine();
return 1;
}
if(index == list.Length) {
return 0;
}
int ret = 0;
for(; total >= 0; total -= list[index]) {
ret += GetCombinations(total, index + 1, list, cur);
cur.Add(list[index]);
}
for(int i = 0; i < cur.Count; i++) {
while(cur.Count > i && cur[i] == list[index]) {
cur.RemoveAt(i);
}
}
return ret;
}
public static void Main() {
int[] l = { 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 };
GetCombinations(20, 0, l, new List<int>());
}
}
I improved my code and now you're able to enumerate ALL combinations using recursion.
In this code, it enumerates combinations in lexicographical order.
I verified for sum=20, 75 cases.

Find out how long the longest sequence is in a string

I recently had this question in an interview and this is what I came up with. Any feedback?
Find out how long the longest sequence is in a string. For example, in the string "abccdeeeeef" the answer would be 5.
static int LongestSeq(string strPass)
{
int longestSeq = 0;
char[] strChars = strPass.ToCharArray();
int numCurrSeq = 1;
for (int i = 0; i < strChars.Length - 1; i++)
{
if (strChars[i] == strChars[i + 1])
{
numCurrSeq++;
}
else
{
numCurrSeq = 1;
}
if (longestSeq < numCurrSeq)
{
longestSeq = numCurrSeq;
}
}
return longestSeq;
}

This will return 0 for strings of length 1 (when it should return 1).

First comment: you don't need to convert it to a char array. You can index straight into the string.
Second comment: you could easily generalize this to IEnumerable<T> if you wanted to, using foreach and remembering the "current" item.
Third comment: I think the comparison between longestSeq and numCurrSeq would be clearer as:
if (numCurrSeq > longestSeq)
To me that's more natural as I usually have the varying part of the expression first.

Just to add my 2 pence in, here's an alternative using Regex:
string source = "eeabccdeeeeef";
Regex reg = new Regex(#"(\w)\1+");
MatchCollection matches = reg.Matches(source);
int longest = 0;
foreach (System.Text.RegularExpressions.Match match in matches)
{
if (longest < match.Length) longest = match.Length;
}
Due to not reading the question properly in the first place when posting my previous answer, I should probably add in some actual feedback considering that's the question posted by the OP. However, every point I've come up with has been mentioned by Henrik or Job Skeet, so I'll just stress the point Jon Skeet made; you do not have to convert a string to a char array, you can just index a particular point in the string as follows:
char letter = someString[4];
So it should all still work if you replace strChars with strPass.

You can always rember the last character, so you don't need to access the array twice in an iteration.
Inside your loop you can use another loop which iterates as long as the current character is the same as the last character. After this subloop you can place the check if the current numCurrSeq > longestSeq you you don't need this check every iteration but for every subsequence.

I don't really know whatever langauge this is (C#?) so excuse any minor syntactic glitches (I don't know if it's "else if" or "elseif" or "elif" or something else)
static int LongestSeq(string strPass)
{
int longestSeq = 1;
int curSeqStart = 0;
for (int i = 1; i < strPass.Length; i++)
{
if (strPass[i] != strPass[curSeq])
{
curSeqStart = i;
}
else if (i - curSeqStart + 1 > longestSeq)
{
longestSeq = i - curSeqStart + 1;
}
}
return longestSeq;
}
It might be more efficient to do
...
else
{
len = i - curSeqStart + 1
if ( len > longestSeq )
{
longestSeq = len;
}
}
or even just
...
else
{
longestSeq = max(longestSeq, i - curSeqStart + 1)
}
depending on how good your 'max' implementation and compiler are.

I think this works? I don't ussually write recursive methods, I would have totally come up with the posters answer..
public static int recurse(Char last, int seqLength, int currentIndex, int largestSeqLength, string source)
{
if (currentIndex > source.Length)
{
return largestSeqLength;
}
if (source[currentIndex] == last)
{
seqLength++;
if (seqLength > largestSeqLength)
{
largestSeqLength = seqLength;
}
}
else
{
seqLength = 1;
}
return recurse(source[currentIndex], seqLength, currentIndex++, largestSeqLength, source);
}

And another implementation
public static int LongestSeq<T>(this IEnumerable<T> source)
{
if (source == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException("source");
int result = 0;
int currentCount = 0;
using (var e = source.GetEnumerator())
{
var lhs = default(T);
if (e.MoveNext())
{
lhs = e.Current;
currentCount = 1;
result = currentCount;
}
while (e.MoveNext())
{
if (lhs.Equals(e.Current))
{
currentCount++;
}
else
{
currentCount = 1;
}
result = Math.Max(currentCount, result);
lhs = e.Current;
}
}
return result;
}

A simple (untested) solution would be:
int GetLongestSequence(string input)
{
char c = 0;
int maxSequenceLength = 0;
int maxSequenceStart = 0;
int curSequenceLength = 0;
int length = input.Length;
for (int i = 0; i < length; ++i)
{
if (input[i] == c)
{
++curSequenceLength;
if (curSequenceLength > maxSequenceLength)
{
maxSequenceLength = curSequenceLength;
maxSequenceStart = i - (curSequenceLength - 1);
}
}
else
{
curSequenceLength = 1;
c = input[i];
}
}
return maxSequenceStart;
}
Or a better structured code (also untested):
private int GetSequenceLength(string input, int start)
{
int i = start;
char c = input[i];
while (input[i] == c) ++i; // Could be written as `while (input[i++] == c);` but i don't recommend that
return (i - start);
}
public int GetLongestSequence(string input)
{
int length = input.Length;
int maxSequenceLength = 0;
int maxSequenceStart = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < length; /* no ++i */)
{
int curSequenceLength = this.GetSequenceLength(input, i);
if (curSequenceLength > maxSequenceLength)
{
maxSequenceLength = curSequenceLength;
maxSequenceStart = i;
}
i += curSequenceLength;
}
return maxSequenceStart;
}

This extension method find the longest sequence of same characters in a string.
public static int GetLongestSequenceOfSameCharacters(this string sequence)
{
var data = new List<char>();
for (int i = 0; i < sequence.Length; i++)
{
if (i > 0 && (sequence[i] == sequence[i - 1]))
{
data.Add(sequence[i]);
}
}
return data.GroupBy(x => x).Max(x => x.Count()) + 1;
}
[TestMethod]
public void TestMethod1()
{
// Arrange
string sequence = "aabbbbccccce";
// Act
int containsSameNumbers = sequence.GetLongestSequenceOfSameCharacters();
// Assert
Assert.IsTrue(containsSameNumbers == 5);
}

n-th prime number problem, need to speed it up a bit

There is simple cipher that translates number to series of . ( )
In order to encrypt a number (0 .. 2147483647) to this representation, I (think I) need:
prime factorization
for given p (p is Prime), order sequence of p (ie. PrimeOrd(2) == 0, PrimeOrd(227) == 49)
Some examples
0 . 6 (()())
1 () 7 (...())
2 (()) 8 ((.()))
3 (.()) 9 (.(()))
4 ((())) 10 (().())
5 (..()) 11 (....())
227 (................................................())
2147483648 ((..........()))
My source code for the problem
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;
static class P
{
static List<int> _list = new List<int>();
public static int Nth(int n)
{
if (_list.Count == 0 || _list.Count < n)
Primes().Take(n + 1);
return _list[n];
}
public static int PrimeOrd(int prime)
{
if (_list.Count == 0 || _list.Last() < prime)
Primes().First(p => p >= prime);
return (_list.Contains(prime)) ? _list.FindIndex(p => p == prime) : -1;
}
public static List<int> Factor(int N)
{
List<int> ret = new List<int>();
for (int i = 2; i ≤ N; i++)
while (N % i == 0)
{
N /= i;
ret.Add(i);
}
return ret;
}
public static IEnumerable<int> Primes()
{
_list = new List<int>();
_list.Add(2);
yield return 2;
Func<int, bool> IsPrime = n => _list.TakeWhile(p => p ≤ (int)Math.Sqrt(n)).FirstOrDefault(p => n % p == 0) == 0;
for (int i = 3; i < Int32.MaxValue; i += 2)
{
if (IsPrime(i))
{
_list.Add(i);
yield return i;
}
}
}
public static string Convert(int n)
{
if (n == 0) return ".";
if (n == 1) return "()";
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
var p = Factor(n);
var max = PrimeOrd(p.Last());
for (int i = 0; i ≤ max; i++)
{
var power = p.FindAll((x) => x == Nth(i)).Count;
sb.Append(Convert(power));
}
return "(" + sb.ToString() + ")";
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string line = Console.ReadLine();
try
{
int num = int.Parse(line);
Console.WriteLine("{0}: '{1}'", num, P.Convert(num));
}
catch
{
Console.WriteLine("You didn't entered number!");
}
}
}
The problem is SLOWNESS of procedure PrimeOrd. Do you know some FASTER solution for finding out order of prime in primes?
Heading
If You know how to speed-up finding order of prime number, please, suggest something. :-)
Thank You.
P.S. The biggest prime less than 2,147,483,648 is 2,147,483,647 and it's 105,097,565th prime. There is no need to expect bigger number than 2^31.

This is not something you should be doing at run-time. A better option is to pre-calculate all these primes and then put them in your program somehow (a static array, or a file to be read in). The slow code is then run as part of the development process (which is slow anyway :-), not at the point where you need your speed.
Then it's just a matter of a lookup of some sort rather than calculating them every time you need them.

Please see SO questions:
http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Astackoverflow.com+prime+number&btnG=Search
Finding prime numbers with the Sieve of Eratosthenes (Originally: Is there a better way to prepare this array?)
Prime number calculation fun
How can I find prime numbers through bit operations in C++?
prime numbers c#
Finding composite numbers
Prime numbers program
If you need a list of known primes, have a look here

You should cache the primes to _list and then use it for both Factor and PrimeOrd. Additionally avoid operators LINQ operators like TakeWhile that create values that you throw away.
Here's an optimized version:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
static class P
{
private static List<int> _list = new List<int>();
public static int Nth(int n)
{
if (_list.Count == 0 || _list.Count <= n)
{
GenerateNextPrimes().First(p => _list.Count >= n);
}
return _list[n];
}
public static int PrimeOrd(int prime)
{
var primes = GrowPrimesTo(prime);
return primes.IndexOf(prime);
}
public static List<int> Factor(int N)
{
List<int> ret = new List<int>();
GrowPrimesTo(N);
for (int ixDivisor = 0; ixDivisor < _list.Count; ixDivisor++)
{
int currentDivisor = _list[ixDivisor];
while (N % currentDivisor == 0)
{
N /= currentDivisor;
ret.Add(currentDivisor);
}
if (N <= 1)
{
break;
}
}
return ret;
}
private static List<int> GrowPrimesTo(int max)
{
if (_list.LastOrDefault() >= max)
{
return _list;
}
GenerateNextPrimes().First(prime => prime >= max);
return _list;
}
private static IEnumerable<int> GenerateNextPrimes()
{
if (_list.Count == 0)
{
_list.Add(2);
yield return 2;
}
Func<int, bool> IsPrime =
n =>
{
// cache upperBound
int upperBound = (int)Math.Sqrt(n);
for (int ixPrime = 0; ixPrime < _list.Count; ixPrime++)
{
int currentDivisor = _list[ixPrime];
if (currentDivisor > upperBound)
{
return true;
}
if ((n % currentDivisor) == 0)
{
return false;
}
}
return true;
};
// Always start on next odd number
int startNum = _list.Count == 1 ? 3 : _list[_list.Count - 1] + 2;
for (int i = startNum; i < Int32.MaxValue; i += 2)
{
if (IsPrime(i))
{
_list.Add(i);
yield return i;
}
}
}
public static string Convert(int n)
{
if (n == 0) return ".";
if (n == 1) return "()";
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
var p = Factor(n);
var max = PrimeOrd(p.Last());
for (int i = 0; i <= max; i++)
{
var power = p.FindAll(x => x == Nth(i)).Count;
sb.Append(Convert(power));
}
return "(" + sb.ToString() + ")";
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string line = Console.ReadLine();
int num;
if(int.TryParse(line, out num))
{
Console.WriteLine("{0}: '{1}'", num, P.Convert(num));
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("You didn't entered number!");
}
}
}