Middle of the Linked List

Problem

Given the head of a singly linked list, return the middle node of the linked list.

If there are two middle nodes, return the second middle node.

Example 1:

Input: head = [1,2,3,4,5]
Output: [3,4,5]
Explanation: The middle node of the list is node 3.

Example 2:

Input: head = [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Output: [4,5,6]
Explanation: Since the list has two middle nodes with values 3 and 4, we return the second one.

Constraints:

  • The number of nodes in the list is in the range [1, 100].
  • 1 <= Node.val <= 100

Solution

/**
 * Definition for singly-linked list.
 * public class ListNode {
 *     int val;
 *     ListNode next;
 *     ListNode() {}
 *     ListNode(int val) { this.val = val; }
 *     ListNode(int val, ListNode next) { this.val = val; this.next = next; }
 * }
 */
class Solution {
    public ListNode middleNode(ListNode head) {
        ListNode fast = head;
        ListNode slow = head;

        while (fast != null && fast.next != null) {
            fast = fast.next.next;
            slow = slow.next;
        }

        return slow;
    }
}

Recent posts from blogs that I like

Medium and Message: Gilding

How gold leaf is applied, burnished and patterned using punches to create a jewelled surface. Seen in the Wilton Diptych, and revived by Gustav Klimt at the end of the 19th century.

via The Eclectic Light Company

Giving LLMs a personality is just good engineering

AI skeptics often argue that current AI systems shouldn’t be so human-like. The idea - most recently expressed in this opinion piece by Nathan Beacom - is that language models should explicitly be tools, like calculators or search engines. Although they can pretend to be people, they shouldn’t, beca...

via Sean Goedecke

The Unbound Scepter

My post-surgery medication stack gave me the most on-the-nose dream of my life.

via Xe Iaso