How do you approach Burst Balloons?

Think about which balloon to burst LAST instead of first.

What is the time complexity of Burst Balloons?

Time complexity: O(n^3). Space complexity: O(n^2).

What are common mistakes on Burst Balloons?

Iterating the dimensions in an order that reads a cell before it has been written. Getting the base case wrong. It carries the whole recurrence, and the error stays invisible until a large input. Rolling down to one dimension without reversing the inner loop, which lets a 0/1 item be taken twice.

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Burst Balloons

HardAlgorithms

Description

You are given `n` balloons, indexed from `0` to `n - 1`. Each balloon is painted with a number on it represented by the array `nums`. You are asked to burst all the balloons. If you burst the `i`th balloon, you will get `nums[i - 1] * nums[i] * nums[i + 1]` coins. If `i - 1` or `i + 1` goes out of bounds of the array, treat it as if there is a balloon with a `1` painted on it. Return the **maximum** coins you can collect by bursting the balloons wisely.

Example 1

Input: nums = [3,1,5,8]

Output: 167

Explanation: Burst in order: 1, 5, 3, 8. Coins: 3*1*5 + 3*5*8 + 1*3*8 + 1*8*1 = 15+120+24+8 = 167.

Example 2

Input: nums = [1,5]

Output: 10

Constraints

- 1 <= nums.length <= 300 - 0 <= nums[i] <= 100

Burst Balloons: approach, complexity and pitfalls

A hard dynamic programming problem, graded against 6 test cases (3 of them hidden).

The pattern: Dynamic Programming

Overlapping subproblems solved once and reused - the pattern candidates fear most.

Reach for it when you see: "Number of ways", "minimum/maximum cost", or a recursion that recomputes the same state.

More Dynamic Programmingproblems →

If you are stuck

Show the 3-step hint ladder

Think about which balloon to burst LAST instead of first.
Use interval DP: dp[i][j] = max coins from bursting all balloons between i and j.
For each interval, try every balloon as the last one to burst in that range.

The optimal approach

Show the approach: Interval DP

Add virtual balloons with value 1 at both ends. Define dp[i][j] as the max coins from bursting all balloons between indices i and j (exclusive). For each subproblem, try each balloon k as the last one burst in the range. The coins from bursting k last are vals[i]*vals[k]*vals[j] plus dp[i][k] + dp[k][j].

Time: O(n^3)
Space: O(n^2)

The full reference solution in every supported language stays in the editor above - reveal it there once you have had a real attempt.

What the tests check

Read off this problem's own test suite, so these are the cases a submission actually has to survive.

Single element. A one-element case is included. Two-pointer and window solutions frequently return the wrong thing when the two indices start out equal.
Duplicate values. Repeated values appear in the input, so any logic that assumes distinct elements - or that skips over equal neighbours - is exercised.
Zero. Zero appears in the input, which is the value most likely to break a truthiness check used in place of an explicit comparison.

Common Dynamic Programming mistakes

These apply to the pattern as a whole, not just this problem.

Iterating the dimensions in an order that reads a cell before it has been written.
Getting the base case wrong. It carries the whole recurrence, and the error stays invisible until a large input.
Rolling down to one dimension without reversing the inner loop, which lets a 0/1 item be taken twice.