This was asked of me in an interview and this is the solution I provided:
public static int[] merge(int[] a, int[] b) {
int[] answer = new int[a.length + b.length];
int i = 0, j = 0, k = 0;
while (i < a.length && j < b.length)
{
if (a[i] < b[j])
{
answer[k] = a[i];
i++;
}
else
{
answer[k] = b[j];
j++;
}
k++;
}
while (i < a.length)
{
answer[k] = a[i];
i++;
k++;
}
while (j < b.length)
{
answer[k] = b[j];
j++;
k++;
}
return answer;
}
Is there a more efficient way to do this?
Edit: Corrected length methods.
public static int[] merge(int[] a, int[] b) {
int[] answer = new int[a.length + b.length];
int i = 0, j = 0, k = 0;
while (i < a.length && j < b.length)
answer[k++] = a[i] < b[j] ? a[i++] : b[j++];
while (i < a.length)
answer[k++] = a[i++];
while (j < b.length)
answer[k++] = b[j++];
return answer;
}
Is a little bit more compact but exactly the same!