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Difference between highest and least frequencies in an array

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Given an array, find the difference between highest occurrence and least occurrence of any number in an array

Examples: 

Input  : arr[] = [7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5]
Output : 2
Lowest occurring element (5) occurs once.
Highest occurring element (1 or 7) occurs 3 times
Input : arr[] = [1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 3]
Output : 0

A simple solution is to use two loops to count the frequency of every element and keep track of maximum and minimum frequencies.

Algorithm:

  1. Define function named maxMinDiff with two parameters arr[] and n.
  2. Initialize variables maxFreq to INT_MIN and minFreq to INT_MAX.
  3. Loop through array arr[] from i = 0 to n-1
    • Initialize count variable to 0
    • Loop through array arr[] from j = 0 to n-1
      •   If arr[i] is equal to arr[j], increment count
    • Update maxFreq and minFreq with maximum and minimum of their respective values and count
  4. Find difference between maxFreq and minFreq and store it in variable diff
  5. Return diff

Below is the implementation of the approach:

C++




// C++ code for the approach
 
#include<bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
// function that
// returns difference
int maxMinDiff(int arr[], int n) {
    // Initializing variables
    int maxFreq = INT_MIN, minFreq = INT_MAX;
     
    // Loop to count the frequency of every element
    for(int i=0; i<n; i++) {
        int count = 0;
        for(int j=0; j<n; j++) {
            if(arr[i] == arr[j])
                count++;
        }
       
        // Updating maximum and minimum frequencies
        maxFreq = max(maxFreq, count);
        minFreq = min(minFreq, count);
    }
     
    // Finding the difference between maximum and minimum frequencies
    return (maxFreq - minFreq);
}
 
// Driver code
int main() {
    int arr[] = { 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5 };
    int n = sizeof(arr)/sizeof(arr[0]);
     
    // Function call
    int diff = maxMinDiff(arr, n);
    cout << diff << endl;
     
    return 0;
}


Java




// Java program for the above approach
 
import java.util.*;
 
class Main {
   
    // Function that returns difference
    public static int maxMinDiff(int[] arr, int n)
    {
        // Initializing variables
        int maxFreq = Integer.MIN_VALUE,
            minFreq = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
 
        // Loop to count the frequency
        // of every element
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
            int count = 0;
            for (int j = 0; j < n; j++) {
                if (arr[i] == arr[j])
                    count++;
            }
 
            // Updating the maximum and
            // minimum frequencies
            maxFreq = Math.max(maxFreq, count);
            minFreq = Math.min(minFreq, count);
        }
 
        // Finding the difference between maximum
        // and minimum frequencies
        return (maxFreq - minFreq);
    }
 
    // Driver Code
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int arr[] = { 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5 };
        int n = arr.length;
        int diff = maxMinDiff(arr, n);
        System.out.println(diff);
    }
}


Python




def max_min_diff(arr):
    # Initializing variables
    max_freq = float('-inf')
    min_freq = float('inf')
 
    # Loop to count the frequency of every element
    for i in range(len(arr)):
        count = 0
        for j in range(len(arr)):
            if arr[i] == arr[j]:
                count += 1
 
        # Updating maximum and minimum frequencies
        max_freq = max(max_freq, count)
        min_freq = min(min_freq, count)
 
    # Finding the difference between maximum and minimum frequencies
    return max_freq - min_freq
 
# Driver code
if __name__ == "__main__":
    arr = [7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5]
     
    # Function call
    diff = max_min_diff(arr)
    print(diff)


C#




using System;
 
class Program
{
    // Function that returns the difference between the maximum and minimum frequencies
    static int MaxMinDiff(int[] arr, int n)
    {
        // Initializing variables for maximum and minimum frequencies
        int maxFreq = int.MinValue;
        int minFreq = int.MaxValue;
 
        // Loop to count the frequency of every element
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        {
            int count = 0;
            for (int j = 0; j < n; j++)
            {
                if (arr[i] == arr[j])
                    count++;
            }
 
            // Updating maximum and minimum frequencies
            maxFreq = Math.Max(maxFreq, count);
            minFreq = Math.Min(minFreq, count);
        }
 
        // Finding the difference between maximum and minimum frequencies
        return maxFreq - minFreq;
    }
 
    // Driver code
    static void Main()
    {
        int[] arr = { 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5 };
        int n = arr.Length;
 
        // Function call
        int diff = MaxMinDiff(arr, n);
        Console.WriteLine(diff);
    }
}


Javascript




// Function that returns the difference between the maximum and minimum
// frequencies of elements in an array
function maxMinDiff(arr) {
    // Initializing variables
    let maxFreq = -Infinity;
    let minFreq = Infinity;
     
    // Loop to count the frequency of every element
    for (let i = 0; i < arr.length; i++) {
        let count = 0;
        for (let j = 0; j < arr.length; j++) {
            if (arr[i] === arr[j]) {
                count++;
            }
        }
       
        // Updating maximum and minimum frequencies
        maxFreq = Math.max(maxFreq, count);
        minFreq = Math.min(minFreq, count);
    }
     
    // Finding the difference between maximum and minimum frequencies
    return maxFreq - minFreq;
}
 
// Driver code
const arr = [7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5];
const diff = maxMinDiff(arr);
console.log(diff);


Output

2



Time Complexity: O(N*N) where N is the size of input array. This is because two nested for loops are executing in maxMinDiff function.

Space Complexity: O(1) as no extra space has been taken.

A better solution is to sort the array in O(n log n) and check consecutive element’s occurrence and compare their count respectively. 

Implementation:

C++




// CPP code to find the difference between highest
// and least frequencies
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
int findDiff(int arr[], int n)
{
    // sort the array
    sort(arr, arr + n);
 
    int count = 0, max_count = 0, min_count = n;
    for (int i = 0; i < (n - 1); i++) {
 
        // checking consecutive elements
        if (arr[i] == arr[i + 1]) {
            count += 1;
            continue;
        }
        else {
            max_count = max(max_count, count);
            min_count = min(min_count, count);
            count = 0;
        }
    }
 
    return (max_count - min_count);
}
 
// Driver code
int main()
{
    int arr[] = { 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5 };
    int n = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);
 
    cout << findDiff(arr, n) << "\n";
    return 0;
}


Java




// JAVA Code for Difference between
// highest and least frequencies
// in an array
import java.util.*;
 
class GFG {
 
    static int findDiff(int arr[], int n)
    {
        // sort the array
        Arrays.sort(arr);
 
        int count = 0, max_count = 0,
            min_count = n;
 
        for (int i = 0; i < (n - 1); i++) {
 
            // checking consecutive elements
            if (arr[i] == arr[i + 1]) {
                count += 1;
                continue;
            }
            else {
                max_count = Math.max(max_count,
                                     count);
 
                min_count = Math.min(min_count,
                                     count);
                count = 0;
            }
        }
 
        return (max_count - min_count);
    }
 
    // Driver program to test above function
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
 
        int arr[] = { 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1,
                      1, 7, 7, 2, 5 };
        int n = arr.length;
 
        System.out.println(findDiff(arr, n));
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by Arnav Kr. Mandal.


Python3




# Python3 code to find the difference
# between highest nd least frequencies
 
def findDiff(arr, n):
     
    # sort the array
    arr.sort()
     
    count = 0; max_count = 0; min_count = n
    for i in range(0, (n-1)):
 
        # checking consecutive elements
        if arr[i] == arr[i + 1]:
            count += 1
            continue
        else:
            max_count = max(max_count, count)
            min_count = min(min_count, count)
            count = 0
    return max_count - min_count
 
# Driver Code
arr = [ 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5 ]
n = len(arr)
print (findDiff(arr, n))
 
# This code is contributed by Shreyanshi Arun.


C#




// C# Code for Difference between
// highest and least frequencies
// in an array
using System;
 
class GFG {
 
    static int findDiff(int[] arr, int n)
    {
         
        // sort the array
        Array.Sort(arr);
 
        int count = 0, max_count = 0,
            min_count = n;
 
        for (int i = 0; i < (n - 1); i++) {
 
            // checking consecutive elements
            if (arr[i] == arr[i + 1]) {
                count += 1;
                continue;
            }
            else {
                max_count = Math.Max(max_count,
                                    count);
 
                min_count = Math.Min(min_count,
                                    count);
                count = 0;
            }
        }
 
        return (max_count - min_count);
    }
 
    // Driver program to test above function
    public static void Main()
    {
 
        int[] arr = { 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1,
                       1, 7, 7, 2, 5 };
        int n = arr.Length;
 
        Console.WriteLine(findDiff(arr, n));
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by vt_m.


Javascript




<script>
    // Javascript Code for Difference between
    // highest and least frequencies
    // in an array
     
    function findDiff(arr, n)
    {
           
        // sort the array
        arr.sort(function(a, b){return a - b});
   
        let count = 0, max_count = 0, min_count = n;
   
        for (let i = 0; i < (n - 1); i++) {
   
            // checking consecutive elements
            if (arr[i] == arr[i + 1]) {
                count += 1;
                continue;
            }
            else {
                max_count = Math.max(max_count, count);
   
                min_count = Math.min(min_count, count);
                count = 0;
            }
        }
   
        return (max_count - min_count);
    }
     
    let arr = [ 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5 ];
    let n = arr.length;
 
    document.write(findDiff(arr, n));
         
</script>


PHP




<?php
// PHP code to find the
// difference between highest
// and least frequencies
 
// function that
// returns difference
function findDiff($arr, $n)
{
     
    // sort the array
    sort($arr);
 
    $count = 0; $max_count = 0;
    $min_count = $n;
    for ($i = 0; $i < ($n - 1); $i++)
    {
 
        // checking consecutive elements
        if ($arr[$i] == $arr[$i + 1])
        {
            $count += 1;
            continue;
        }
        else
        {
            $max_count = max($max_count, $count);
            $min_count = min($min_count, $count);
            $count = 0;
        }
    }
 
    return ($max_count - $min_count);
}
 
// Driver Code
$arr = array(7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1,
             1, 7, 7, 2, 5);
$n = sizeof($arr);
 
echo(findDiff($arr, $n) . "\n");
 
// This code is contributed by Ajit.
?>


Output

2



Time Complexity: O(nlogn) the inbuilt sort function takes N log N time to complete all operations, hence the overall time taken by the algorithm is N log N
Space Complexity: O(1) since no extra array is used so the space taken by the algorithm is constant

An efficient solution is to use hashing. We count frequencies of all elements and finally traverse the hash table to find maximum and minimum.

Below is the implementation.

C++




// CPP code to find the difference between highest
// and least frequencies
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
int findDiff(int arr[], int n)
{
    // Put all elements in a hash map
    unordered_map<int, int> hm;
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        hm[arr[i]]++;
 
    // Find counts of maximum and minimum
    // frequent elements
    int max_count = 0, min_count = n;
    for (auto x : hm) {
        max_count = max(max_count, x.second);
        min_count = min(min_count, x.second);
    }
 
    return (max_count - min_count);
}
 
// Driver
int main()
{
    int arr[] = { 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5 };
    int n = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);
 
    cout << findDiff(arr, n) << "\n";
    return 0;
}


Java




// Java code to find the difference between highest
// and least frequencies
import java.util.*;
 
class GFG
{
 
static int findDiff(int arr[], int n)
{
    // Put all elements in a hash map
    Map<Integer,Integer> mp = new HashMap<>();
    for (int i = 0 ; i < n; i++)
    {
        if(mp.containsKey(arr[i]))
        {
            mp.put(arr[i], mp.get(arr[i])+1);
        }
        else
        {
            mp.put(arr[i], 1);
        }
    }
 
    // Find counts of maximum and minimum
    // frequent elements
    int max_count = 0, min_count = n;
    for (Map.Entry<Integer,Integer> x : mp.entrySet())
    {
        max_count = Math.max(max_count, x.getValue());
        min_count = Math.min(min_count, x.getValue());
    }
 
    return (max_count - min_count);
}
 
// Driver code
public static void main(String[] args)
{
    int arr[] = { 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5 };
    int n = arr.length;
    System.out.println(findDiff(arr, n));
}
}
 
/* This code is contributed by PrinciRaj1992 */


Python3




# Python code to find the difference between highest
# and least frequencies
 
from collections import defaultdict
def findDiff(arr,n):
 
    # Put all elements in a hash map
    mp = defaultdict(lambda:0)
    for i in range(n):
        mp[arr[i]]+=1
 
    # Find counts of maximum and minimum
    # frequent elements
    max_count=0;min_count=n
    for key,values in mp.items():
        max_count= max(max_count,values)
        min_count = min(min_count,values)
 
    return max_count-min_count
 
 
# Driver code
arr = [ 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5]
n = len(arr)
print(findDiff(arr,n))
 
# This code is contributed by Shrikant13


C#




// C# code to find the difference between highest
// and least frequencies
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
 
class GFG
{
 
static int findDiff(int []arr, int n)
{
    // Put all elements in a hash map
    Dictionary<int,int> mp = new Dictionary<int,int>();
    for (int i = 0 ; i < n; i++)
    {
        if(mp.ContainsKey(arr[i]))
        {
            var val = mp[arr[i]];
            mp.Remove(arr[i]);
            mp.Add(arr[i], val + 1);
        }
        else
        {
            mp.Add(arr[i], 1);
        }
    }
 
    // Find counts of maximum and minimum
    // frequent elements
    int max_count = 0, min_count = n;
    foreach(KeyValuePair<int, int> entry in mp)
    {
        max_count = Math.Max(max_count, entry.Value);
        min_count = Math.Min(min_count, entry.Value);
    }
 
    return (max_count - min_count);
}
 
// Driver code
public static void Main(String[] args)
{
    int []arr = { 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5 };
    int n = arr.Length;
    Console.WriteLine(findDiff(arr, n));
}
}
 
// This code is contributed by Princi Singh


Javascript




<script>
      // JavaScript code to find the difference between highest
      // and least frequencies
      function findDiff(arr, n)
      {
       
        // Put all elements in a hash map
        var mp = {};
        for (var i = 0; i < n; i++) {
          if (mp.hasOwnProperty(arr[i])) {
            var val = mp[arr[i]];
            delete mp[arr[i]];
            mp[arr[i]] = val + 1;
          } else {
            mp[arr[i]] = 1;
          }
        }
 
        // Find counts of maximum and minimum
        // frequent elements
        var max_count = 0,
          min_count = n;
        for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(mp)) {
          max_count = Math.max(max_count, value);
          min_count = Math.min(min_count, value);
        }
 
        return max_count - min_count;
      }
 
      // Driver code
      var arr = [7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 7, 2, 5];
      var n = arr.length;
      document.write(findDiff(arr, n));
       
      // This code is contributed by rdtank.
    </script>


Output

2



Time Complexity: O(n) since one traversal of the array is required to complete all operations hence the overall time required by the algorithm is linear
Auxiliary Space: O(n) since an unordered map is used, in the worst case all elements will be stored inside the unordered map thus the space taken by the algorithm is linear

This article is contributed by Himanshu Ranjan.  



Last Updated : 06 Nov, 2023
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