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LeetCode 1642, Medium. Topics: Array, Greedy, Heap (Priority Queue). View on LeetCode. Generate this problem as a practice environment: tested reference solution, 36 parametrized pytest cases, and a playground notebook:

Problem

You are given an integer array heights representing the heights of buildings, some bricks, and some ladders. You start your journey from building 0 and move to the next building by possibly using bricks or ladders. While moving from building i to building i+1 (0-indexed),
  • If the current building’s height is greater than or equal to the next building’s height, you do not need a ladder or bricks.
  • If the current building’s height is less than the next building’s height, you can either use one ladder or (h[i+1] - h[i]) bricks.
Return the furthest building index (0-indexed) you can reach if you use the given ladders and bricks optimally.

Examples

Example 1

Constraints

  • 1 <= heights.length <= 10^5
  • 1 <= heights[i] <= 10^6
  • 0 <= bricks <= 10^9
  • 0 <= ladders <= heights.length

Solution

Reference implementation from solution.py on GitHub, full suite in test_solution.py:

Complexity

Tags

NeetCode All.
Last modified on September 7, 2026