Minimum Operations To Make Array Values Equal To K · Interview Problem

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Minimum Operations To Make Array Values Equal To K

Count how many array elements must be changed so that every value becomes exactly k.

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Problem Statement

Problem

You are given an integer array nums and an integer k.

In one operation, you may choose any index and change nums[i] to any value you want.

Return the minimum number of operations required so that every element in the array is equal to k.

Idea

This is a direct counting problem: only elements that are already equal to k can stay unchanged. Every other element must be modified exactly once.

Input Format

An integer array nums
An integer k

Output Format

Return the minimum number of single-index value changes needed so that all elements equal k.

Constraints

1 <= nums.length
nums[i] and k are integers
Each operation changes one array element
The answer is always between 0 and nums.length

Examples

Sample cases returned by the problem API.

Example 1

Input

nums = [3, 1, 3, 2], k = 3

Output

Explanation

The two elements not equal to 3 must be changed. After 2 operations, the array can become [3, 3, 3, 3].

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