Problem 236315 · easy · Phase 02 Linear Data Structures

Position of the Largest Node

linked list · traversal · max

Given the head of a singly linked list, return the 0-based position of the node holding the largest value. If several nodes share the largest value, return the position of the first one. Return -1 for an empty list.

Examples

Input:  head = 3 -> 9 -> 2 -> 9
Output: 1

Input:  head = (empty)
Output: -1

Constraints

  • 0 <= number of nodes <= 10**4
  • Values can be negative
  • Target: O(n) time, one pass

Goals

  • Track both the best value and where it was seen
  • Return the first position on ties
Starting Python…