Data Modelling & AI Data Structure & Algorithm

Minimize elements to be added to a given array such that it contains another given array as its subsequence

23 June 2025

0

Given an array A[] consisting of N distinct integers and another array B[] consisting of M integers, the task is to find the minimum number of elements to be added to the array B[] such that the array A[] becomes the subsequence of the array B[].

Examples:

Input: N = 5, M = 6, A[] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, B[] = {2, 5, 6, 4, 9, 12}
Output: 3
Explanation:
Below are the element that are needed to be added:
1) Add 1 before element 2 of B[]
2) Add 3 after element 6 of B[]
3) Add 5 in the last position of B[].
Therefore, the resulting array B[] is {1, 2, 5, 6, 3, 4, 9, 12, 5}.
Hence, A[] is the subsequence of B[] after adding 3 elements.

Input: N = 5, M = 5, A[] = {3, 4, 5, 2, 7}, B[] = {3, 4, 7, 9, 2}
Output: 2
Explanation:
Below are the elements that are needed to be added:
1) Add 5 after element 4.
2) Add 2 after element 5.
Therefore, the resulting array B[] is {3, 4, 5, 2, 7, 9, 2}.
Hence 2 elements are required to be added.

Naive Approach: The naive approach is to generate all the subsequences of the array B and then find that subsequence such that on adding a minimum number of elements from the array A to make it equal to the array A. Print the minimum count of element added.
Time Complexity: O(N*2^M)
Auxiliary Space: O(M+N)

Efficient Approach: The above approach can be optimized using Dynamic Programming. The idea is to find the Longest Common Subsequence between the given two arrays A and B. The main observation is that the minimum number of elements to be added in B[] such that A[] becomes its subsequence can be found by subtracting the length of the longest common subsequence from the length of the array A[].

Therefore, the difference between the length of the array A[] and length of the Longest Common Subsequence is the required result.

Below is the implementation of the above approach:

C++14

// C++14 program for the above approach
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
// Function that finds the minimum number
// of the element must be added to make A
// as a subsequence in B
int transformSubsequence(int n, int m,
                         vector<int> A,
                         vector<int> B)
{
     
    // Base Case
    if (B.size() == 0)
        return n;
 
    // dp[i][j] indicates the length of
    // LCS of A of length i & B of length j
    vector<vector<int>> dp(n + 1, 
           vector<int>(m + 1, 0));
 
    for(int i = 0; i < n + 1; i++)
    {
        for(int j = 0; j < m + 1; j++)
        {
             
            // If there are no elements
            // either in A or B then the
            // length of lcs is 0
            if (i == 0 or j == 0)
                dp[i][j] = 0;
 
            // If the element present at
            // ith and jth index of A and B
            // are equal then include in LCS
            else if (A[i - 1] == B[j - 1])
                dp[i][j] = 1 + dp[i - 1][j - 1];
 
            // If they are not equal then
            // take the max
            else
                dp[i][j] = max(dp[i - 1][j],
                               dp[i][j - 1]);
        }
    }
 
    // Return difference of length
    // of A and lcs of A and B
    return n - dp[n][m];
}
 
// Driver Code
int main()
{
    int N = 5;
    int M = 6;
 
    // Given sequence A and B
    vector<int> A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };
    vector<int> B = { 2, 5, 6, 4, 9, 12 };
 
    // Function call
    cout << transformSubsequence(N, M, A, B);
 
    return 0;
}
 
// This code is contributed by mohit kumar 29

Java

// Java program for 
// the above approach
import java.util.*;
class GFG{
 
// Function that finds the minimum number
// of the element must be added to make A
// as a subsequence in B
static int transformSubsequence(int n, int m,
                                int []A, int []B)
{
  // Base Case
  if (B.length == 0)
    return n;
 
  // dp[i][j] indicates the length of
  // LCS of A of length i & B of length j
  int [][]dp = new int[n + 1][m + 1];
 
  for(int i = 0; i < n + 1; i++)
  {
    for(int j = 0; j < m + 1; j++)
    {
      // If there are no elements
      // either in A or B then the
      // length of lcs is 0
      if (i == 0 || j == 0)
        dp[i][j] = 0;
 
      // If the element present at
      // ith and jth index of A and B
      // are equal then include in LCS
      else if (A[i - 1] == B[j - 1])
        dp[i][j] = 1 + dp[i - 1][j - 1];
 
      // If they are not equal then
      // take the max
      else
        dp[i][j] = Math.max(dp[i - 1][j],
                            dp[i][j - 1]);
    }
  }
 
  // Return difference of length
  // of A and lcs of A and B
  return n - dp[n][m];
}
 
// Driver Code
public static void main(String[] args)
{
  int N = 5;
  int M = 6;
 
  // Given sequence A and B
  int []A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
  int []B = {2, 5, 6, 4, 9, 12};
 
  // Function call
  System.out.print(transformSubsequence(N, M, A, B));
}
}
 
// This code is contributed by 29AjayKumar

Python3

# Python3 program for the above approach
 
# Function that finds the minimum number
# of the element must be added to make A
# as a subsequence in B
def transformSubsequence(n, m, A, B):
 
    # Base Case
    if B is None or len(B) == 0:
        return n
 
    # dp[i][j] indicates the length of
    # LCS of A of length i & B of length j
    dp = [[0 for col in range(m + 1)]
        for row in range(n + 1)]
 
    for i in range(n + 1):
 
        for j in range(m + 1):
 
            # If there are no elements
            # either in A or B then the
            # length of lcs is 0
            if i == 0 or j == 0:
                dp[i][j] = 0
 
            # If the element present at
            # ith and jth index of A and B
            # are equal then include in LCS
            elif A[i-1] == B[j-1]:
                dp[i][j] = 1 + dp[i-1][j-1]
 
            # If they are not equal then
            # take the max
            else:
                dp[i][j] = max(dp[i-1][j], dp[i][j-1])
 
    # Return difference of length
    # of A and lcs of A and B
    return n - dp[n][m]
 
 
# Driver Code
if __name__ == "__main__":
 
    N = 5
    M = 6
     
    # Given Sequence A and B
    A = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
    B = [2, 5, 6, 4, 9, 12]
 
    # Function Call
    print(transformSubsequence(N, M, A, B))

C#

// C# program for 
// the above approach
using System;
class GFG{
 
// Function that finds the minimum number
// of the element must be added to make A
// as a subsequence in B
static int transformSubsequence(int n, int m,
                                int []A, int []B)
{
  // Base Case
  if (B.Length == 0)
    return n;
 
  // dp[i,j] indicates the length of
  // LCS of A of length i & B of length j
  int [,]dp = new int[n + 1, m + 1];
 
  for(int i = 0; i < n + 1; i++)
  {
    for(int j = 0; j < m + 1; j++)
    {
      // If there are no elements
      // either in A or B then the
      // length of lcs is 0
      if (i == 0 || j == 0)
        dp[i, j] = 0;
 
      // If the element present at
      // ith and jth index of A and B
      // are equal then include in LCS
      else if (A[i - 1] == B[j - 1])
        dp[i, j] = 1 + dp[i - 1, j - 1];
 
      // If they are not equal then
      // take the max
      else
        dp[i, j] = Math.Max(dp[i - 1, j],
                            dp[i, j - 1]);
    }
  }
 
  // Return difference of length
  // of A and lcs of A and B
  return n - dp[n, m];
}
 
// Driver Code
public static void Main(String[] args)
{
  int N = 5;
  int M = 6;
 
  // Given sequence A and B
  int []A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
  int []B = {2, 5, 6, 4, 9, 12};
 
  // Function call
  Console.Write(transformSubsequence(N, M, 
                                     A, B));
}
}
 
// This code is contributed by Rajput-Ji

Javascript

<script>
 
// JavaScript program for the above approach
 
// Function that finds the minimum number
// of the element must be added to make A
// as a subsequence in B
function transformSubsequence(n, m, A, B)
{
     
    // Base Case
    if (B.length == 0)
        return n;
 
    // dp[i][j] indicates the length of
    // LCS of A of length i & B of length j
    var dp = Array.from(Array(n+1), ()=>Array(m+1).fill(0));
 
    for(var i = 0; i < n + 1; i++)
    {
        for(var j = 0; j < m + 1; j++)
        {
             
            // If there are no elements
            // either in A or B then the
            // length of lcs is 0
            if (i == 0 || j == 0)
                dp[i][j] = 0;
 
            // If the element present at
            // ith and jth index of A and B
            // are equal then include in LCS
            else if (A[i - 1] == B[j - 1])
                dp[i][j] = 1 + dp[i - 1][j - 1];
 
            // If they are not equal then
            // take the max
            else
                dp[i][j] = Math.max(dp[i - 1][j],
                               dp[i][j - 1]);
        }
    }
 
    // Return difference of length
    // of A and lcs of A and B
    return n - dp[n][m];
}
 
// Driver Code
 
var N = 5;
var M = 6;
 
// Given sequence A and B
var A = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ];
var B = [2, 5, 6, 4, 9, 12 ];
 
// Function call
document.write( transformSubsequence(N, M, A, B));
 
 
 
</script>

Output:

Time Complexity: O(M*M), where N and M are the lengths of array A[] and B[] respectively.
Auxiliary Space: O(M*N)

Efficient approach : Space optimization

In previous approach the dp[i][j] is depend upon the current and previous row of 2D matrix. So to optimize space we use a 1D vectors dp to store previous value and use prev to store the previous diagonal element and get the current computation.

Implementation Steps:

Define a vector dp of size m+1 and initialize its first element to 0.
For each element j in B, iterate in reverse order from n to 1 and update dp[i] as follows:
a. If A[i-1] == B[j-1], set dp[i] to the previous value of dp[i-1] (diagonal element).
b. If A[i-1] != B[j-1], set dp[i] to the maximum value between dp[i] and dp[i-1]+1 (value on the left).
Finally, return n – dp[m].

Implementation:

C++

// C++ program for above approach
 
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
// Function that finds the minimum number
// of the element must be added to make A
// as a subsequence in B
int transformSubsequence(int n, int m,
                          vector<int> A,
                          vector<int> B)
{
 
    // Base Case
    if (B.size() == 0)
        return n;
 
    // dp[j] indicates the length of
    // LCS of A and B of length j
    vector<int> dp(m + 1, 0);
 
    for(int i = 1; i < n + 1; i++)
    {
        int prev = dp[0];
        for(int j = 1; j < m + 1; j++)
        {
 
            // If the element present at
            // ith and jth index of A and B
            // are equal then include in LCS
            int curr = dp[j];
            if (A[i - 1] == B[j - 1])
                dp[j] = 1 + prev;
 
            // If they are not equal then
            // take the max
            else
                dp[j] = max(dp[j], dp[j - 1]);
 
            prev = curr;
        }
    }
 
    // Return difference of length
    // of A and lcs of A and B
    return n - dp[m];
}
 
// Driver Code
int main()
{
    int N = 5;
    int M = 6;
 
    // Given sequence A and B
    vector<int> A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };
    vector<int> B = { 2, 5, 6, 4, 9, 12 };
 
    // Function call
    cout << transformSubsequence(N, M, A, B);
 
    return 0;
}
// this code is contributed by bhardwajji

Java

import java.util.*;
 
public class MinimumAdditions {
 
    // Function that finds the minimum number
    // of the element must be added to make A
    // as a subsequence in B
    public static int transformSubsequence(int n, int m,
                          List<Integer> A,
                          List<Integer> B)
    {
 
        // Base Case
        if (B.size() == 0)
            return n;
 
        // dp[j] indicates the length of
        // LCS of A and B of length j
        int[] dp = new int[m + 1];
 
        for(int i = 1; i < n + 1; i++)
        {
            int prev = dp[0];
            for(int j = 1; j < m + 1; j++)
            {
 
                // If the element present at
                // ith and jth index of A and B
                // are equal then include in LCS
                int curr = dp[j];
                if (A.get(i - 1).equals(B.get(j - 1)))
                    dp[j] = 1 + prev;
 
                // If they are not equal then
                // take the max
                else
                    dp[j] = Math.max(dp[j], dp[j - 1]);
 
                prev = curr;
            }
        }
 
        // Return difference of length
        // of A and lcs of A and B
        return n - dp[m];
    }
 
    // Driver Code
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int N = 5;
        int M = 6;
 
        // Given sequence A and B
        List<Integer> A = Arrays.asList(1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
        List<Integer> B = Arrays.asList(2, 5, 6, 4, 9, 12);
 
        // Function call
        System.out.println(transformSubsequence(N, M, A, B));
    }
}

Python3

# Python program for above approach
 
# Function that finds the minimum number
# of the element must be added to make A
# as a subsequence in B
def transformSubsequence(n, m, A, B):
 
    # Base Case
    if len(B) == 0:
        return n
 
    # dp[j] indicates the length of
    # LCS of A and B of length j
    dp = [0] * (m + 1)
 
    for i in range(1, n + 1):
        prev = dp[0]
        for j in range(1, m + 1):
 
            # If the element present at
            # ith and jth index of A and B
            # are equal then include in LCS
            curr = dp[j]
            if A[i - 1] == B[j - 1]:
                dp[j] = 1 + prev
 
            # If they are not equal then
            # take the max
            else:
                dp[j] = max(dp[j], dp[j - 1])
 
            prev = curr
 
    # Return difference of length
    # of A and lcs of A and B
    return n - dp[m]
 
# Driver Code
if __name__ == '__main__':
    N = 5
    M = 6
 
    # Given sequence A and B
    A = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
    B = [2, 5, 6, 4, 9, 12]
 
    # Function call
    print(transformSubsequence(N, M, A, B))

C#

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
 
class Program
{
    static int TransformSubsequence(int n, int m, List<int> A, List<int> B)
    {
        // Base Case
        if (B.Count == 0)
            return n;
 
        // dp[j] indicates the length of
        // LCS of A and B of length j
        var dp = new int[m + 1];
 
        for (int i = 1; i < n + 1; i++)
        {
            int prev = dp[0];
            for (int j = 1; j < m + 1; j++)
            {
                // If the element present at
                // ith and jth index of A and B
                // are equal then include in LCS
                int curr = dp[j];
                if (A[i - 1] == B[j - 1])
                    dp[j] = 1 + prev;
 
                // If they are not equal then
                // take the max
                else
                    dp[j] = Math.Max(dp[j], dp[j - 1]);
 
                prev = curr;
            }
        }
 
        // Return difference of length
        // of A and lcs of A and B
        return n - dp[m];
    }
 
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        int N = 5;
        int M = 6;
 
        // Given sequence A and B
        var A = new List<int> { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };
        var B = new List<int> { 2, 5, 6, 4, 9, 12 };
 
        // Function call
        Console.WriteLine(TransformSubsequence(N, M, A, B));
    }
}

Javascript

// Define a function that finds the minimum number
// of the element must be added to make A as a subsequence in B
function transformSubsequence(n, m, A, B) {
    // Base Case: if B is an empty list, then all elements of A 
    // need to be added to B to make A a subsequence of B
if (B.length === 0)
    return n;
 
// Define a dynamic programming array dp of length m+1 
// where dp[j] indicates the length of the longest common subsequence (LCS) 
// of A and B of length j
let dp = new Array(m + 1).fill(0);
 
// Loop through the elements of A
for(let i = 1; i < n + 1; i++) {
    // Define a variable prev to keep track of the value of dp[j-1] 
    // in the previous iteration
    let prev = dp[0];
    // Loop through the elements of B
    for(let j = 1; j < m + 1; j++) {
        // Define a variable curr to keep track of the value of dp[j] 
        // in the previous iteration
        let curr = dp[j];
        // If the ith element of A is equal to the jth element of B, 
        // include this element in the LCS
        if (A[i - 1] === B[j - 1])
            dp[j] = 1 + prev;
        // If the ith element of A is not equal to the jth element of B, 
        // then take the maximum of dp[j] and dp[j-1] to find the 
        // longest common subsequence so far
        else
            dp[j] = Math.max(dp[j], dp[j - 1]);
        // Update prev with the value of curr for the next iteration
        prev = curr;
    }
}
 
// Return the difference of the length of A and the LCS of A and B, which is the minimum number of elements that must be added to B to make A a subsequence of B
return n - dp[m];
}
 
// Test the function with the given input
let N = 5;
let M = 6;
 
let A = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
let B = [2, 5, 6, 4, 9, 12];
 
console.log(transformSubsequence(N, M, A, B));

Output

Time Complexity: O(M*M), where N and M are the lengths of array A[] and B[] respectively.
Auxiliary Space: O(M)

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Minimize elements to be added to a given array such that it contains another given array as its subsequence

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Java

Python3

C#

Javascript

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