coding-interview|September 13, 2019|2 min read

Integer to Roman conversion - Leet Code Solution

TL;DR

Use a greedy approach with a value-symbol lookup table (including subtractive forms like IV, IX). Subtract the largest fitting value repeatedly and append its symbol.

Integer to Roman conversion - Leet Code Solution

Problem Statement

Roman numerals are represented by seven different symbols: I, V, X, L, C, D and M.

Symbol       Value
I             1
V             5
X             10
L             50
C             100
D             500
M             1000

For example, two is written as II in Roman numeral, just two one’s added together. Twelve is written as, XII, which is simply X + II. The number twenty seven is written as XXVII, which is XX + V + II.

Roman numerals are usually written largest to smallest from left to right. However, the numeral for four is not IIII. Instead, the number four is written as IV. Because the one is before the five we subtract it making four. The same principle applies to the number nine, which is written as IX. There are six instances where subtraction is used:

I can be placed before V (5) and X (10) to make 4 and 9. 
X can be placed before L (50) and C (100) to make 40 and 90. 
C can be placed before D (500) and M (1000) to make 400 and 900.

Given an integer, convert it to a roman numeral. Input is guaranteed to be within the range from 1 to 3999.

Solution

The question looks simple interms that we need to keep mappings. There are three special cases i.e. where subtraction is used.

Lets look at the code:

public String intToRoman(int num) {
	Map<Integer, String> map = new HashMap();
	map.put(1, "I"); map.put(5, "V"); map.put(10, "X");
	map.put(50, "L"); map.put(100, "C"); map.put(500, "D"); map.put(1000, "M");
	map.put(4, "IV"); map.put(9, "IX"); map.put(40, "XL"); map.put(90, "XC");
	map.put(400, "CD"); map.put(900, "CM");

	int[] sequence = {1000, 900, 500, 400, 100, 90, 50, 40, 10, 9, 5, 4, 1};

	StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer();
	for (int i=0; i<sequence.length; i++) {
		int base = sequence[i];

		while (num >= base) {
			sb.append(map.get(base));
			num -= base;
		}
	}

	return sb.toString();
}

Related Posts

Leetcode Solution - Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock

Leetcode Solution - Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock

Problem Statement You are given an array prices where prices[i] is the price of…

Binary Tree - Level Order Traversal

Binary Tree - Level Order Traversal

Problem Statement Given a Binary tree, print out nodes in level order traversal…

Four Sum - Leet Code Solution

Four Sum - Leet Code Solution

Problem Statement Given an array nums of n integers and an integer target, are…

Leetcode - Rearrange Spaces Between Words

Leetcode - Rearrange Spaces Between Words

Problem Statement You are given a string text of words that are placed among…

Leetcode - Maximum Non Negative Product in a Matrix

Leetcode - Maximum Non Negative Product in a Matrix

Problem Statement You are given a rows x cols matrix grid. Initially, you are…

Leetcode - Split a String Into the Max Number of Unique Substrings

Leetcode - Split a String Into the Max Number of Unique Substrings

Problem Statement Given a string s, return the maximum number of unique…

Latest Posts

Claude Code Skills — Build a Better Engineering Workflow with AI-Powered Code Reviews, Security Scans, and More

Claude Code Skills — Build a Better Engineering Workflow with AI-Powered Code Reviews, Security Scans, and More

Most developers use Claude Code like a search engine — ask a question, get an…

Building an AI Voicebot for Visitor Check-In — A Practical Guide to Handling the Messy Parts

Building an AI Voicebot for Visitor Check-In — A Practical Guide to Handling the Messy Parts

Every office lobby has the same problem: a visitor walks in, nobody’s at the…

Server Security Best Practices — Complete Hardening Guide for Production Systems

Server Security Best Practices — Complete Hardening Guide for Production Systems

Every breach post-mortem tells the same story: an unpatched service, a…

Staff Engineer Study Plan for MAANG Interviews — The Complete 12-Week Roadmap

Staff Engineer Study Plan for MAANG Interviews — The Complete 12-Week Roadmap

If you’re a Senior Engineer (L5) preparing for Staff (L6+) roles at MAANG…

XSS and CSRF Explained — The Complete Guide with Real Attack Examples and Defenses

XSS and CSRF Explained — The Complete Guide with Real Attack Examples and Defenses

XSS and CSRF have been in the OWASP Top 10 for over a decade. They’re among the…

OWASP Top 10 (2021) — Every Vulnerability Explained with Code

OWASP Top 10 (2021) — Every Vulnerability Explained with Code

The OWASP Top 10 is the industry standard for web application security risks. If…