Combination Sum II: the idea to remember.
Find distinct combinations summing to a target when each input occurrence may be used once.
The core insight
Sort candidates, skip duplicates at the same depth, and continue from the next index after a choice.
Why it works
Advancing the index enforces occurrence limits, while same depth skipping removes duplicate value combinations.
The mistake to avoid
Unlike Combination Sum, recurse with the next index so an occurrence is not reused.
Commented Java solution
Use java.util.* imports and a surrounding solution class. Tree snippets assume the standard TreeNode definition; linked lists use ListNode and Clone Graph uses a Node with val and neighbors; Copy Random List uses Node with val, next and random. Read the input assumptions above.
// Java reference adapted from neetcode-gh/leetcode (MIT).
// Sort candidates, skip duplicates at the same depth, and continue from the next index after a choice.
public List<List<Integer>> combinationSum2(int[] candidates, int target) {
Arrays.sort(candidates);
List<List<Integer>> ans = new ArrayList<List<Integer>>();
List<Integer> ls = new ArrayList<Integer>();
comb(candidates, target, ans, ls, 0);
return ans;
}
public void comb(
int[] candidates,
int target,
List<List<Integer>> ans,
List<Integer> ls,
int index
) {
if (target == 0) {
ans.add(new ArrayList(ls));
} else if (target < 0) return; else {
for (int i = index; i < candidates.length; i++) {
if (i > index && candidates[i] == candidates[i - 1]) continue;
ls.add(candidates[i]);
comb(candidates, target - candidates[i], ans, ls, i + 1);
ls.remove(ls.get(ls.size() - 1));
}
}
}Java reference adapted from neetcode-gh/leetcode · MIT license
Make the next connection
Independent revision notes with credited Java references. Not affiliated with LeetCode or the source sheets.