Feature #5: Eligible Candidates
Implementing the "Eligible Candidates" feature for our "Cyber Security" project.
We'll cover the following
Description
We have n
machines that are part of a cluster. We need to elect a leader. Leader election amongst all n
machines would generate a lot of traffic and take a lot of time.
To optimize traffic and time, we have come up with a scheme that will reduce search space. Each machine is assigned a unique identifier, which is placed in a sorted array. A random number is picked, and k
machines with IDs closest to the randomly drawn number are eligible candidates for leadership. Once the k
machines are identified, the leader election from amongst these will take place.
Given a sorted integer array servers
, a randomly picked number num
, and an integer k
, your task is to find k
machines with IDs closest to the random number. The IDs of the machines should also be sorted in ascending order.
An ID a
is closer to num
than an ID b
, if |a - num| < |b - num|
. In case |a - num| == |b - num|
, then a
is closer to num
if a < b
.
Note: The
servers
array is sorted in ascending order and1 <= k <= servers.length
.
The following examples may clarify these requirements:
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