Maximum Subarray in Python

Welcome to the Maximum Subarray in Python page! Here, you'll find the source code for this program as well as a description of how the program works.

Current Solution

import sys
from typing import List


def error_handling(argv: List) -> List[int]:
    str_input = (','.join(i for i in argv[1:])).strip()
    if str_input == "":
        print('Usage: Please provide a list of integers in the format: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5"')
        sys.exit(1)
    nums = [int(num) for num in str_input.split(',')]
    return nums


def maximum_subarray(nums: List[int]) -> int:
    local_max = 0
    global_max = nums[0]
    for num in nums:
        local_max += num
        if (local_max < 0):
            local_max = 0
        elif global_max < local_max:
            global_max = local_max
    return global_max


if __name__ == "__main__":
    nums = error_handling(sys.argv)
    print(maximum_subarray(nums))

Maximum Subarray in Python was written by:

• Divyansh Agarwal
• Jeremy Grifski
• rzuckerm

This article was written by:

• Divyansh Agarwal
• Jeremy Grifski
• rzuckerm

If you see anything you'd like to change or update, please consider contributing.

How to Implement the Solution

Let's look at the code in detail.

Main Function

if __name__ == "__main__":
    nums = error_handling(sys.argv)
    print(maximum_subarray(nums))

This bit of code checks to see if this is the main module run. If true, then it calls the error_handling function to convert the command-line arguments to a list of integers. It calls the maximum_subarray function to calculate the maximum subarray value. Finally, it calls the print function to display the value.

Error Handling Function

def error_handling(argv: List) -> List[int]:
    str_input = (','.join(i for i in argv[1:])).strip()
    if str_input == "":
        print('Usage: Please provide a list of integers in the format: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5"')
        sys.exit(1)
    nums = [int(num) for num in str_input.split(',')]
    return nums

This bit of code takes a comma-separated string of integers from the command-line (via the sys.argv). It then converts the string into an array of integer. It also deals with the edge case which arises when there is no input or the input string is empty (blank string). If it is empty, the usage is displayed, and the program exits. Otherwise, the command-separated string is converted to a list of integers.

Maximum Subarray

def maximum_subarray(nums: List[int]) -> int:
    local_max = 0
    global_max = nums[0]
    for num in nums:
        local_max += num
        if (local_max < 0):
            local_max = 0
        elif global_max < local_max:
            global_max = local_max
    return global_max

This function implements Kadane's algorithm. It first initializes global_max (the final value to be returned from the function) to the first element of the array (nums) and local_max as 0. It then iterates through the array, keeps adding values to local_max. If local_max goes to less than 0, then local_max is set to 0. Otherwise, if local_max is greater than global_max, global_max is set to the value of local_max.

Once all the values are processed, global_max is returned.

For example, if -1, -2, 1, 2, 3 is the input:

• Initialize local_max to -1 (the first value) and global_max to 0.
• Now, iterator through all of the values.
• For the first two values, the value of local_max is 0: 0 + (-1) < 0 and 0 + (-2) < 0, so -1 and -2 are skipped.
• For the remaining values, local_max is accumulated and global_max is updated with local_max:
  • local_max is 0 + 1 = 1, and 1 < 0 is false, so local_max is not reset, and -1 < 1, so global_max is set to 1
  • local_max is 1 + 2 = 3, and 3 < 0 is false, so local_max is not reset, and 1 < 3, so global_max is set to 3
  • local_max is 3 + 3 = 6, and 6 < 0 is false, so local_max is not reset, and 3 < 6, so global_max is set to 6
• Finally, global_max (6) is returned

How to Run the Solution

If you want to run this program, you can download a copy of Maximum Subarray in Python.

Next, make sure you have the latest Python interpreter.

Finally, open a terminal in the directory of the downloaded file and run the following command:

python maximum_subarray.py 1,2,3,4

Replace 1,2,3,4 with input of your choice (comma separated integers).

Alternatively, copy the solution into an online Python interpreter and hit run.