Minimum Time Difference

Given a list of 24-hour clock time points in "HH:MM" format, return the minimum minutes difference between any two time-points in the list.

LeetCode Problem - 539

class Solution {
    public int findMinDifference(List<String> timePoints) {
        int answer = Integer.MAX_VALUE; // Variable to store the minimum time difference
        List<Integer> list = new ArrayList<>(); // List to store the time in minutes

        // Convert each time point (in "HH:MM" format) to minutes
        for (String timePoint : timePoints) {
            String[] stamp = timePoint.split(":"); // Split the time into hours and minutes
            int hh = Integer.parseInt(stamp[0]); // Parse the hours part
            int mm = Integer.parseInt(stamp[1]); // Parse the minutes part
            list.add(hh * 60 + mm); // Convert time into total minutes and add to the list
        }

        // Sort the list to arrange the time points in ascending order
        Collections.sort(list);

        // Find the minimum difference between consecutive time points
        for (int i = 0; i < list.size() - 1; i++) {
            int diff = list.get(i + 1) - list.get(i); // Difference between consecutive times
            answer = Math.min(answer, diff); // Update the answer with the minimum difference found
        }

        // Handle the circular case where the time wraps around from 23:59 to 00:00
        int circularDiff = 1440 - (list.get(list.size() - 1) - list.get(0)); // Difference between the last and first time in a circular manner
        answer = Math.min(answer, circularDiff); // Update the answer with the circular difference if it's smaller

        return answer; // Return the minimum time difference found
    }
}