Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements

Given an integer array nums of size n, return the minimum number of moves required to make all array elements equal.

In one move, you can increment n - 1 elements of the array by 1.

Example 1:

Input: nums = [1,2,3]
Output: 3
Explanation: Only three moves are needed (remember each move increments two elements):
[1,2,3]  =>  [2,3,3]  =>  [3,4,3]  =>  [4,4,4]

Example 2:

Input: nums = [1,1,1]
Output: 0

Constraints:

• n == nums.length
• 1 <= nums.length <= 105
• -109 <= nums[i] <= 109
• The answer is guaranteed to fit in a 32-bit integer.

思路：

/**
 * Each move increments n-1 elements by 1.
 * This means every element except for one (ideally the biggest element) increases.
 * This can also be translated into only the biggest element gets decremented by 1.
 * Hence the question boils down to finding the minimum element, and how many 1 decrements all other elements need to reach that minimum.
 */

class Solution {
    public int minMoves(int[] nums) {
        int min = nums[0];
        for(int i = 1; i < nums.length; i++) {
            min = Math.min(min, nums[i]);
        }
        
        int res = 0;
        for(int num: nums) {
            res += num - min;
        }
        return res;
    }
}