Sliding Window Maximum
You are given an integer array nums and an integer k.
There is a sliding window of size k that moves from the beginning to the end of the array.
At each position, the window contains exactly k elements.
Return an array containing the maximum element from each sliding window.
Example 1
Input
n = 8 nums = [1, 3, -1, -3, 5, 3, 6, 7] k = 3
Output
[3, 3, 5, 5, 6, 7]
Explanation
The sliding windows and their maximum values are:
[1, 3, -1] → 3
[3, -1, -3] → 3
[-1, -3, 5] → 5
[-3, 5, 3] → 5
[5, 3, 6] → 6
[3, 6, 7] → 7
Therefore, the answer is:
[3, 3, 5, 5, 6, 7]
Example 2
Input
n = 1 nums = [1] k = 1
Output
[1]
Explanation
There is only one window containing the single element 1.
Constraints
Hints:
Hint 1
For every window, you need to efficiently find its maximum element.
Hint 2
Maintain a deque of indices.
Keep the indices in decreasing order of their corresponding values.
Author & Technical Reviewer
Technically reviewed by: ExamAdda Technical Review Team
Technical Reviewers, ExamAdda
Software engineers at ExamAdda who check every article's definitions, complexity claims and code examples before and after publishing.
Published
Aug 27, 2026
Last updated
Aug 27, 2026
Content Verification Methodology
Definitions and complexity claims were checked against authoritative computer-science references. Code examples were compiled and tested with standard, boundary and edge-case inputs.
Expected Output