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Array Reverse - Complete Tutorial

Last Updated : 25 Sep, 2024
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Given an array arr[], the task is to reverse the array. Reversing an array means rearranging the elements such that the first element becomes the last, the second element becomes second last and so on.

Examples:

Input: arr[] = {1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5}
Output: {5, 6, 2, 3, 4, 1}
Explanation: The first element 1 moves to last position, the second element 4 moves to second-last and so on.

Input: arr[] = {4, 5, 1, 2}
Output: {2, 1, 5, 4}
Explanation: The first element 4 moves to last position, the second element 5 moves to second last and so on.

[Naive Approach] Using a temporary array - O(n) Time and O(n) Space

The idea is to use a temporary array to store the reverse of the array.

  • Create a temporary array of same size as the original array.
  • Now, copy all elements from original array to the temporary array in reverse order.
  • Finally, copy all the elements from temporary array back to the original array.

Working:


Below is the implementation of the algorithm:

C++
// C++ Program to reverse an array using temporary array #include <iostream> #include <vector> using namespace std; // function to reverse an array void reverseArray(vector<int> &arr) {  int n = arr.size();    // Temporary array to store elements in reversed order  vector<int> temp(n);    // Copy elements from original array to temp in reverse order  for(int i = 0; i < n; i++)  temp[i] = arr[n - i - 1];    // Copy elements back to original array  for(int i = 0; i < n; i++)  arr[i] = temp[i]; } int main() {  vector<int> arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);    for(int i = 0; i < arr.size(); i++)   cout << arr[i] << " ";  return 0; } 
C
// C Program to reverse an array using temporary array #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> // function to reverse an array void reverseArray(int arr[], int n) {    // Temporary array to store elements in reversed order  int temp[n];    // Copy elements from original array to temp in reverse order  for(int i = 0; i < n; i++)  temp[i] = arr[n - i - 1];    // Copy elements back to original array  for(int i = 0; i < n; i++)  arr[i] = temp[i]; } int main() {  int arr[] = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  int n = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);  reverseArray(arr, n);    for(int i = 0; i < n; i++)   printf("%d ", arr[i]);    return 0; } 
Java
// Java Program to reverse an array using temporary array import java.util.Arrays; class GfG {    // function to reverse an array  static void reverseArray(int[] arr) {  int n = arr.length;    // Temporary array to store elements in reversed order  int[] temp = new int[n];    // Copy elements from original array to temp in reverse order  for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)  temp[i] = arr[n - i - 1];    // Copy elements back to original array  for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)  arr[i] = temp[i];  }  public static void main(String[] args) {  int[] arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);    for (int i = 0; i < arr.length; i++)   System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");  } } 
Python
# Python Program to reverse an array using temporary array # function to reverse an array def reverseArray(arr): n = len(arr) # Temporary array to store elements in reversed order temp = [0] * n # Copy elements from original array to temp in reverse order for i in range(n): temp[i] = arr[n - i - 1] # Copy elements back to original array for i in range(n): arr[i] = temp[i] if __name__ == "__main__": arr = [1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5] reverseArray(arr) for i in range(len(arr)): print(arr[i], end=" ") 
C#
// C# Program to reverse an array using temporary array using System; class GfG {    // function to reverse an array  static void reverseArray(int[] arr) {  int n = arr.Length;    // Temporary array to store elements in reversed order  int[] temp = new int[n];    // Copy elements from original array to temp in reverse order  for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)  temp[i] = arr[n - i - 1];    // Copy elements back to original array  for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)  arr[i] = temp[i];  }  static void Main() {  int[] arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);    for (int i = 0; i < arr.Length; i++)  Console.Write(arr[i] + " ");  } } 
JavaScript
// JavaScript Program to reverse an array using temporary array // function to reverse an array function reverseArray(arr) {  let n = arr.length;    // Temporary array to store elements in reversed order  let temp = new Array(n);    // Copy elements from original array to temp in reverse order  for (let i = 0; i < n; i++)  temp[i] = arr[n - i - 1];    // Copy elements back to original array  for (let i = 0; i < n; i++)  arr[i] = temp[i]; } const arr = [1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5]; reverseArray(arr); console.log(arr.join(" ")); 

Output
5 6 2 3 4 1 

Time Complexity: O(n), Copying elements to a new array is a linear operation.
Auxiliary Space: O(n), as we are using an extra array to store the reversed array.

[Expected Approach - 1] Using Two Pointers - O(n) Time and O(1) Space

The idea is to maintain two pointers: left and right, such that left points at the beginning of the array and right points to the end of the array.

While left pointer is less than the right pointer, swap the elements at these two positions. After each swap, increment the left pointer and decrement the right pointer to move towards the center of array. This will swap all the elements in the first half with their corresponding element in the second half.

Working:


Below is the implementation of the algorithm:

C++
// C++ Program to reverse an array using Two Pointers #include <iostream> #include <vector> using namespace std; // function to reverse an array void reverseArray(vector<int> &arr) {    // Initialize left to the beginning and right to the end  int left = 0, right = arr.size() - 1;    // Iterate till left is less than right  while(left < right) {    // Swap the elements at left and right position  swap(arr[left], arr[right]);    // Increment the left pointer  left++;    // Decrement the right pointer  right--;  } } int main() {  vector<int> arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);    for(int i = 0; i < arr.size(); i++)   cout << arr[i] << " ";  return 0; } 
C
// C Program to reverse an array using Two Pointers #include <stdio.h> // Function to swap two numbers void swap(int *a, int *b) {  int temp = *a;  *a = *b;  *b = temp; } // function to reverse an array void reverseArray(int arr[], int n) {    // Initialize left to the beginning and right to the end  int left = 0, right = n - 1;  // Iterate till left is less than right  while (left < right) {    // Swap the elements at left and right position  swap(&arr[left], &arr[right]);  // Increment the left pointer  left++;  // Decrement the right pointer  right--;  } } int main() {  int arr[] = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  int n = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);  reverseArray(arr, n);    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)   printf("%d ", arr[i]);    return 0; } 
Java
// Java Program to reverse an array using Two Pointers import java.util.Arrays; class GfG {    // function to reverse an array  static void reverseArray(int[] arr) {    // Initialize left to the beginning and right to the end  int left = 0, right = arr.length - 1;  // Iterate till left is less than right  while (left < right) {    // Swap the elements at left and right position  int temp = arr[left];  arr[left] = arr[right];  arr[right] = temp;  // Increment the left pointer  left++;  // Decrement the right pointer  right--;  }  }  public static void main(String[] args) {  int[] arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);  for (int i = 0; i < arr.length; i++)   System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");  } } 
Python
# Python Program to reverse an array using Two Pointers # function to reverse an array def reverseArray(arr): # Initialize left to the beginning and right to the end left = 0 right = len(arr) - 1 # Iterate till left is less than right while left < right: # Swap the elements at left and right position arr[left], arr[right] = arr[right], arr[left] # Increment the left pointer left += 1 # Decrement the right pointer right -= 1 if __name__ == "__main__": arr = [1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5] reverseArray(arr) for i in range(len(arr)): print(arr[i], end=" ") 
C#
// C# Program to reverse an array using Two Pointers using System; class GfG {    // function to reverse an array  static void reverseArray(int[] arr) {    // Initialize left to the beginning and right to the end  int left = 0, right = arr.Length - 1;  // Iterate till left is less than right  while (left < right) {    // Swap the elements at left and right position  int temp = arr[left];  arr[left] = arr[right];  arr[right] = temp;  // Increment the left pointer  left++;  // Decrement the right pointer  right--;  }  }  static void Main() {  int[] arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);  for (int i = 0; i < arr.Length; i++)  Console.Write(arr[i] + " ");  } } 
JavaScript
// JavaScript Program to reverse an array using Two Pointers // function to reverse an array function reverseArray(arr) {    // Initialize left to the beginning and right to the end  let left = 0, right = arr.length - 1;    // Iterate till left is less than right  while (left < right) {    // Swap the elements at left and right position  [arr[left], arr[right]] = [arr[right], arr[left]];    // Increment the left pointer  left++;    // Decrement the right pointer  right--;  } } const arr = [1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5]; reverseArray(arr); console.log(arr.join(" ")); 

Output
5 6 2 3 4 1 

Time Complexity: O(n), as we are visiting each element exactly once.
Auxiliary Space: O(1)

[Expected Approach - 2] By Swapping Elements - O(n) Time and O(1) Space

The idea is to iterate over the first half of the array and swap each element with its corresponding element from the end. So, while iterating over the first half, any element at index i is swapped with the element at index (n - i - 1).

Working:


Below is the implementation of the algorithm:

C++
// C++ Program to reverse an array by swapping elements #include <iostream> #include <vector> using namespace std; // function to reverse an array void reverseArray(vector<int> &arr) {  int n = arr.size();    // Iterate over the first half and for every index i,  // swap arr[i] with arr[n - i - 1]  for(int i = 0; i < n/2; i++) {  swap(arr[i], arr[n - i - 1]);  } } int main() {  vector<int> arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);    for(int i = 0; i < arr.size(); i++)   cout << arr[i] << " ";  return 0; } 
C
// C Program to reverse an array by swapping elements #include <stdio.h> // function to reverse an array void reverseArray(int arr[], int n) {    // Iterate over the first half and for every index i,  // swap arr[i] with arr[n - i - 1]  for (int i = 0; i < n / 2; i++) {  int temp = arr[i];  arr[i] = arr[n - i - 1];  arr[n - i - 1] = temp;  } } int main() {  int arr[] = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  int n = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);  reverseArray(arr, n);    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)   printf("%d ", arr[i]);    return 0; } 
Java
// Java Program to reverse an array by swapping elements import java.util.Arrays; class GfG {    // function to reverse an array  static void reverseArray(int[] arr) {  int n = arr.length;    // Iterate over the first half and for every index i,  // swap arr[i] with arr[n - i - 1]  for (int i = 0; i < n / 2; i++) {  int temp = arr[i];  arr[i] = arr[n - i - 1];  arr[n - i - 1] = temp;  }  }  public static void main(String[] args) {  int[] arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);    for (int i = 0; i < arr.length; i++)   System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");  } } 
Python
# Python Program to reverse an array by swapping elements def reverseArray(arr): n = len(arr) # Iterate over the first half and for every index i, # swap arr[i] with arr[n - i - 1] for i in range(n // 2): temp = arr[i] arr[i] = arr[n - i - 1] arr[n - i - 1] = temp if __name__ == "__main__": arr = [1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5] reverseArray(arr) for i in range(len(arr)): print(arr[i], end=" ") 
C#
// C# Program to reverse an array by swapping elements using System; class GfG {    // function to reverse an array  static void reverseArray(int[] arr) {  int n = arr.Length;    // Iterate over the first half and for every index i,  // swap arr[i] with arr[n - i - 1]  for (int i = 0; i < n / 2; i++) {  int temp = arr[i];  arr[i] = arr[n - i - 1];  arr[n - i - 1] = temp;  }  }  static void Main() {  int[] arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);    for (int i = 0; i < arr.Length; i++)   Console.Write(arr[i] + " ");  } } 
JavaScript
// JavaScript Program to reverse an array by swapping elements // function to reverse an array function reverseArray(arr) {  let n = arr.length;    // Iterate over the first half and for every index i,  // swap arr[i] with arr[n - i - 1]  for (let i = 0; i < n / 2; i++) {  let temp = arr[i];  arr[i] = arr[n - i - 1];  arr[n - i - 1] = temp;  } } const arr = [1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5]; reverseArray(arr); console.log(arr.join(" ")); 

Output
5 6 2 3 4 1 

Time Complexity: O(n), the loop runs through half of the array, so it's linear with respect to the array size.
Auxiliary Space: O(1), no extra space is required, therefore we are reversing the array in-place.

[Alternate Approach] Using Recursion - O(n) Time and O(n) Space

The idea is to use recursion and define a recursive function that takes a range of array elements as input and reverses it. Inside the recursive function,

  • Swap the first and last element.
  • Recursively call the function with the remaining subarray.
C++
// C++ Program to reverse an array using Recursion #include <iostream> #include <vector> using namespace std; // recursive function to reverse an array from l to r void reverseArrayRec(vector<int> &arr, int l, int r) {  if(l >= r)  return;    // Swap the elements at the ends  swap(arr[l], arr[r]);    // Recur for the remaining array  reverseArrayRec(arr, l + 1, r - 1); } // function to reverse an array void reverseArray(vector<int> &arr) {  int n = arr.size();  reverseArrayRec(arr, 0, n - 1); } int main() {  vector<int> arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);    for(int i = 0; i < arr.size(); i++)   cout << arr[i] << " ";  return 0; } 
C
// C Program to reverse an array using Recursion #include <stdio.h> // recursive function to reverse an array from l to r void reverseArrayRec(int arr[], int l, int r) {  if(l >= r)  return;    // Swap the elements at the ends  int temp = arr[l];  arr[l] = arr[r];  arr[r] = temp;    // Recur for the remaining array  reverseArrayRec(arr, l + 1, r - 1); } // function to reverse an array void reverseArray(int arr[], int n) {  reverseArrayRec(arr, 0, n - 1); } int main() {  int arr[] = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  int n = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);  reverseArray(arr, n);    for(int i = 0; i < n; i++)   printf("%d ", arr[i]);    return 0; } 
Java
// Java Program to reverse an array using Recursion import java.util.Arrays; class GfG {    // recursive function to reverse an array from l to r  static void reverseArrayRec(int[] arr, int l, int r) {  if (l >= r)  return;    // Swap the elements at the ends  int temp = arr[l];  arr[l] = arr[r];  arr[r] = temp;    // Recur for the remaining array  reverseArrayRec(arr, l + 1, r - 1);  }  // function to reverse an array  static void reverseArray(int[] arr) {  int n = arr.length;  reverseArrayRec(arr, 0, n - 1);  }  public static void main(String[] args) {  int[] arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);    for (int i = 0; i < arr.length; i++)   System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");  } } 
Python
# Python Program to reverse an array using Recursion # recursive function to reverse an array from l to r def reverseArrayRec(arr, l, r): if l >= r: return # Swap the elements at the ends arr[l], arr[r] = arr[r], arr[l] # Recur for the remaining array reverseArrayRec(arr, l + 1, r - 1) # function to reverse an array def reverseArray(arr): n = len(arr) reverseArrayRec(arr, 0, n - 1) if __name__ == "__main__": arr = [1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5] reverseArray(arr) for i in range(len(arr)): print(arr[i], end=" ") 
C#
// C# Program to reverse an array using Recursion using System; class GfG {    // recursive function to reverse an array from l to r  static void reverseArrayRec(int[] arr, int l, int r) {  if (l >= r)  return;  // Swap the elements at the ends  int temp = arr[l];  arr[l] = arr[r];  arr[r] = temp;  // Recur for the remaining array  reverseArrayRec(arr, l + 1, r - 1);  }  // function to reverse an array  static void reverseArray(int[] arr) {  int n = arr.Length;  reverseArrayRec(arr, 0, n - 1);  }  static void Main(string[] args) {  int[] arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);  for (int i = 0; i < arr.Length; i++)  Console.Write(arr[i] + " ");  } } 
JavaScript
// JavaScript Program to reverse an array using Recursion // recursive function to reverse an array from l to r function reverseArrayRec(arr, l, r) {  if (l >= r)  return;    // Swap the elements at the ends  [arr[l], arr[r]] = [arr[r], arr[l]];    // Recur for the remaining array  reverseArrayRec(arr, l + 1, r - 1); } // function to reverse an array function reverseArray(arr) {  let n = arr.length;  reverseArrayRec(arr, 0, n - 1); } let arr = [1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5]; reverseArray(arr); console.log(arr.join(" ")); 

Output
5 6 2 3 4 1 

Time Complexity: O(n), the recurrence relation will be T(n) = T(n - 2) + O(1), which can be simplified to O(n).
Auxiliary Space: O(n), as we are using recursion stack.

Using Inbuilt Methods - O(n) Time and O(1) Space

The idea is to use inbuilt reverse methods available across different languages.

C++
// C++ Program to reverse an array using inbuilt methods #include <iostream> #include <vector> #include <algorithm>  using namespace std; // function to reverse an array void reverseArray(vector<int> &arr) {  reverse(arr.begin(), arr.end()); } int main() {  vector<int> arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);    for(int i = 0; i < arr.size(); i++)   cout << arr[i] << " ";  return 0; } 
Java
// Java Program to reverse an array using inbuilt methods import java.util.*; class GfG {    // function to reverse an array  static void reverseArray(List<Integer> arr) {  Collections.reverse(arr);  }  public static void main(String[] args) {  List<Integer> arr =   new ArrayList<>(Arrays.asList(1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5));  reverseArray(arr);    for (int i = 0; i < arr.size(); i++)   System.out.print(arr.get(i) + " ");  } } 
Python
# Python Program to reverse an array using inbuilt methods # function to reverse an array def reverse_array(arr): arr.reverse() if __name__ == "__main__": arr = [1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5] reverse_array(arr) print(" ".join(map(str, arr))) 
C#
// C# Program to reverse an array using inbuilt methods using System; class GfG {    // function to reverse an array  static void reverseArray(int[] arr) {  Array.Reverse(arr);  }  static void Main() {  int[] arr = { 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5 };  reverseArray(arr);    for (int i = 0; i < arr.Length; i++)   Console.Write(arr[i] + " ");  } } 
JavaScript
// JavaScript Program to reverse an array using inbuilt methods // function to reverse an array function reverseArray(arr) {  arr.reverse(); } const arr = [1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5]; reverseArray(arr); console.log(arr.join(" ")); 

Output
5 6 2 3 4 1 

Time Complexity: O(n), the reverse method has linear time complexity.
Auxiliary Space: O(1) Additional space is not used to store the reversed array, as the in-built array method swaps the values in-place.


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