Fewest Adjacent-or-Equal-Value Jumps to the Last Index
Company: Amazon
Role: Software Engineer
Category: Coding & Algorithms
Difficulty: hard
Interview Round: Other
### Problem
Start at index 0. In one step, move to an in-bounds neighboring index or to any different index holding the same value. Return the minimum steps to the last index.
```cpp
class Solution {
public:
int minJumps(vector<int>& arr);
};
```
### Examples
**Example 1:**
```text
Input: arr = [8,1,2,8,4]
Output: 2
Explanation: Jump0->3 using equal8 values, then3->4. The destination is not reachable in one step.
```
**Example 2:**
```text
Input: arr = [3,2,1]
Output: 2
Explanation: Distinct values leave only neighboring jumps, requiring0->1->2.
```
### Constraints
- arr contains 1 to 50000 integers.
- Each value is in `[-100000000,100000000]`.
### Contract considerations
Equal values may be far apart; jumps are by value equality, not numeric closeness.
```hint Read the boundary condition
Check a one-element array and repeated values at distant indices. Every allowed jump has the same step cost.
```
### Boundary reminders
Equal values may be far apart; jumps are by value equality, not numeric closeness.
Overview: Fewest Adjacent-or-Equal-Value Jumps to the Last Index. Start at index0. In one step, move to an in-bounds neighboring index or to any different index holding the same value.
