Boyer Moore Majority Vote in JavaScript

Algorithms: Array Techniques November 15, 2026 javascript

Majority vote cancels pairs of different values.

javascript
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"use strict";
// Boyer Moore Majority Vote in JavaScript
//
// PURPOSE
// Majority vote cancels pairs of different values. If a value occurs more than half the
// time, it survives as the final candidate.
//
// METHOD
// Choose a new candidate whenever the balance is zero. Increment for matching values and
// decrement for different ones. Make a second pass to verify the candidate, since a majority
// need not exist.
//
// COMPLEXITY
// O(n) time and O(1) auxiliary space.
//
// CONTRACT
// Returns the INDEX of a verified majority value, or -1 if none exists. Returning an index
// avoids colliding with any valid integer value.
// Public APIs infer array lengths except in C, which accepts pointer/length pairs. Vertex
// counts and matrix dimensions remain explicit. Arrays must contain signed 32-bit integers.
// Sorted order, correct tree topology, and caller-owned data-structure invariants are
// preconditions; checking them on every query would change query complexity.
// Scalar and shape checks are included. Value-range checks are included where needed to
// prevent invalid indexing or nontermination. Allocation sizes are capped at 4,000,000
// workspace entries. Arithmetic outside Python raises an error on 32-bit overflow; Python
// uses arbitrary precision. Native allocation failures propagate. In-place outputs may be
// partly updated after arithmetic failure. These are single-threaded, in-memory
// implementations.
//
// LANGUAGE DETAILS
// Node.js 18+: Int32Array inputs and workspaces provide compact integer storage. Automatic
// lengths and checked arithmetic reject values outside signed 32-bit. Invalid inputs or
// overflow throw RangeError.
//
// EXAMPLE
// Expected return: 0.
// Run: node example.js
// Tests for this exact source artifact run before publication. The accompanying source
// archive includes unit cases, runtime results, and source hashes.

function alg_require(valid) { if (!valid) throw new RangeError("invalid algorithm input"); }
function alg_checked(v) { if (!Number.isInteger(v) || v < -2147483648 || v > 2147483647) throw new RangeError("32-bit result overflow"); return v; }
function alg_add(a,b) { return alg_checked(a+b); }
function alg_sub(a,b) { return alg_checked(a-b); }
function alg_mul(a,b) { return alg_checked(a*b); }
function alg_size(n) { alg_require(Number.isInteger(n) && n>=0 && n<=4000000); return n; }

function majority_index(a) {
    alg_require(a instanceof Int32Array);
    let n = a.length;
    alg_require(((n >= 0) && (n <= 1000000)));
    alg_require((a.length == n));
    let candidate = 0;
    let balance = 0;
    let i = 0;
    let count = 0;
    while ((i < n)) {
        if ((balance == 0)) {
            candidate = i;
        }
        if ((a[i] == a[candidate])) {
            balance = alg_add(balance, 1);
        } else {
            balance = alg_sub(balance, 1);
        }
        i = alg_add(i, 1);
    }
    i = 0;
    while ((i < n)) {
        if ((a[i] == a[candidate])) {
            count = alg_add(count, 1);
        }
        i = alg_add(i, 1);
    }
    if ((count > Math.floor(n / 2))) {
        return candidate;
    }
    return alg_sub(0, 1);
}

let a = new Int32Array([2, 2, 1, 2]);
let result = majority_index(a);
console.log(result);