C Exercises: All quadruplets in an array with zero sum

Last update on August 09 2025 12:47:04 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

9. Distinct Quadruplets Sum Variants

Write a C program to find all distinct quadruplets in a given array of integers whose sum is equal to zero.

C Code:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>

static int compare_num(const void *a, const void *b)
{
    return *(int *) a - *(int *) b;
}

static void nth_sum(int *arra_nums, int low_num, int high_num, int target, int total,
                  int n, int *stack, int len, int **results, int *ctr)
{
    int i;
    if (n == 2) {
        while (low_num < high_num) {
            int diff = target - arra_nums[low_num];
            if (diff > arra_nums[high_num]) {
                while (++low_num < high_num && arra_nums[low_num] == arra_nums[low_num - 1]) {}
            } else if (diff < arra_nums[high_num]) {
                while (--high_num > low_num && arra_nums[high_num] == arra_nums[high_num + 1]) {}
            } else {
                stack[len++] = arra_nums[low_num];
                stack[len++] = arra_nums[high_num];
                results[*ctr] = malloc(total * sizeof(int));
                memcpy(results[*ctr], stack, total * sizeof(int));
                (*ctr)++;
                len -= 2;
                while (++low_num < high_num && arra_nums[low_num] == arra_nums[low_num - 1]) {}
                while (--high_num > low_num && arra_nums[high_num] == arra_nums[high_num + 1]) {}
            }
        }
    } else {
        for (i = low_num; i <= high_num - n + 1; i++) {
            if (i > low_num && arra_nums[i] == arra_nums[i - 1]) continue;
            stack[len++] = arra_nums[i];
            nth_sum(arra_nums, i + 1, high_num, target - arra_nums[i], 4, n - 1, stack, len,  results, ctr);
            len--;
        }
    }
}

static int** four_Sum(int* arra_nums, int arra_numsSize, int target, int* returnSize)
{
    if (arra_numsSize < 4) {
        return NULL;
    }

    qsort(arra_nums, arra_numsSize, sizeof(*arra_nums), compare_num);

    *returnSize = 0;
    int i, j, capacity = 50000;
    int **results = malloc(capacity * sizeof(int *));
    int *stack = malloc(4 * sizeof(int));
    nth_sum(arra_nums, 0, arra_numsSize - 1, target, 4, 4, stack, 0, results, returnSize);
    return results;
}

int main(void)
{
    int i, ctr;
    int arra_nums[] = { 0, 4, 7, 0, 1, 6, 6, -3 };
	int arr_len =  sizeof(arra_nums) / sizeof(*arra_nums);
	printf("Original Array: ");
    for(i=0; i<arr_len; i++)
      {
          printf("%d  ", arra_nums[i]);
      }
    int **quadruplets = four_Sum(arra_nums, sizeof(arra_nums) / sizeof(*arra_nums), 12, &ctr);
	printf("\nUnique quadruplets  of the said array whose sum equal to 12: ");
    for (i = 0; i < ctr; i++) {
        printf("\n%d %d %d %d", quadruplets[i][0], quadruplets[i][1], quadruplets[i][2], quadruplets[i][3]);
    }

    return 0;
}

Sample Output:

Original Array: 0  4  7  0  1  6  6  -3  
Unique quadruplets  of the said array whose sum equal to 12: 
0 0 6 6
0 1 4 7

Flowchart: 1

C Programming Flowchart: Find all unique quadruplets in a given array of integers whose sum equal to zero

Flowchart: 2

Flowchart: 3

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

Write a C program to find all unique quadruplets in an array whose sum equals a given target using nested loops and two pointers.
Write a C program to count the number of unique quadruplets in an array that sum to a specified value.
Write a C program to remove duplicate quadruplets from the output after finding them.
Write a C program to output unique quadruplets in ascending order from the input array.

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