import heapq
"""
Find the N smallest values in a 2D array.
Approach:
1. Flatten the 2D array into a single list.
2. Use heapq.nsmallest, which efficiently extracts the smallest N values
without sorting the entire dataset.
3. Print the result.
This keeps the code expressive and efficient while relying on
Python's built‑in algorithms.
"""
def flatten(matrix):
"""Flatten a 2D list into a 1D list."""
return [value for row in matrix for value in row]
def smallest_n(matrix, n):
"""Return the N smallest values using an efficient heap-based selection."""
flat = flatten(matrix)
return heapq.nsmallest(n, flat)
def main():
matrix = [
[42, 12, 85, 3],
[ 7, 99, 15, 23],
[64, 1, 18, 30],
[ 3, 55, 11, 90]
]
n = 5
values = smallest_n(matrix, n)
print(f"The {n} smallest values:")
print(*values)
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
"""
run:
The 5 smallest values:
1 3 3 7 11
"""
