The answer
No, a simple boolean check (current != max) takes a microscopic fraction of a microsecond and has zero impact on the O(N) time complexity.
Handling Arrays with Duplicate Elements
Are duplicate checks bad for performance?
More FAQs in Handling Arrays with Duplicate Elements
If not explicitly ignored, a duplicate of the maximum value will overwrite the second largest variable, resulting in both variables holding the maximum value.
Add a logical AND condition (current != max) when evaluating whether to update the second largest variable.
It does not exist. The only distinct value is 5. Your code should recognize this and return a sentinel value like -1 or throw an exception.
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