Scan bit positions from least significant to most significant, retaining the previous set-bit position and maximizing the gap.
Complexity
O(log n) time and O(1) space.
09 Sept 2026•Easy•Go / Python / TypeScript
Binary Gap
Find the greatest distance between consecutive set bits in an integer.
Solution files
Go•binary-gap/solution.go
package main
func binaryGap(n int) int {
previous, best := -1, 0
for position := 0; n > 0; position, n = position+1, n>>1 {
if n&1 == 1 {
if previous >= 0 && position-previous > best {
best = position - previous
}
previous = position
}
}
return best
}
Python•binary-gap/solution.py
class Solution:
def binaryGap(self, n: int) -> int:
previous, best, position = -1, 0, 0
while n:
if n & 1:
if previous >= 0: best = max(best, position - previous)
previous = position
position, n = position + 1, n >> 1
return best
TypeScript•binary-gap/solution.ts
function binaryGap(n: number): number {
let previous = -1;
let best = 0;
for (let position = 0; n > 0; position += 1, n >>= 1) if ((n & 1) === 1) { if (previous >= 0) best = Math.max(best, position - previous); previous = position; }
return best;
}