It is needed for the following line:

min_length = min(min_length, window_end - window_start + 1)

When we initialize min_length to the maximum possible value, we are guaranteed to get the 'smaller' value from the 'min' function.

Hi systemdesign I think the question is about this statement if min_length == math.inf: return 0

Ah ok. It is because we initialize it that way: min_length = math.inf

And if the while loop never gets executed, which will happen when window_sum is always less than "s", that's when min_length will be "math.inf". In this case, the correct answer will be "0".

yess 👍

I set min_length = len(array) when I coded this because the min would never be greater than the length of the array.