no need to type cast

nice var name

$middle is unnecessary when u already have $index

uncleanness in if

unreadable to many

all logic about the left would be better if outside the foreach to minimize the space and time complexity

Oh my God, how did u do that

u just got too good at math and bits

nice variable names "exessss, oooohhhhs" hahahahahah

it just make a copy

linear scan is better

that top if statement is useless

those who taught you recursion didn't show you it's application, it's totally a waste of time applying it on this 7kyu problem