27. Remove Element

class Solution:
    def removeElement(self, nums: List[int], val: int) -> int:
        counter = 0
        for i in range(len(nums)):
            if nums[i] != val:
                counter += 1
            elif nums[i] == val:
                nums[i] = 999
            
        nums.sort()
        return counter

        # pointer = 0
        # for i in range(len(nums)):
        #     if nums[i] != val:
        #         nums[pointer] = nums[i]
        #         pointer += 1
        # return pointer