LeetCode Binary Array Challenge Solution with Memoization

🚀 LeetCode Daily Challenge 🔗 Problem: https://lnkd.in/gJUJE-YA 💡 My thought process: The provided code uses a backtracking approach to generate all possible strings of length n that satisfy the happy string condition: no two adjacent characters can be identical. The algorithm builds these strings in lexicographical order by exploring 'a', 'b', and then 'c'. The main logic is in the solve function, which acts as a recursive explorer. It takes the current string and the number of characters left to add. At each step, it tries appending 'a', 'b', and 'c'. Before adding a character, it checks for safety by ensuring that the character is not the same as the last one in the string. This prevents violating the happy constraint. Once a character is added, the function calls itself with n-1 to fill the next position. After finishing that branch of the search, it removes the character to backtrack and try the next alphabetical option. In the getHappyString function, the process starts by launching three separate recursive chains: one with 'a', one with 'b', and one with 'c'. Since the loops and initial calls follow alphabetical order, the allStrings vector is filled with every valid combination in sorted order. Finally, the code checks if the requested index k exists within the total count of generated strings. If k is within bounds, it returns the string at index k-1; otherwise, it returns an empty string. 👉 My Solution: https://lnkd.in/gKDqj84r If you found this breakdown helpful, feel free to ⭐ the repo or connect with me on LinkedIn 🙂🚀 #️⃣ #leetcode #cpp #dsa #coding #problemsolving #engineering #BDRM #BackendDevWithRahulMaheswari

🚀 LeetCode Daily Challenge 🔗 Problem: https://lnkd.in/gK993p-S 💡 My thought process: The main function, minAbsDiff, goes through all possible top-left positions of the k × k submatrices. For each position (i, j), it calls the helper function solve to find the result for that submatrix and stores it in the answer matrix, which has a size of (m − k + 1) × (n − k + 1). The solve function collects all elements from the k × k submatrix starting at (i, j) and puts them into a set. This automatically sorts the elements and removes duplicates. If the set has only one unique element, the function returns 0 because all values are the same. If there are multiple unique elements, the function goes through the sorted set and calculates the absolute difference between each pair of consecutive elements. Since the set is sorted, the minimum absolute difference will be between adjacent elements. The smallest difference is tracked and returned. The overall time complexity is O((m − k + 1) × (n − k + 1) × k² log(k²)) because each submatrix requires inserting k² elements into a set and iterating through it. The space complexity is O(k²) for storing elements of each submatrix. 👉 My Solution: https://lnkd.in/gj6juuUU If you found this breakdown helpful, feel free to ⭐ the repo or connect with me on LinkedIn 🙂🚀 #️⃣ #leetcode #cpp #dsa #coding #problemsolving #engineering #BDRM #BackendDevWithRahulMaheswari

🚀 LeetCode Daily Challenge 🔗 Problem: https://lnkd.in/eC4nGYRx 💡 My thought process: The code checks if two strings can be made equal by swapping characters only between indices that have the same parity. This means characters at even indices can only move among even positions, while those at odd indices can only move among odd positions. To manage this, the code first goes through the first string and records the frequency of characters separately for even and odd indices using two unordered maps. This captures how many times each character appears in each parity group. Next, it goes through the second string. For each character, it checks if it exists in the corresponding parity map. If the current index is even, it checks the even map; if odd, it checks the odd map. When it finds a match, it decreases the frequency and removes the entry from the map if it reaches zero. If a character isn’t found in the required parity map, the function returns false right away. This approach is necessary because checking overall character frequency isn’t enough due to the swapping restrictions. Since characters can’t move between even and odd indices, both parity groups must have identical frequency distributions in both strings. Using separate maps ensures that this rule is enforced. If all characters from the second string match with the corresponding parity groups from the first string, the function returns true, confirming that the transformation is possible. 👉 My Solution: https://lnkd.in/erhV7_HJ If you found this breakdown helpful, feel free to ⭐ the repo or connect with me on LinkedIn 🙂🚀 #️⃣ #leetcode #cpp #dsa #coding #problemsolving #engineering #BDRM #BackendDevWithRahulMaheswari

🚀 LeetCode Daily Challenge 🔗 Problem: https://lnkd.in/gtPzyQAS 💡 My thought process: This solution combines Binary Search with Disjoint Set Union (DSU) to find the maximum achievable stability of a connected graph. The DSU structure keeps track of connected components in the graph. It uses path compression during the find operation and union by rank in the union step. This approach allows for efficient merging of components and quick cycle detection. If two nodes share the same parent, they belong to the same component. The algorithm performs a binary search on possible stability values. For a candidate value, mid, the check function determines if the graph can be connected so that every selected edge meets the required stability. Edges marked as mandatory (m = 1) must be included. If any of these have stability less than mid, the setup becomes invalid. For optional edges, those with stability equal to or greater than mid are used directly to connect components. Edges with stability less than mid but upgradeable (2 * s ≥ mid) are kept as candidates and can be used by consuming one upgrade operation. After processing all edges, the algorithm tries to connect the remaining components using these upgrade candidates, making sure the number of upgrades does not exceed k. Finally, DSU is used to check if all nodes belong to a single connected component. Binary search helps maximize the feasible stability value while DSU ensures the connectivity requirements are met efficiently. 👉 My Solution: https://lnkd.in/gbMbr5-e If you found this breakdown helpful, feel free to ⭐ the repo or connect with me on LinkedIn 🙂🚀 #️⃣ #leetcode #cpp #dsa #coding #problemsolving #engineering #BDRM #BackendDevWithRahulMaheswari

🚀 LeetCode Daily Challenge 🔗 Problem: https://lnkd.in/gbtaBXYW 💡 My thought process: The algorithm first calculates a normalized shift value using k % n. Shifting a row by its total length, n, returns the original configuration. Therefore, any shift k is the same as k modulo n. Instead of rotating memory physically or creating a temporary matrix, the code uses a virtual mapping strategy. It goes through each cell (i, j) and finds the index of the element that would be in that position after the shift. For even rows (left shift), to find the original value that moves into position j after a left shift, the code looks at the index (j - shift). It manages negative results by wrapping around with an addition of n. For odd rows (right shift), it checks the index (j + shift) % n. The function has a fail-fast mechanism; it returns false right away if it finds the first difference between a cell and its shifted counterpart. 👉 My Solution: https://lnkd.in/g5myRYRj If you found this breakdown helpful, feel free to ⭐ the repo or connect with me on LinkedIn 🙂🚀 #️⃣ #leetcode #cpp #dsa #coding #problemsolving #engineering #BDRM #BackendDevWithRahulMaheswari

🚀 LeetCode Daily Challenge 🔗 Problem: https://lnkd.in/gVK8xX3p 💡 My thought process: The solution uses a top-down dynamic programming approach with memoization. Each cell stores a pair of values: the maximum product and the minimum product achievable from that cell to the destination. The minimum value is necessary because multiplying two negative numbers can lead to a larger positive result later. The recursive function explores both possible moves—right and down—from the current cell and retrieves their stored results. For each direction, it considers both the maximum and minimum products returned and multiplies them by the current cell’s value. All combinations are evaluated, and the overall maximum and minimum are selected and stored in the DP table for that cell. Memoization ensures that each cell is computed only once, reducing the time complexity to O(m × n). The base case occurs at the bottom-right cell, where both maximum and minimum values equal the cell’s value. Invalid positions return sentinel values to indicate they should not be considered. Finally, the function checks the result from the starting cell. If the maximum product is negative, it returns -1. Otherwise, it returns the result modulo 1e9 + 7. 👉 My Solution: https://lnkd.in/gcKfTVNq If you found this breakdown helpful, feel free to ⭐ the repo or connect with me on LinkedIn 🙂🚀 #️⃣ #leetcode #cpp #dsa #coding #problemsolving #engineering #BDRM #BackendDevWithRahulMaheswari

🚀 Day 27/50 – LeetCode Challenge 🧩 Problem: Count and Say Today’s problem focused on generating a sequence based on reading and describing the previous term, which is a great exercise in string manipulation and pattern building. 📌 Problem Summary: The “Count and Say” sequence is defined as: Start with "1" Each next term is formed by reading the previous term aloud Example: 1 → "one 1" → 11 11 → "two 1s" → 21 21 → "one 2, one 1" → 1211 1211 → "one 1, one 2, two 1s" → 111221 🔍 Approach Used ✔ Started from the base case "1" ✔ Iterated to build each next term ✔ Counted consecutive digits ✔ Formed the new string using: count + digit ✔ Repeated until reaching the required n ⏱ Time Complexity: O(n × m) 📦 Space Complexity: O(m) 💡 Key Learning ✔ Understanding pattern generation problems ✔ Working with string grouping and counting ✔ Building results step by step ✔ Improving attention to detail in iteration This problem shows how simple rules can create complex patterns. Consistency is the key to mastery 🚀 🔗 Problem Link: https://lnkd.in/g_cMVP5a #50DaysOfLeetCode #LeetCode #DSA #Strings #ProblemSolving #CodingJourney #FutureAIEngineer #Consistency

Day 81 - LeetCode Journey 🚀 Solved LeetCode 2: Add Two Numbers (Medium) — a classic linked list problem that beautifully combines arithmetic with pointer manipulation. At first, it looks like simple addition. But the twist is that numbers are stored in reverse order as linked lists, and we must simulate digit-by-digit addition. 💡 Core Idea (Simulation + Carry Handling): Traverse both linked lists simultaneously Add corresponding digits along with carry Create a new node for each digit of the result Move forward until both lists and carry are exhausted A dummy node helps in building the result list smoothly. 🤯 Why it works? Because we mimic the exact process of manual addition, handling carry at each step, ensuring correctness even when lengths differ. ⚡ Key Learning Points: • Converting real-world logic into code (digit addition) • Handling carry efficiently • Traversing two linked lists together • Using dummy node for clean construction • Managing different list lengths gracefully • Achieving O(max(n, m)) time and O(1) extra space This problem strengthens both logical thinking and linked list handling. Also, this pattern connects with: Add Binary Multiply Strings Linked List arithmetic problems Big integer calculations ✅ Better understanding of simulation problems ✅ Stronger pointer + arithmetic combination ✅ Improved handling of edge cases (carry, unequal lengths) From simple addition to linked list manipulation — this is where logic meets implementation 🚀 #LeetCode #DSA #Java #LinkedList #Algorithms #ProblemSolving #CodingJourney #Consistency #100DaysOfCode #InterviewPreparation #DeveloperGrowth #KeepCoding

Day 36 of My DSA Journey Today I solved LeetCode 150 – Evaluate Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) on LeetCode. 📌 Problem Evaluate the value of an arithmetic expression in Reverse Polish Notation. Valid operators are: +, -, *, / Each operand may be an integer. Example: Input: ["2","1","+","3","*"] Output: 9 Explanation: (2 + 1) * 3 = 9 🧠 Approach – Stack This problem is a perfect application of the Stack data structure. Steps I followed: • Traverse the tokens array. • If the element is a number → push it onto the stack. • If it is an operator: Pop the top two elements (a and b) Perform the operation (a operator b) Push the result back into the stack • At the end, the stack contains the final result. ⏱ Time Complexity: O(n) — We process each token once 📦 Space Complexity: O(n) — Stack to store operands 💡 Key Learnings ✔ Understanding Reverse Polish Notation (Postfix Expression) ✔ Applying stack for expression evaluation ✔ Handling operator precedence implicitly using stack This problem connects DSA with compiler/interpreter concepts, which makes it even more interesting 🚀 Consistency continues — improving every day 💪 #100DaysOfCode #DSA #Stack #LeetCode #Java #ProblemSolving #CodingJourney #DeveloperJourney #Programming #SoftwareEngineering

🚀 Day 17 of #DevDSA Today I solved Remove Element (LeetCode 27) — a simple-looking problem that taught me a powerful lesson about edge cases & pointer safety. 🧠 Problem Summary Given an array, remove all occurrences of a value in-place and return the count of remaining elements. ⚡ My Approach (Two Pointer Technique) I used: left pointer → start of array right pointer → end of array 💡 Idea: Move right backward to skip unwanted values Swap when left hits the target value Shrink the valid window ❌ Challenge I Faced Initially, my code failed for this edge case: nums = [3,3], val = 3 👉 Issue: right pointer went out of bounds (-1) Caused undefined values during swap ✅ Key Learning 🔥 Always guard your pointers while (right >= left && nums[right] === val) { right--; } This small condition fixed everything! 📊 Complexity Time Complexity: O(n) Space Complexity: O(1) (in-place) 💡 Bonus Insight Sometimes, a simpler approach works better: let k = 0; for (let i = 0; i < nums.length; i++) { if (nums[i] !== val) { nums[k] = nums[i]; k++; } } 👉 Cleaner, safer, and interview-friendly! 📌 Takeaway Edge cases are not rare — they are where most bugs live. #DSA #100DaysOfCode #JavaScript #CodingJourney #LeetCode #ProblemSolving #Developers #TechGrowth