Leetcode #2076: Process Restricted Friend Requests

In this guide, we solve Leetcode #2076 Process Restricted Friend Requests in Python and focus on the core idea that makes the solution efficient.

You will see the intuition, the step-by-step method, and a clean Python implementation you can use in interviews.

Leetcode

Problem Statement

You are given an integer n indicating the number of people in a network. Each person is labeled from 0 to n - 1.

Quick Facts

Difficulty: Hard
Premium: No
Tags: Union Find, Graph

Intuition

The data forms a graph, so we should explore nodes and edges systematically.

A traversal ensures we visit each node once while maintaining the needed state.

Approach

Build an adjacency list and traverse with BFS or DFS.

Aggregate results as you visit nodes.

Steps:

Build the graph.
Traverse with BFS/DFS.
Accumulate the required output.

Example

Input: n = 3, restrictions = [[0,1]], requests = [[0,2],[2,1]]
Output: [true,false]
Explanation:
Request 0: Person 0 and person 2 can be friends, so they become direct friends. 
Request 1: Person 2 and person 1 cannot be friends since person 0 and person 1 would be indirect friends (1--2--0).

Python Solution

class Solution:
    def friendRequests(
        self, n: int, restrictions: List[List[int]], requests: List[List[int]]
    ) -> List[bool]:
        def find(x: int) -> int:
            if p[x] != x:
                p[x] = find(p[x])
            return p[x]

        p = list(range(n))
        ans = []
        for u, v in requests:
            pu, pv = find(u), find(v)
            if pu == pv:
                ans.append(True)
            else:
                ok = True
                for x, y in restrictions:
                    px, py = find(x), find(y)
                    if (pu == px and pv == py) or (pu == py and pv == px):
                        ok = False
                        break
                ans.append(ok)
                if ok:
                    p[pu] = pv
        return ans

Complexity

The time complexity is $O(q \times m \times \log(n))$ , and the space complexity is $O(n)$ . The space complexity is $O(n)$ .

Edge Cases and Pitfalls

Watch for boundary values, empty inputs, and duplicate values where applicable. If the problem involves ordering or constraints, confirm the invariant is preserved at every step.

Summary

This Python solution focuses on the essential structure of the problem and keeps the implementation interview-friendly while meeting the constraints.

Python Solution

class Solution:
    def friendRequests(
        self, n: int, restrictions: List[List[int]], requests: List[List[int]]
    ) -> List[bool]:
        def find(x: int) -> int:
            if p[x] != x:
                p[x] = find(p[x])
            return p[x]

        p = list(range(n))
        ans = []
        for u, v in requests:
            pu, pv = find(u), find(v)
            if pu == pv:
                ans.append(True)
            else:
                ok = True
                for x, y in restrictions:
                    px, py = find(x), find(y)
                    if (pu == px and pv == py) or (pu == py and pv == px):
                        ok = False
                        break
                ans.append(ok)
                if ok:
                    p[pu] = pv
        return ans

Leetcode #2076: Process Restricted Friend Requests

Problem Statement

Quick Facts

Intuition

Approach

Example

Python Solution

Complexity

Edge Cases and Pitfalls

Summary

Ace your next coding interview

Leetcode #2076: Process Restricted Friend Requests

Problem Statement

Quick Facts

Intuition

Approach

Example

Python Solution

Complexity

Edge Cases and Pitfalls

Summary

Ace your next coding interview