Leetcode #2222: Number of Ways to Select Buildings
In this guide, we solve Leetcode #2222 Number of Ways to Select Buildings 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.
Problem Statement
You are given a 0-indexed binary string s which represents the types of buildings along a street where: s[i] = '0' denotes that the ith building is an office and s[i] = '1' denotes that the ith building is a restaurant. As a city official, you would like to select 3 buildings for random inspection.
Quick Facts
- Difficulty: Medium
- Premium: No
- Tags: String, Dynamic Programming, Prefix Sum
Intuition
The problem breaks into overlapping subproblems, so caching results prevents exponential repetition.
A carefully chosen DP state captures exactly what we need to build the final answer.
Approach
Define the DP state and recurrence, then compute states in the correct order.
Optionally compress space once the recurrence is clear.
Steps:
- Choose a DP state definition.
- Write the recurrence and base cases.
- Compute states in the correct order.
Example
Input: s = "001101"
Output: 6
Explanation:
The following sets of indices selected are valid:
- [0,2,4] from "001101" forms "010"
- [0,3,4] from "001101" forms "010"
- [1,2,4] from "001101" forms "010"
- [1,3,4] from "001101" forms "010"
- [2,4,5] from "001101" forms "101"
- [3,4,5] from "001101" forms "101"
No other selection is valid. Thus, there are 6 total ways.
Python Solution
class Solution:
def numberOfWays(self, s: str) -> int:
l = [0, 0]
r = [s.count("0"), s.count("1")]
ans = 0
for x in map(int, s):
r[x] -= 1
ans += l[x ^ 1] * r[x ^ 1]
l[x] += 1
return ans
Complexity
The time complexity is , where is the length of the string . The space complexity is .
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.