Leetcode #2840: Check if Strings Can be Made Equal With Operations II
In this guide, we solve Leetcode #2840 Check if Strings Can be Made Equal With Operations II 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 two strings s1 and s2, both of length n, consisting of lowercase English letters. You can apply the following operation on any of the two strings any number of times: Choose any two indices i and j such that i < j and the difference j - i is even, then swap the two characters at those indices in the string.
Quick Facts
- Difficulty: Medium
- Premium: No
- Tags: Hash Table, String, Sorting
Intuition
Fast membership checks and value lookups are the heart of this problem, which makes a hash map the natural choice.
By storing what we have already seen (or counts/indexes), we can answer the question in one pass without backtracking.
Approach
Scan the input once, using the map to detect when the condition is satisfied and to update state as you go.
This keeps the solution linear while remaining easy to explain in an interview setting.
Steps:
- Initialize a hash map for seen items or counts.
- Iterate through the input, querying/updating the map.
- Return the first valid result or the final computed value.
Example
Input: s1 = "abcdba", s2 = "cabdab"
Output: true
Explanation: We can apply the following operations on s1:
- Choose the indices i = 0, j = 2. The resulting string is s1 = "cbadba".
- Choose the indices i = 2, j = 4. The resulting string is s1 = "cbbdaa".
- Choose the indices i = 1, j = 5. The resulting string is s1 = "cabdab" = s2.
Python Solution
class Solution:
def checkStrings(self, s1: str, s2: str) -> bool:
return sorted(s1[::2]) == sorted(s2[::2]) and sorted(s1[1::2]) == sorted(
s2[1::2]
)
Complexity
The time complexity is , and the space complexity is . 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.