Longest Repeating Character Replacement — LeetCode 424 Python Solution

MediumHash TableStringSliding Window
Problem
#424
Reading time
2 min

The problem

You are given a string s and an integer k. You can choose any character of the string and change it to any other uppercase English character.

Example

Input
s = "ABAB", k = 2
Output
4
Explanation
Replace the two 'A's with two 'B's or vice versa.

Python solution

Python
class Solution:
    def characterReplacement(self, s: str, k: int) -> int:
        cnt = Counter()
        l = mx = 0
        for r, c in enumerate(s):
            cnt[c] += 1
            mx = max(mx, cnt[c])
            if r - l + 1 - mx > k:
                cnt[s[l]] -= 1
                l += 1
        return len(s) - l

Complexity

MeasureComplexity
TimeO(n)
SpaceO(|\Sigma|) auxiliary

Pattern: Sliding Window

Collapse a nested loop over every subarray into a single pass with two indices. LeetCode 424. Longest Repeating Character Replacement is filed here because LeetCode tags it Sliding Window, which is the vocabulary this hub collects.

The sliding window guide has the Python template for the pattern and the 116 LeetCode problems that use it.

Related problems

On study lists

This problem is on Blind 75 and NeetCode 150.

Frequently asked questions

How hard is LeetCode 424. Longest Repeating Character Replacement?
LeetCode 424. Longest Repeating Character Replacement is rated Medium on LeetCode.
What is the time complexity of LeetCode 424. Longest Repeating Character Replacement?
The Python solution on this page runs in O(n).
What is the space complexity of LeetCode 424. Longest Repeating Character Replacement?
The Python solution on this page uses O(|\Sigma|) auxiliary space.
What topics does LeetCode 424. Longest Repeating Character Replacement cover?
LeetCode 424. Longest Repeating Character Replacement is tagged Hash Table, String and Sliding Window on LeetCode.

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