Swap Adjacent in LR String — LeetCode 777 Python Solution

The problem

In a string composed of 'L', 'R', and 'X' characters, like "RXXLRXRXL", a move consists of either replacing one occurrence of "XL" with "LX", or replacing one occurrence of "RX" with "XR". Given the starting string start and the ending string result, return True if and only if there exists a sequence of moves to transform start to result.

Example

Input

start = "RXXLRXRXL", result = "XRLXXRRLX"

Output

true

Explanation

We can transform start to result following these steps:

Python solution

class Solution:
    def canTransform(self, start: str, end: str) -> bool:
        n = len(start)
        i = j = 0
        while 1:
            while i < n and start[i] == 'X':
                i += 1
            while j < n and end[j] == 'X':
                j += 1
            if i >= n and j >= n:
                return True
            if i >= n or j >= n or start[i] != end[j]:
                return False
            if start[i] == 'L' and i < j:
                return False
            if start[i] == 'R' and i > j:
                return False
            i, j = i + 1, j + 1

Complexity

Pattern: Two Pointers

Use the order already in the input to discard half the search space at every step. LeetCode 777. Swap Adjacent in LR String is filed here on both counts: the reference solution below belongs to the algorithm family this hub collects, and LeetCode tags it Two Pointers.

The two pointers guide has the Python template for the pattern and the 201 LeetCode problems that use it.

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