LeetCode 2086: Minimum Number of Food Buckets to Feed the Hamsters Solution

Master LeetCode problem 2086 (Minimum Number of Food Buckets to Feed the Hamsters), a medium challenge, with our optimized solutions in Java, C++, and Python. Explore detailed explanations, test your code in our interactive editor, and prepare for coding interviews.

2086. Minimum Number of Food Buckets to Feed the Hamsters

Medium

String Dynamic Programming Greedy

Problem Explanation

Explanation:

To solve this problem, we can iterate over the string hamsters and keep track of the positions of hamsters. For each hamster, we check if there is at least one food bucket to its left or right. If there isn't, we increment a counter to keep track of the number of food buckets needed. If at any point we encounter a hamster that cannot be fed, we return -1. If all hamsters can be fed, we return the total number of food buckets needed.

Initialize a counter for the number of food buckets needed.
Iterate over the string hamsters to find the positions of hamsters.
For each hamster found, check if there is at least one food bucket to its left or right.
If a hamster cannot be fed, return -1.
If all hamsters can be fed, return the total number of food buckets needed.

Time Complexity: O(n) where n is the length of the input string hamsters. Space Complexity: O(1)

Solution Code

class Solution {
    public int minFoodBuckets(String hamsters) {
        int n = hamsters.length();
        int bucketsNeeded = 0;
        
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
            if (hamsters.charAt(i) == 'H') {
                if ((i == 0 || hamsters.charAt(i - 1) != 'H') && (i == n - 1 || hamsters.charAt(i + 1) != 'H')) {
                    bucketsNeeded++;
                }
            }
        }
        
        for (int i = 0; i < n - 1; i++) {
            if (hamsters.charAt(i) == 'H' && hamsters.charAt(i + 1) == 'H') {
                return -1;
            }
        }
        
        return bucketsNeeded;
    }
}

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