LeetCode 2516: Take K of Each Character From Left and Right Solution

Master LeetCode problem 2516 (Take K of Each Character From Left and Right), 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.

2516. Take K of Each Character From Left and Right

Medium

Hash Table String Sliding Window

Problem Explanation

Explanation:

To solve this problem, we can use a sliding window approach. We will maintain a window that contains at least k occurrences of each character. We will expand the window by moving the right pointer to the right until we have at least k occurrences of each character in the window. Then, we will contract the window by moving the left pointer to the right until we no longer have k occurrences of each character in the window.

We will keep track of the minimum number of minutes needed to achieve at least k occurrences of each character. If it is not possible to achieve this, we will return -1. Solution:

Solution Code

class Solution {
    public int minMinutes(String s, int k) {
        int[] count = new int[3]; // to store the count of 'a', 'b', 'c'
        int total = 0; // total count of characters in the window
        int left = 0, right = 0; // window pointers
        int minMinutes = Integer.MAX_VALUE;

        for (char ch : s.toCharArray()) {
            count[ch - 'a']++;
            total++;

            while (count[0] >= k && count[1] >= k && count[2] >= k) {
                minMinutes = Math.min(minMinutes, total);
                count[s.charAt(left) - 'a']--;
                total--;
                left++;
            }
        }

        return minMinutes == Integer.MAX_VALUE ? -1 : minMinutes;
    }
}

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