LeetCode 2712: Minimum Cost to Make All Characters Equal Solution

Master LeetCode problem 2712 (Minimum Cost to Make All Characters Equal), 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.

2712. Minimum Cost to Make All Characters Equal

Medium

String Dynamic Programming Greedy

Problem Explanation

Explanation:

To find the minimum cost to make all characters equal in the given binary string, we can try to minimize the cost by making all characters the same. We can iterate through the string, calculating the cost of flipping all characters before the current index and all characters after the current index. The minimum cost would be the minimum of all these calculated costs.

Algorithmic Idea:

Initialize the total cost to 0.
Iterate through the string and calculate the cost of flipping all characters before the current index and after the current index.
Keep track of the minimum cost found.
Return the minimum cost as the answer.

Time Complexity:

The time complexity of this approach is O(n) where n is the length of the input binary string.

Space Complexity:

The space complexity is O(1) as we are using only a few variables to store the minimum cost and the total cost.

Solution Code

class Solution {
    public int minCost(String s) {
        int n = s.length();
        int totalCost = 0;
        
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
            int costBefore = 0;
            int costAfter = 0;
            
            for (int j = 0; j < i; j++) {
                if (s.charAt(j) != s.charAt(i)) {
                    costBefore++;
                }
            }
            
            for (int j = i; j < n; j++) {
                if (s.charAt(j) != s.charAt(i)) {
                    costAfter++;
                }
            }
            
            totalCost = Math.min(totalCost, Math.min(i + 1 + costAfter, n - i + costBefore));
        }
        
        return totalCost;
    }
}

Try It Yourself

Loading code editor...

Frequently Asked Questions

How to solve LeetCode 2712 (Minimum Cost to Make All Characters Equal)?

This page provides optimized solutions for LeetCode problem 2712 (Minimum Cost to Make All Characters Equal) in Java, C++, and Python, along with a detailed explanation and an interactive code editor to test your code.

What is the time complexity of LeetCode 2712 (Minimum Cost to Make All Characters Equal)?

The time complexity for LeetCode 2712 (Minimum Cost to Make All Characters Equal) varies by solution. Check the detailed explanation section for specific complexities in Java, C++, and Python implementations.

Can I run code for LeetCode 2712 on DevExCode?

Yes, DevExCode provides an interactive code editor where you can write, test, and run your code for LeetCode 2712 in Java, C++, or Python.

Back to LeetCode Solutions