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This approach simulates the typing process using two stacks, one for each string. We iterate over each string, using the stack to build the string as it would appear after considering the backspace characters ('#'). By comparing the final stack representations, we can determine if the two strings are equivalent.
Time Complexity: O(n + m), where n and m are the lengths of s and t. Each character is processed once.
Space Complexity: O(n + m) due to the auxiliary arrays used to store the processed results of s and t.
1using System;
2using System.Collections.Generic;
3
4class Program {
5 static string BuildFinalString(string str) {
6 var stack = new Stack<char>();
7 foreach (char ch in str) {
8 if (ch != '#') {
9 stack.Push(ch);
10 } else if (stack.Count > 0) {
11 stack.Pop();
12 }
13 }
14 return new string(stack.ToArray());
15 }
16
17 static bool BackspaceCompare(string s, string t) {
18 return BuildFinalString(s) == BuildFinalString(t);
19 }
20
21 static void Main() {
22 Console.WriteLine(BackspaceCompare("ab#c", "ad#c")); // true
23 Console.WriteLine(BackspaceCompare("ab##", "c#d#")); // true
24 Console.WriteLine(BackspaceCompare("a#c", "b")); // false
25 }
26}The C# implementation utilizes a Stack collection to mimic the effect of applying backspaces. The stack stores characters unless a backspace character is encountered, in which case the stack's top is removed if not empty. The complete post-backspace string is then assembled to compare the equality of the processed strings.
This approach avoids extra space by using two pointers to traverse the strings backwards. By skipping over characters that are effectively backspaced due to a '#' character, we can compare corresponding positions in each string without actually building the resultant strings.
Time Complexity: O(n + m), where n and m are the lengths of s and t.
Space Complexity: O(1), since we only use constant space.
1
class Program {
static bool BackspaceCompare(string s, string t) {
int si = s.Length - 1, ti = t.Length - 1;
int skipS = 0, skipT = 0;
while (si >= 0 || ti >= 0) {
while (si >= 0) {
if (s[si] == '#') { skipS++; si--; }
else if (skipS > 0) { skipS--; si--; }
else break;
}
while (ti >= 0) {
if (t[ti] == '#') { skipT++; ti--; }
else if (skipT > 0) { skipT--; ti--; }
else break;
}
if ((si >= 0 && ti >= 0 && s[si] != t[ti]) || ((si >= 0) != (ti >= 0))) {
return false;
}
si--; ti--;
}
return true;
}
static void Main(string[] args) {
Console.WriteLine(BackspaceCompare("ab#c", "ad#c")); // true
Console.WriteLine(BackspaceCompare("ab##", "c#d#")); // true
Console.WriteLine(BackspaceCompare("a#c", "b")); // false
}
}This C# solution employs a two-pointer method. By moving pointers from the end to the front of the strings, it handles backspaces in constant space without actually modifying the input strings themselves. Characters are checked for equality only after confirming they are the visible characters after simulating backspace deletions.