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The idea is to use a Set (or a HashSet in some languages) to store each coordinate visited during the path traversal. Starting from (0, 0), each movement updates the coordinates. If the updated coordinates are already in the Set, it means that the path has crossed itself, and we return true. Otherwise, continue until the end of the path and return false.
Time Complexity: O(n), where n is the length of the path, as we iterate through the path once, with O(1) operations for each set lookup.
Space Complexity: O(n), as we store up to n coordinates in the set.
1using System;
2using System.Collections.Generic;
3
4public class Solution {
5 public bool IsPathCrossing(string path) {
6 var visited = new HashSet<(int, int)>();
7 int x = 0, y = 0;
8 visited.Add((x, y));
9
10 foreach (char direction in path) {
11 if (direction == 'N') {
12 y++;
13 } else if (direction == 'S') {
14 y--;
15 } else if (direction == 'E') {
16 x++;
17 } else if (direction == 'W') {
18 x--;
19 }
20
21 var current = (x, y);
22 if (visited.Contains(current)) {
23 return true;
24 }
25 visited.Add(current);
26 }
27 return false;
28 }
29}
This C# solution uses a HashSet to store visited tuples (int, int) representing coordinates. From the initial coordinate (0, 0), we update for each direction and check set membership for crossings. If a coordinate is revisited, it returns true, otherwise, it finishes with false.
In this approach, we simulate movement on a 2D plane. Starting at the origin (0, 0), the path string is processed character by character to update the current position based on the direction: 'N' increases y, 'S' decreases y, 'E' increases x, and 'W' decreases x. A map or set records visits to each unique position. If a position is visited more than once, the path crosses itself.
Time Complexity: O(n), since every character in the path is processed.
Space Complexity: O(n), as we store coordinates in a set.
1def
In this Python function, a set keeps track of each position visited as (x, y) tuples. Starting at (0, 0), we iterate through the path, adjusting coordinates for each direction and checking against the set to detect crossings.