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This approach utilizes a stack data structure to process the path components. By splitting the path on the '/' character, we collect the different components of the path. Using a stack helps efficiently manage directory movement due to '..'. For every directory name, it is pushed to the stack, for '..' we pop from the stack, and '.' is simply ignored. After processing all components, we join the names in the stack with '/' to form the simplified canonical path.
Time Complexity: O(N) where N is the length of the path string, as we perform operations linearly along the string.
Space Complexity: O(N) because we use a stack that can contain each part of the path in the worst case.
1def simplifyPath(path):
2 stack = []
3 components = path.split('/')
4
5 for component in components:
6 if component == '..':
7 if stack:
8 stack.pop()
9 elif component != '' and component != '.':
10 stack.append(component)
11
12 return '/' + '/'.join(stack)The Python approach effectively uses a list as a stack. By splitting the path on '/', and processing each segment, we decide whether to append a directory to the stack, pop the stack, or simply skip certain segments like '.' (current directory) and empty strings. The list is joined with '/' to reconstruct the simplified path.
This approach optimizes the simplification process using string handling techniques without explicitly using stack structures. It involves maintaining a result string directly, with an index pointer to simulate stack behavior. Iterating over path components allows addition, removal, or skipping of segments based on path rules, with a focus on reducing stack overhead. Finally, the result string is reconstructed as the simplified path.
Time Complexity: O(N) as parsing occurs once through entire path.
Space Complexity: O(N) utilized for the resultant path string (no explicit stack).
1
In Java, the approach constructs a simplified path using StringBuilder to efficiently manipulate directory paths. Instead of a stack, direct index-based operations handle navigation commands within the resultant string, offering streamlined path derivation.