Is Find the Original Typed String I easy or hard?

Find the Original Typed String I is classified as an Easy problem with an acceptance rate above 70%. It mainly tests the ability to recognize consecutive character patterns and apply a simple linear scan.

Find the Original Typed String I Python/Java solution

The implementation is straightforward in Python, Java, C++, and other languages. Loop through the string, compare each character with the previous one, and increment a counter when they match. Return duplicates + 1 as the number of possible original strings.

How to solve Find the Original Typed String I in O(n)?

Iterate through the string and check whether the current character equals the previous one. Each time this happens, increment a duplicate counter. The final answer is duplicates + 1, representing all possible original strings formed by removing one of the repeated characters or keeping the string unchanged.

What is the best approach for Find the Original Typed String I?

The Character Compression Method is the optimal solution. Scan the string once and count how many times consecutive characters are equal. Each duplicate position represents one extra possible original string, leading to an O(n) time and O(1) space solution.

Is Find the Original Typed String I asked at Google/Amazon/Meta?

Problems involving string compression, duplicate runs, and long‑press typing patterns frequently appear in interviews at companies like Google, Amazon, and Meta. While the exact problem may vary, the underlying technique of scanning consecutive characters is common.

What data structure is used in Find the Original Typed String I?

The solution primarily uses basic string traversal. No additional data structures are required beyond a few counters, which keeps the space complexity constant.

What is the time complexity of Find the Original Typed String I?

The optimal solution runs in O(n) time because it performs a single pass through the string. Space complexity is O(1) since only a counter variable is needed to track duplicate characters.

Description Hints 1 Solution Video 10:28

3330. Find the Original Typed String I

Easy72.1% acceptance7 companies

Alice is attempting to type a specific string on her computer. However, she tends to be clumsy and may press a key for too long, resulting in a character being typed multiple times.

Although Alice tried to focus on her typing, she is aware that she may still have done this at most once.

You are given a string word, which represents the final output displayed on Alice's screen.

Return the total number of possible original strings that Alice might have intended to type.

Example 1:

Input: word = "abbcccc"

Output: 5

Explanation:

The possible strings are: "abbcccc", "abbccc", "abbcc", "abbc", and "abcccc".

Example 2:

Input: word = "abcd"

Output: 1

Explanation: