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Problem solution · Python

Maximize Area of Square Hole in Grid

Maximize Area of Square Hole in Grid: a Python solution using sliding window or two pointers. Learn the idea, check the complexity, and read the full code, with credit to Kamyu LeetCode Solutions.

Technique
Sliding window or two pointers
Source
Kamyu LeetCode Solutions
Length
56 lines
Start with the idea.

Try the problem first. If you get stuck, read the approach below, then write your own solution. The full code is at the bottom.

Approach

Sliding window or two pointers

For Maximize Area of Square Hole in Grid, the implementation maintains a moving interval and updates only the information that enters or leaves the window.

  1. Choose the invariant that makes a window valid or useful.
  2. Advance the right boundary and add the new element.
  3. Move the left boundary only as needed while maintaining the invariant and updating the answer.

Code notes

  • 56 lines of Python from the credited upstream file maximize-area-of-square-hole-in-grid.py.
  • The implementation visibly relies on sequence storage, ordered lookup.
  • No explicit loop blocks detected.

Complexity

Confirm that neither pointer moves backwards; if so, the scan is usually linear apart from the window’s data-structure operations.

Check the problem constraints before deciding whether this complexity will pass.

Source

Code and credit

This code comes from Kamyu LeetCode Solutions by kamyu104 and is used under the MIT licence.

Open problem ↗Original source ↗
Full codeMaximize Area of Square Hole in Grid · PythonPython
Use this to learn the idea, then write your own version.
# Time:  O(h + v), h = len(hBars), v = len(vBars)# Space: O(h + v) # array, hash tableclass Solution(object):    def maximizeSquareHoleArea(self, n, m, hBars, vBars):        """        :type n: int        :type m: int        :type hBars: List[int]        :type vBars: List[int]        :rtype: int        """        def max_gap(arr):            result = l = 1            lookup = set(arr)            while lookup:                x = next(iter(lookup))                left = x                while left-1 in lookup:                    left -= 1                right = x                while right+1 in lookup:                    right += 1                for i in xrange(left, right+1):                    lookup.remove(i)                result = max(result, (right-left+1)+1)            return result         return min(max_gap(hBars), max_gap(vBars))**2  # Time:  O(hlogh + vlogv), h = len(hBars), v = len(vBars)# Space: O(1)# array, sortclass Solution2(object):    def maximizeSquareHoleArea(self, n, m, hBars, vBars):        """        :type n: int        :type m: int        :type hBars: List[int]        :type vBars: List[int]        :rtype: int        """        def max_gap(arr):            arr.sort()            result = l = 1            for i in xrange(len(arr)):                l += 1                result = max(result, l)                if i+1 != len(arr) and arr[i+1] != arr[i]+1:                    l = 1            return result         return min(max_gap(hBars), max_gap(vBars))**2

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