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Problem solution · C++

Freedom Trail

Freedom Trail: a C++ solution using depth-first search. Learn the idea, check the complexity, and read the full code, with credit to walkccc LeetCode Solutions.

Technique
Depth-first search
Source
walkccc LeetCode Solutions
Length
35 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

Depth-first search

For Freedom Trail, the implementation follows one branch at a time, making it suitable for components, trees, backtracking, or dependency exploration.

  1. Define the state carried into one recursive or stack frame.
  2. Mark or choose the current state before exploring children.
  3. Combine child results or undo the choice when the branch finishes.

Code notes

  • 35 lines of C++ from the credited upstream file 514.cpp.
  • The implementation visibly relies on hash lookup.
  • 1 loop block detected, together with recursive traversal.

Complexity

Count unique states for graph traversal; for backtracking, count the branching factor and maximum depth.

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

Source

Code and credit

This code comes from walkccc LeetCode Solutions by P.-Y. Chen (walkccc) and is used under the MIT licence.

Open problem ↗Original source ↗
Full codeFreedom Trail · C++C++
Use this to learn the idea, then write your own version.
class Solution { public:  int findRotateSteps(string ring, string key) {    return dfs(ring, key, 0, {}) + key.length();  }  private:  // Returns the number of rotates of ring to match key[index..n).  int dfs(const string& ring, const string& key, int index,          unordered_map<string, int>&& mem) {    if (index == key.length())      return 0;    // Add the index to prevent duplication.    const string hashKey = ring + to_string(index);    if (const auto it = mem.find(hashKey); it != mem.cend())      return it->second;     int ans = INT_MAX;     // For each ring[i] == key[index], we rotate the ring to match the ring[i]    // with the key[index], then recursively match the newRing with the    // key[index + 1..n).    for (size_t i = 0; i < ring.length(); ++i)      if (ring[i] == key[index]) {        const int minRotates = min(i, ring.length() - i);        const string& newRing = ring.substr(i) + ring.substr(0, i);        const int remainingRotates =            dfs(newRing, key, index + 1, std::move(mem));        ans = min(ans, minRotates + remainingRotates);      }     return mem[hashKey] = ans;  }};

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