Cover image for Top 150 Interview Questions P97 Interleaving String

Top 150 Interview Questions P97 Interleaving String


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2025-12-16

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Dynamic Programming

Problem:

Let dp[i][j] \texttt{dp[i][j]}\\ denote s1[0..=i-1] \texttt{s1[0..=i-1]} (where1is1.length()1 \leq i \leq \texttt{s1.length()}) ands2[0..=j-1]\texttt{s2[0..=j-1]}(where1js2.length()1 \leq j \leq \texttt{s2.length()}) can interleave to forms3[0..=i+j-1]\texttt{s3[0..=i+j-1]}dp[0][0]dp[0][0]denotes1\texttt{s1}s2\texttt{s2}ands3\texttt{s3}both take empty strings.

dp[0][0]=true\texttt{ dp[0][0] = true} \\

  • Consider only s1, i.e.s1[0..=i-1]whether it can be interleaved to forms3[0..i-1], obviously

dp[i][0]=dp[i-1][0]&&(s3[i-1]==s1[i-1]);\texttt{dp[i][0] = dp[i-1][0] \&\& (s3[i - 1] == s1[i- 1]);} \\

  • Similarly, considering only s2 gives:

dp[0][j]=dp[0][j-1]&&(s3[j-1]==s2[j-1]);\texttt{dp[0][j] = dp[0][j-1] \&\& (s3[j - 1] == s2[j- 1]);} \\

  • Considering both s1 and s2 gives:

from_s1=dp[i-1][j]&&(s1[i-1]==s3[i+j-1]);\texttt{from\_s1 = dp[i-1][j] \&\& (s1[i-1] == s3[i+j-1]);} \\

from_s2=dp[i][j-1]&&(s2[j-1]==s3[i+j-1]);\texttt{from\_s2 = dp[i][j-1] \&\& (s2[j-1] == s3[i+j-1]);} \\

dp[i][j]=from_s1||from_s2;\texttt{dp[i][j] = from\_s1 || from\_s2;} \\

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#include <vector>
#include <string>

using std::string;
using std::vector;

class Solution {
public:
bool isInterleave(string s1, string s2, string s3)
{
int n1 = s1.length(), n2 = s2.length(), n3 = s3.length();
int i, j;
bool from_s1, from_s2;

if (n1 + n2 != n3) {
return false;
}
vector<vector<bool> > dp(n1 + 1, vector<bool>(n2 + 1, false));
// dp[i][j] indicates that s1[0..=i-1] and s2[0..=j-1] can interleave to form s3[0..=i+j-1]
// dp[0][0] represents the empty string

dp[0][0] = true;

for (i = 1; i <= n1; i++) {
dp[i][0] = dp[i - 1][0] && (s3[i - 1] == s1[i - 1]);
}

for (j = 1; j <= n2; j++) {
dp[0][j] = dp[0][j - 1] && (s3[j - 1] == s2[j - 1]);
}

for (i = 1; i <= n1; i++) {
for (j = 1; j <= n2; j++) {
from_s1 = dp[i - 1][j] && (s1[i - 1] == s3[i + j - 1]);
from_s2 = dp[i][j - 1] && (s2[j - 1] == s3[i + j - 1]);
dp[i][j] = from_s1 || from_s2;
}
}
return dp[n1][n2];
}
};