Things to consider to solve the TLE

#1

So, I’ve spent a lot of time to solve this problem… basically, to solve the TLE, not the problem itself. So, after you solve it, consider two things for your final solution:

  1. Do not use ArrayList, LinkedList or Sets (HashMap or HashSet)… use only arrays like int[]
  2. Do not store strings in the queue, use only ints and build your string at the end.
#2

Thanks, the first suggestion really helped. The time bound in this problem is way too tight in my opinion, and I was using hashmap with constant access time, which is supposed to save memory, but was getting TLE no matter what. Once I switched to a two dimensional array, it was accepted.

#3

I’m glad to be of help :slightly_smiling_face:

#4

thanks a lot bro :slight_smile: