Package g1701_1800.s1737_change_minimum_characters_to_satisfy_one_of_three_conditions

Class Solution

  • public class Solution
extends Object
    1737 - Change Minimum Characters to Satisfy One of Three Conditions.

    Medium

    You are given two strings a and b that consist of lowercase letters. In one operation, you can change any character in a or b to any lowercase letter.

    Your goal is to satisfy one of the following three conditions:

    • Every letter in a is strictly less than every letter in b in the alphabet.
    • Every letter in b is strictly less than every letter in a in the alphabet.
    • Both a and b consist of only one distinct letter.

    Return the minimum number of operations needed to achieve your goal.

    Example 1:

    Input: a = “aba”, b = “caa”

    Output: 2

    Explanation: Consider the best way to make each condition true:

    1. Change b to “ccc” in 2 operations, then every letter in a is less than every letter in b.

    2. Change a to “bbb” and b to “aaa” in 3 operations, then every letter in b is less than every letter in a.

    3. Change a to “aaa” and b to “aaa” in 2 operations, then a and b consist of one distinct letter. The best way was done in 2 operations (either condition 1 or condition 3).

    Example 2:

    Input: a = “dabadd”, b = “cda”

    Output: 3

    Explanation: The best way is to make condition 1 true by changing b to “eee”.

    Constraints:

    • 1 <= a.length, b.length <= 105
    • a and b consist only of lowercase letters.

    • Constructor Detail

      • Solution

        public Solution()

    • Method Detail

      • minCharacters

        public int minCharacters​(String s1,
                         String s2)