Description
Given a string s of '(' , ')' and lowercase English characters.
Your task is to remove the minimum number of parentheses ( '(' or ')', in any positions ) so that the resulting parentheses string is valid and return any valid string.
Formally, a parentheses string is valid if and only if:
It is the empty string, contains only lowercase characters, or
It can be written as AB (A concatenated with B), where A and B are valid strings, or
It can be written as (A), where A is a valid string.
Example 1:
Input: s = "lee(t(c)o)de)"
Output: "lee(t(c)o)de"
Explanation: "lee(t(co)de)" , "lee(t(c)ode)" would also be accepted.
Example 2:
Input: s = "a)b(c)d"
Output: "ab(c)d"
Example 3:
Input: s = "))(("
Output: ""
Explanation: An empty string is also valid.
Constraints:
1 <= s.length <= 10^5
s[i] is either'(' , ')', or lowercase English letter.
Solution
List
Go through the string from left to right, use a left_cnt
to keep track of how many (
we have visited, and decrease when there's a )
, discard redundant )
during this process.
Go through the string again, this time from right to left, use a right_cnt
to keep track of how may )
we have, and decrease when there's a (
, discard (
this time.
Time complexity: o ( n ) o(n) o(n)
Space complexity: o ( n ) o(n) o(n)
Stack
Use a stack to store all the (
, and pop when there's a )
, at the end, all the remaining (
s are those we need to discard.
Time complexity: o ( n ) o(n) o(n)
Space complexity: o ( n ) o(n) o(n)
Code
List
python3
class Solution:
def minRemoveToMakeValid(self, s: str) -> str:
left_cnt = 0
res = []
for i in range(len(s)):
if s[i] not in ('(', ')'):
res += s[i]
elif s[i] == '(':
res += s[i]
left_cnt += 1
elif s[i] == ')' and left_cnt > 0:
res += s[i]
left_cnt -= 1
right_cnt = 0
new_res = ''
for i in range(len(res) - 1, -1, -1):
if res[i] not in ('(', ')'):
new_res += res[i]
elif res[i] == ')':
new_res += res[i]
right_cnt += 1
elif res[i] == '(' and right_cnt > 0:
new_res += res[i]
right_cnt -= 1
return new_res[::-1]
Stack
python3
class Solution:
def minRemoveToMakeValid(self, s: str) -> str:
stack = []
discard = []
for i in range(len(s)):
if s[i] == '(':
stack.append(i)
elif s[i] == ')':
if stack:
stack.pop()
else:
discard.append(i)
discard += stack
res = []
for i in range(len(s)):
if i not in discard:
res.append(s[i])
return ''.join(res)