Grokking the Coding Interview Patterns in Python/

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Solution: Valid Word Abbreviation

Solution: Valid Word Abbreviation

Let’s solve the Valid Word Abbreviation problem using Two Pointers.

We'll cover the following...

Statement

Given a string, word, and abbreviation, abbr, return TRUE if the abbreviation matches the given string. Otherwise, return FALSE. An abbreviation can replace any non-adjacent, non-empty substrings of the original word with their lengths. Replacement lengths must not contain leading zeros.

A certain word, "calendar", can be abbreviated as follows:

  • "cal3ar" ("cal + end [length = 3] + ar" skipping three characters "end" from the word "calendar" still matches the provided abbreviation)

  • "c6r" ("c + alenda [length = 6] + r" skipping six characters "alenda" from the word "calendar" still matches the provided abbreviation)

The word "internationalization" can also be abbreviated as "i18n" (the abbreviation comes from skipping 18 characters in "internationalization" leaving the first and last letters "i" and "n").

The following are not valid abbreviations:

  • "c06r" (Has leading zeroes)

  • "cale0ndar" (Replaces an empty string)

  • "c24r" ("c al enda r" the replaced substringsA substring is a contiguous non-empty sequence of characters within a string. are adjacent)

Constraints:

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