Longest Path With Different Adjacent Characters

Try to solve the Longest Path With Different Adjacent Characters problem.

Statement

You are given a rooted tree with nn nodes, numbered from 00 to n1n - 1, where the tree is connected, undirected, and has no cycles. The tree is represented by a 0-indexed array parent of size nn, where parent[i] is the parent of node ii. The root node is node 00, so parent[0] =1= -1.

Additionally, you are provided a string s of length nn, where s[i] represents the character assigned to node i.i.

Your task is to find the length of the longest path in the tree where no two consecutive nodes on the path share the same character. Return the length of this path.

Constraints:

  • nn == parent.length == s.length

  • 1n1051 \leq n \leq 10^5

  • 00 \leq parent[i] n1\leq n - 1 for all i1i \geq 1

  • parent[0] =1= -1

  • parent represents a valid tree.

  • s consists of only lowercase English letters.

Examples

Level up your interview prep. Join Educative to access 70+ hands-on prep courses.