Count of distinct groups of strings formed after performing equivalent operation

Introduction

In computer programming, solving problems often requires us to manipulate strings effectively while accounting for their diversity. One interesting challenge is to determine the count of distinct groups that can be formed after performing equivalent operations on a given set of strings. In this article, we will explore an efficient approach using C++ code to tackle this problem and unlock new possibilities. By employing key algorithmic steps such as group identification, formation, and computation, programmers can effectively tackle challenges related to manipulating diverse sets of strings while maintaining their unique properties.

Count of distinct groups of strings formed after performing equivalent operation

Distinct groups refer to collections of strings where each string within a group can be transformed into any other string in that same group using a specific set of operations. Equivalent operations imply that these transformations retain properties such as symmetry or equal computation steps while generating different outputs.

Here are the key steps involved −

Step 1: Input Gathering

Firstly, it is essential to gather input from the user or any external source about which strings are available for examination.

The input is an array of strings: {"ab", "bc", "abc"}.

Step 2: Group Identification

Next, based on user-provided rules or predefined metrics (if applicable), we identify common patterns or characteristics among those given strings. This step helps distinguish unique transformation possibilities.

For each string in the array:
Identify the minimum character in the string.
"ab" has a minimum character of "a".
"bc" has a minimum character of "b".
"abc" has a minimum character of "a".
Remove the minimum character from the string.
"ab" becomes "b".
"bc" becomes "c".
"abc" becomes "bc".
Store the resulting string as a distinct group.
Distinct groups are {"b", "c", "bc"}.

Step 3: Group Formation

After identifying potential transformation patterns and characteristics, we form distinct groups by assigning individual strings into corresponding categories depending on their similarities under certain equivalence operations criteria.

For each distinct group:
Generate all possible permutations of the group.
"b" has one permutation: "b".
"c" has one permutation: "c".
"bc" has two permutations: "bc" and "cb".
Store each permutation as a distinct group.
Distinct groups are {"b", "c", "bc", "cb"}.

Step 4: Count Computation

Once all strings have been assigned into their respective groups according to recognized patterns or characteristics, counting the number of distinct groups becomes straightforward by iterating over all created buckets or categories.

Count the number of distinct groups formed after performing equivalent operations.
The count is 4.

Approach 1: C++ Program return the count of distinct groups of strings formed after performing equivalent operation

To count the number of distinct groups formed after performing equivalent operations, we need an effective algorithmic approach.

Algorithm

• Step 1 − Define a function findDistinctGroups() that takes an array of strings arr and its size n as input.

• Step 2 − Create an empty unordered set distinctGroups to store the distinct groups of strings.

• Step 3 − For each string in the array −

  • Sort the characters in the string in ascending order using the sort() function.

  • Generate all possible permutations of the string using the next_permutation() function.

  • Insert each permutation into the unordered set to remove duplicates.

• Step 4 − Return the size of the unordered set as the number of distinct groups of strings.

• Step 5 − Define a main function that creates an array of strings and calls the findDistinctGroups() function to count the number of distinct groups formed after performing equivalent operations.

• Step 6 − Print the output according to the input given.

Example

//including the required header files
#include <iostream>
#include <algorithm>
#include <unordered_set>
using namespace std;

// Function to calculate number of distinct string 
int findDistinctGroups(string arr[], int n) {
   unordered_set<string> distinctGroups;
   // for loop will iterate    
   for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
      string str = arr[i];
      sort(str.begin(), str.end());
        
      // Remove minimum character and store the result
      do {
         distinctGroups.insert(str);
      } while (next_permutation(str.begin(), str.end()));
   }

   return distinctGroups.size();
}

// Main function to test the code
int main() {
   //Initializing the string with three string values
   string strings[] = {"ab", "bc", "abc"};
   int numStrings = sizeof(strings)/sizeof(strings[0]);
  
   // Counting number of distinct groups formed after performing equivalent operations 
   int countDistinctGroups = findDistinctGroups(strings, numStrings);
   //The output statement prints the final value
   cout << "The number of distinct groups formed is: " << countDistinctGroups << endl;

   return 0;
}

Output

The number of distinct groups formed is : 10

Conclusion

In this article, we have explored an efficient approach using C++ to solve the problem of counting the number of distinct groups formed after performing equivalent operations on a set of strings. With the thorough description in this article and the implementation examples in C++ that were provided, we are now prepared to take on comparable problems involving counting simple counts.