Sum of Digits of String After Convert - Problem
Transform and Sum Challenge

You're given a string s containing only lowercase English letters and an integer k. Your mission is to perform a magical transformation process:

Step 1: Letter-to-Number Conversion
Convert each letter to its alphabetical position: 'a' → 1, 'b' → 2, ..., 'z' → 26

Step 2: Digit Sum Transformation
Replace the resulting number with the sum of its digits, and repeat this process exactly k times.

Example walkthrough:
For s = "zbax" and k = 2:
1. Convert: "zbax" → "26" + "2" + "1" + "24" → "262124"
2. Transform #1: 262124 → 2+6+2+1+2+4 = 17
3. Transform #2: 17 → 1+7 = 8

Return the final integer after all transformations are complete.

Input & Output

example_1.py — Basic Case
$ Input: s = "iiii", k = 1
Output: 36
💡 Note: Convert: i=9, so "iiii" becomes "9999" → 9+9+9+9 = 36. After 1 transformation: 36
example_2.py — Multiple Transforms
$ Input: s = "leetcode", k = 2
Output: 6
💡 Note: Convert: "leetcode" → "12551201545" → 1+2+5+5+1+2+0+1+5+4+5 = 31. Transform #1: 31 → 3+1 = 4. But wait, let me recalculate: l=12,e=5,e=5,t=20,c=3,o=15,d=4,e=5 → digit sum = 1+2+5+5+2+0+3+1+5+4+5 = 33 → 3+3 = 6
example_3.py — Single Character
$ Input: s = "z", k = 1
Output: 8
💡 Note: Convert: z=26 → 2+6 = 8. After 1 transformation: 8

Visualization

Tap to expand
🏺 Ancient Scroll Decoder Process 📜zbax → ? (k=2 transformations)Step 1: Recognitionz → 26, b → 2a → 1, x → 24Step 2: Digit Magic26→2+6=8, 2→21→1, 24→2+4=6Step 3: Compression8+2+1+6 = 1717 → 1+7 = 8🎯 Final Answer: 8The scroll reveals its secret!🧙‍♂️ Ancient Wisdom"The wise decoder avoids creating the full number 262124""Instead, sum digits during conversion to prevent overflow spirits!"Time: O(n + k·log(result)) | Space: O(1)
Understanding the Visualization
1
Letter Recognition
Each letter reveals its numerical position in the ancient alphabet
2
Digit Extraction
Large numbers are broken down into their constituent digits
3
Magical Compression
Digits are summed together k times to reveal the hidden message
Key Takeaway
🎯 Key Insight: Instead of creating massive concatenated numbers that could cause overflow, we sum digits during the initial conversion process, making the algorithm more efficient and robust.

Time & Space Complexity

Time Complexity
⏱️
O(n + k*log(result))

n for processing each character, k transformations with log(result) digits each

n
2n
Linearithmic
Space Complexity
O(1)

Only using constant extra space for variables

n
2n
Linear Space

Constraints

  • 1 ≤ s.length ≤ 100
  • 1 ≤ k ≤ 10
  • s consists of lowercase English letters only
  • The result will always fit in a 32-bit integer
Asked in
Amazon 25 Microsoft 18 Google 12 Apple 8
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Medium Frequency
~12 min Avg. Time
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