Search⌘ K
AI Features
Home
Courses
Grokking the Coding Interview Patterns in C++

Open the Lock

Explore the Open the Lock problem by applying tree breadth-first search techniques to find the shortest path from an initial lock state to a target, avoiding deadends. Learn to navigate cyclic digit wheels, implement efficient BFS traversal, and optimize move counts in this hands-on coding exercise.

We'll cover the following...

Statement

You are given a lock with 44 circular wheels, each containing digits '0' through '9'.

  • The wheels can rotate freely and wrap around cyclically; turning '9' forward leads to '0', and turning '0’ backward leads to '9'.

  • Each move consists of rotating one wheel by one position (either forward or backward). ...