Find the Difference
Explore how to efficiently identify the index of an extra character between two related strings by applying bitwise manipulation methods. This lesson guides you through understanding the problem constraints and implementing a practical coding solution to solve it confidently.
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Statement
Given two strings, str1 and str2, find the index of the extra character that is present in only one of the strings.
Note: If multiple instances of the extra character exist, return the index of the first occurrence of the character in the longer string.
Constraints:
-
str1.length,str2.length - Either
str2.lengthstr1.length + 1, or,str1.lengthstr2.length + 1 - The strings consist of lowercase English letters.
Examples
Understand the problem
Let’s take a moment to make sure you’ve correctly understood the problem. The quiz below helps you check if you’re solving the correct problem:
Find the Difference
Find the index of the extra character that is present in only one of the strings.
string 1 = “pqr”
string 2 = “psrq”
0
1
2
3
Figure it out!
We have a game for you to play. Rearrange the logical building blocks to develop a clearer understanding of how to solve this problem.
Try it yourself
Implement your solution in the following coding playground.
package mainfunc extraCharacterIndex(str1 string, str2 string) int{// Replace this placeholder return statement with your codereturn -1}