Solution: Self Crossing
Explore how to determine if a path crosses itself by analyzing sequential movements on an X-Y plane without tracking coordinates explicitly. Learn to apply mathematical conditions that handle path intersections efficiently, including key cases where lines overlap or spiral inward. Understand the step-by-step solution approach and its time and space complexity to improve your problem-solving skills with coding patterns in math and geometry.
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Statement
You are given an array of integers, distance, where each element represents the length of a move you will make on an X-Y plane. You start at the origin, which is point distance[0] meters north, distance[1] meters west, distance[2] meters south, distance[3] meters east, and continue this pattern in a counterclockwise direction. Each step follows the sequence—north, west, south, east—repeating as long as there are remaining distances in the array.
Your task is to determine whether this path crosses itself at any point. This means checking whether you revisit any previously visited position (including the origin or any other point) at any step. Return TRUE if the path intersects itself, and FALSE otherwise.
Constraints: ...