Solution: Similar String Groups
Explore how to determine the number of similar string groups by applying the Union Find data structure. Understand the concept of string similarity, implement checks for similarity, and learn to merge groups efficiently. This lesson guides you through practical steps to solve connectivity problems relevant to coding interviews using Union Find.
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Statement
Two strings x and y are considered similar if they are either exactly the same or can be made identical by swapping at most two different characters in string x.
We define a similarity group as a set of strings where each string is similar to at least one other string in the group. A string doesn't need to be directly similar to every other string in the group — it just needs to be connected to them through a chain of similarities.
Given a list of strings strs, where each string is an anagram of the others, your task is to determine how many such similarity groups exist in the list.
Constraints:
strs.lengthstrs[i].lengthstrs[i]consists of lowercase letters only. ...