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Solution: Valid Sudoku

Understand how to determine if a Sudoku board is valid by applying a single-pass constraint check using hash sets to track digits in each row, column, and sub-box. This lesson helps you apply hash maps to quickly detect rule violations without backtracking or solving the puzzle.

Statement

Given a 9 × 9 Sudoku board, determine whether it is valid. A board is considered valid if all of the following conditions hold (considering only the filled cells):

  • Each row contains the digits 1–9 at most once.

  • Each column contains the digits 1–9 at most once.

  • Each of the nine 3 × 3 sub-boxes contains the digits 1–9 at most once.

You do not need to check whether the Sudoku is solvable; only whether the current filled entries obey these rules.

Note: A partially filled Sudoku board can be valid even if it is not necessarily solvable. You only need to verify that the filled cells adhere to the given rules.

Constraints:

  • board.length =9= 9 ...