Find the Difference
Explore how to find the index of an extra character in one string compared to another using bitwise manipulation. Understand the logic to handle strings of different lengths and implement efficient solutions to compare characters.
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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.
import java.util.*;public class Main {public static int extraCharcterIndex(String str1, String str2) {// Replace this placeholder return statement with your codereturn -1;}}