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Open the Lock

Explore how to apply tree breadth-first search to solve the Open the Lock problem where you rotate wheels to reach a target combination. Learn to navigate constraints like deadends and optimize move count from an initial state.

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Statement

You are given a lock with 44 circular wheels, each containing digits '0' through '9'.

  • The wheels can rotate freely and wrap around cyclically; turning '9' forward leads to '0', and turning '0’ backward leads to '9'.

  • Each move consists of rotating one wheel by one position (either forward or backward). ...