Similar String Groups
Explore how to determine similarity groups of anagram strings by applying the union find algorithm. Understand the concept of similarity via character swaps, and learn to group strings connected through chains of similarity. This lesson strengthens problem-solving skills for coding interviews focused on graph and string manipulation.
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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: ...