934. Shortest Bridge LeetCode Solution
In this guide, you will get 934. Shortest Bridge LeetCode Solution with the best time and space complexity. The solution to Shortest Bridge problem is provided in various programming languages like C++, Java, and Python. This will be helpful for you if you are preparing for placements, hackathons, interviews, or practice purposes. The solutions provided here are very easy to follow and include detailed explanations.
Table of Contents
- Problem Statement
- Complexity Analysis
- Shortest Bridge solution in C++
- Shortest Bridge solution in Java
- Shortest Bridge solution in Python
- Additional Resources

Problem Statement of Shortest Bridge
You are given an n x n binary matrix grid where 1 represents land and 0 represents water.
An island is a 4-directionally connected group of 1’s not connected to any other 1’s. There are exactly two islands in grid.
You may change 0’s to 1’s to connect the two islands to form one island.
Return the smallest number of 0’s you must flip to connect the two islands.
Example 1:
Input: grid = [[0,1],[1,0]]
Output: 1
Example 2:
Input: grid = [[0,1,0],[0,0,0],[0,0,1]]
Output: 2
Example 3:
Input: grid = [[1,1,1,1,1],[1,0,0,0,1],[1,0,1,0,1],[1,0,0,0,1],[1,1,1,1,1]]
Output: 1
Constraints:
n == grid.length == grid[i].length
2 <= n <= 100
grid[i][j] is either 0 or 1.
There are exactly two islands in grid.
Complexity Analysis
- Time Complexity: O(n^2)
- Space Complexity: O(n^2)
934. Shortest Bridge LeetCode Solution in C++
class Solution {
public:
int shortestBridge(vector<vector<int>>& grid) {
markGridTwo(grid);
for (int color = 2;; ++color)
for (int i = 0; i < grid.size(); ++i)
for (int j = 0; j < grid[0].size(); ++j)
if (grid[i][j] == color)
if (expand(grid, i + 1, j, color) || //
expand(grid, i - 1, j, color) || //
expand(grid, i, j + 1, color) || //
expand(grid, i, j - 1, color))
return color - 2;
}
private:
// Marks one group to 2s by DFS.
void markGridTwo(vector<vector<int>>& grid) {
for (int i = 0; i < grid.size(); ++i)
for (int j = 0; j < grid[0].size(); ++j)
if (grid[i][j] == 1) {
markGridTwo(grid, i, j);
return;
}
}
void markGridTwo(vector<vector<int>>& grid, int i, int j) {
if (i < 0 || i == grid.size() || j < 0 || j == grid[0].size())
return;
if (grid[i][j] != 1)
return;
grid[i][j] = 2;
markGridTwo(grid, i + 1, j);
markGridTwo(grid, i - 1, j);
markGridTwo(grid, i, j + 1);
markGridTwo(grid, i, j - 1);
}
// Returns true if we touch 1s' group through expanding.
bool expand(vector<vector<int>>& grid, int i, int j, int color) {
if (i < 0 || i == grid.size() || j < 0 || j == grid[0].size())
return false;
if (grid[i][j] == 0)
grid[i][j] = color + 1;
return grid[i][j] == 1;
}
};
/* code provided by PROGIEZ */
934. Shortest Bridge LeetCode Solution in Java
class Solution {
public int shortestBridge(int[][] grid) {
markGridTwo(grid);
for (int color = 2;; ++color)
for (int i = 0; i < grid.length; ++i)
for (int j = 0; j < grid[0].length; ++j)
if (grid[i][j] == color)
if (expand(grid, i + 1, j, color) || expand(grid, i - 1, j, color) ||
expand(grid, i, j + 1, color) || expand(grid, i, j - 1, color))
return color - 2;
}
// Marks one group to 2s by DFS.
private void markGridTwo(int[][] grid) {
for (int i = 0; i < grid.length; ++i)
for (int j = 0; j < grid[0].length; ++j)
if (grid[i][j] == 1) {
markGridTwo(grid, i, j);
return;
}
}
private void markGridTwo(int[][] grid, int i, int j) {
if (i < 0 || i == grid.length || j < 0 || j == grid[0].length)
return;
if (grid[i][j] != 1)
return;
grid[i][j] = 2;
markGridTwo(grid, i + 1, j);
markGridTwo(grid, i - 1, j);
markGridTwo(grid, i, j + 1);
markGridTwo(grid, i, j - 1);
}
// Returns true if we touch 1s' group through expanding.
private boolean expand(int[][] grid, int i, int j, int color) {
if (i < 0 || i == grid.length || j < 0 || j == grid[0].length)
return false;
if (grid[i][j] == 0)
grid[i][j] = color + 1;
return grid[i][j] == 1;
}
}
// code provided by PROGIEZ
934. Shortest Bridge LeetCode Solution in Python
class Solution {
public:
int shortestBridge(vector<vector<int>>& grid) {
constexpr int dirs[4][2] = {{0, 1}, {1, 0}, {0, -1}, {-1, 0}};
const int n = grid.size();
queue<pair<int, int>> q;
markGridTwo(grid, q);
for (int ans = 0; !q.empty(); ++ans)
for (int sz = q.size(); sz > 0; --sz) {
const auto [i, j] = q.front();
q.pop();
for (const auto& [dx, dy] : dirs) {
const int x = i + dx;
const int y = j + dy;
if (x < 0 || x == n || y < 0 || y == n)
continue;
if (grid[x][y] == 2)
continue;
if (grid[x][y] == 1)
return ans;
grid[x][y] = 2;
q.emplace(x, y);
}
}
throw;
}
private:
// Marks one group to 2s by DFS.
void markGridTwo(vector<vector<int>>& grid, queue<pair<int, int>>& q) {
for (int i = 0; i < grid.size(); ++i)
for (int j = 0; j < grid[0].size(); ++j)
if (grid[i][j] == 1) {
markGridTwo(grid, i, j, q);
return;
}
}
// Marks one group to 2s by DFS and pushes them to the queue.
void markGridTwo(vector<vector<int>>& grid, int i, int j,
queue<pair<int, int>>& q) {
if (i < 0 || i == grid.size() || j < 0 || j == grid[0].size())
return;
if (grid[i][j] != 1)
return;
grid[i][j] = 2;
q.emplace(i, j);
markGridTwo(grid, i + 1, j, q);
markGridTwo(grid, i - 1, j, q);
markGridTwo(grid, i, j + 1, q);
markGridTwo(grid, i, j - 1, q);
}
};
# code by PROGIEZ
Additional Resources
- Explore all LeetCode problem solutions at Progiez here
- Explore all problems on LeetCode website here
Happy Coding! Keep following PROGIEZ for more updates and solutions.