2716. Minimize String Length LeetCode Solution

Last updated: March 5, 2025

In this guide, you will get 2716. Minimize String Length LeetCode Solution with the best time and space complexity. The solution to Minimize String Length 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.

Problem Statement
Complexity Analysis
Minimize String Length solution in C++
Minimize String Length solution in Java
Minimize String Length solution in Python
Additional Resources

2716. Minimize String Length LeetCode Solution image

Problem Statement of Minimize String Length

Given a string s, you have two types of operation:

Choose an index i in the string, and let c be the character in position i. Delete the closest occurrence of c to the left of i (if exists).
Choose an index i in the string, and let c be the character in position i. Delete the closest occurrence of c to the right of i (if exists).

Your task is to minimize the length of s by performing the above operations zero or more times.
Return an integer denoting the length of the minimized string.

Example 1:

Input: s = “aaabc”
Output: 3
Explanation:

Operation 2: we choose i = 1 so c is ‘a’, then we remove s[2] as it is closest ‘a’ character to the right of s[1].
s becomes “aabc” after this.
Operation 1: we choose i = 1 so c is ‘a’, then we remove s[0] as it is closest ‘a’ character to the left of s[1].
s becomes “abc” after this.

Example 2:

Input: s = “cbbd”
Output: 3
Explanation:

Operation 1: we choose i = 2 so c is ‘b’, then we remove s[1] as it is closest ‘b’ character to the left of s[1].
s becomes “cbd” after this.

Example 3:

Input: s = “baadccab”
Output: 4
Explanation:

Operation 1: we choose i = 6 so c is ‘a’, then we remove s[2] as it is closest ‘a’ character to the left of s[6].
s becomes “badccab” after this.
Operation 2: we choose i = 0 so c is ‘b’, then we remove s[6] as it is closest ‘b’ character to the right of s[0].
s becomes “badcca” fter this.
Operation 2: we choose i = 3 so c is ‘c’, then we remove s[4] as it is closest ‘c’ character to the right of s[3].
s becomes “badca” after this.
Operation 1: we choose i = 4 so c is ‘a’, then we remove s[1] as it is closest ‘a’ character to the left of s[4].
s becomes “bdca” after this.

Constraints:

1 <= s.length <= 100
s contains only lowercase English letters

Complexity Analysis

Time Complexity: O(n)
Space Complexity: O(n)

2716. Minimize String Length LeetCode Solution in C++

class Solution {
 public:
  int minimizedStringLength(string s) {
    return unordered_set(s.begin(), s.end()).size();
  }
};
/* code provided by PROGIEZ */

2716. Minimize String Length LeetCode Solution in Java

class Solution {
  public int minimizedStringLength(String s) {
    return new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(s.split(""))).size();
  }
}
// code provided by PROGIEZ

2716. Minimize String Length LeetCode Solution in Python

class Solution:
  def minimizedStringLength(self, s: str) -> int:
    return len({*s})
 # code by PROGIEZ

Additional Resources

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