Sunday, October 12, 2025
HomeData Modelling & AISub-strings that start and end with one character and have at least...

Sub-strings that start and end with one character and have at least one other

Given the string str which contains only the characters x and y, the task is to count all the sub-strings that start and end with an x and have at least a single y.

Examples:  

Input: str = “xyyxx” 
Output:
“xyyx” and “xyyxx” are the only valid sub-strings.

Input: str = “xyy” 
Output:

Approach:  

  • Create an array countX[] where countX[i] stores the total x from i to n – 1.
  • Now, for every x in the string, find the first y that appears after this x.
  • And update count = count + countX[indexOf(y)] because, with this x as the starting index, all sub-strings will be valid that will end at any x after they find y.
  • Return the count in the end.

Below is the implementation of the above approach:  

C++




// C++ implementation of the approach
#include<bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
// Function that returns the index of next occurrence
// of the character c in string str starting from index start
int nextIndex(string str, int start, char c)
{
 
    // Starting from start
    for (int i = start; i < str.length(); i++) {
 
        // If current character = c
        if (str[i] == c)
            return i;
    }
 
    // Not found
    return -1;
}
 
// Function to return the count of required sub-strings
int countSubStrings(string str)
{
    int i, n = str.length();
 
    // Stores running count of 'x' starting from the end
    int countX[n];
 
    int count = 0;
    for (i = n - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
        if (str[i] == 'x')
            count++;
        countX[i] = count;
    }
 
    // Next index of 'x' starting from index 0
    int nextIndexX = nextIndex(str, 0, 'x');
 
    // Next index of 'y' starting from index 0
    int nextIndexY = nextIndex(str, 0, 'y');
 
    // To store the count of required sub-strings
    count = 0;
    while (nextIndexX != -1 && nextIndexY != -1) {
 
        // If 'y' appears before 'x'
        // it won't contribute to a valid sub-string
        if (nextIndexX > nextIndexY) {
 
            // Find next occurrence of 'y'
            nextIndexY = nextIndex(str, nextIndexY + 1, 'y');
            continue;
        }
 
        // If 'y' appears after 'x'
        // every sub-string ending at an 'x' appearing after this 'y'
        // and starting with the current 'x' is a valid sub-string
        else {
            count += countX[nextIndexY];
 
            // Find next occurrence of 'x'
            nextIndexX = nextIndex(str, nextIndexX + 1, 'x');
        }
    }
 
    // Return the count
    return count;
}
 
// Driver code
int main()
{
 
    string s = "xyyxx";
 
    cout << countSubStrings(s);
}
 
// This code is contributed by ihritik


Java




// Java implementation of the approach
public class GFG {
 
    // Function that returns the index of next occurrence
    // of the character c in string str starting from index start
    static int nextIndex(String str, int start, char c)
    {
 
        // Starting from start
        for (int i = start; i < str.length(); i++) {
 
            // If current character = c
            if (str.charAt(i) == c)
                return i;
        }
 
        // Not found
        return -1;
    }
 
    // Function to return the count of required sub-strings
    static int countSubStrings(String str)
    {
        int i, n = str.length();
 
        // Stores running count of 'x' starting from the end
        int countX[] = new int[n];
 
        int count = 0;
        for (i = n - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
            if (str.charAt(i) == 'x')
                count++;
            countX[i] = count;
        }
 
        // Next index of 'x' starting from index 0
        int nextIndexX = nextIndex(str, 0, 'x');
 
        // Next index of 'y' starting from index 0
        int nextIndexY = nextIndex(str, 0, 'y');
 
        // To store the count of required sub-strings
        count = 0;
        while (nextIndexX != -1 && nextIndexY != -1) {
 
            // If 'y' appears before 'x'
            // it won't contribute to a valid sub-string
            if (nextIndexX > nextIndexY) {
 
                // Find next occurrence of 'y'
                nextIndexY = nextIndex(str, nextIndexY + 1, 'y');
                continue;
            }
 
            // If 'y' appears after 'x'
            // every sub-string ending at an 'x' appearing after this 'y'
            // and starting with the current 'x' is a valid sub-string
            else {
                count += countX[nextIndexY];
 
                // Find next occurrence of 'x'
                nextIndexX = nextIndex(str, nextIndexX + 1, 'x');
            }
        }
 
        // Return the count
        return count;
    }
 
    // Driver code
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
 
        String s = "xyyxx";
 
        System.out.println(countSubStrings(s));
    }
}


Python3




# Python3 implementation of the approach
 
# Function that returns the index of next occurrence
# of the character c in string str starting from index start
def nextIndex(str, start, c):
 
 
    # Starting from start
    for i in range(start,len(str)):
 
        # If current character = c
        if (str[i] == c):
            return i;
     
 
    # Not found
    return -1;
 
 
# Function to return the count of required sub-strings
def countSubStrings(str):
 
    n = len(str)
 
    # Stores running count of 'x' starting from the end
    countX=[0]*n;
 
    count = 0;
    for i in range(n-1,-1,-1):
        if (str[i] == 'x'):
            count=count+1
        countX[i] = count
     
 
    # Next index of 'x' starting from index 0
    nextIndexX = nextIndex(str, 0, 'x')
 
    # Next index of 'y' starting from index 0
    nextIndexY = nextIndex(str, 0, 'y')
 
    # To store the count of required sub-strings
    count = 0;
    while (nextIndexX != -1 and nextIndexY != -1):
 
        # If 'y' appears before 'x'
        # it won't contribute to a valid sub-string
        if (nextIndexX > nextIndexY):
 
            # Find next occurrence of 'y'
            nextIndexY = nextIndex(str, nextIndexY + 1, 'y')
            continue
         
 
        # If 'y' appears after 'x'
        # every sub-string ending at an 'x' appearing after this 'y'
        # and starting with the current 'x' is a valid sub-string
        else :
            count += countX[nextIndexY]
 
            # Find next occurrence of 'x'
            nextIndexX = nextIndex(str, nextIndexX + 1, 'x');
         
     
 
    # Return the count
    return count
 
 
# Driver code
 
 
s = "xyyxx";
 
print(countSubStrings(s));
 
 
# This code is contributed by ihritik


C#




// C# implementation of the approach
 
using System;
 
public class GFG {
 
    // Function that returns the index of next occurrence
    // of the character c in string str starting from index start
    static int nextIndex(string str, int start, char c)
    {
 
        // Starting from start
        for (int i = start; i < str.Length; i++) {
 
            // If current character = c
            if (str[i] == c)
                return i;
        }
 
        // Not found
        return -1;
    }
 
    // Function to return the count of required sub-strings
    static int countSubStrings(string str)
    {
        int i, n = str.Length ;
 
        // Stores running count of 'x' starting from the end
        int []countX = new int[n];
 
        int count = 0;
        for (i = n - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
            if (str[i] == 'x')
                count++;
            countX[i] = count;
        }
 
        // Next index of 'x' starting from index 0
        int nextIndexX = nextIndex(str, 0, 'x');
 
        // Next index of 'y' starting from index 0
        int nextIndexY = nextIndex(str, 0, 'y');
 
        // To store the count of required sub-strings
        count = 0;
        while (nextIndexX != -1 && nextIndexY != -1) {
 
            // If 'y' appears before 'x'
            // it won't contribute to a valid sub-string
            if (nextIndexX > nextIndexY) {
 
                // Find next occurrence of 'y'
                nextIndexY = nextIndex(str, nextIndexY + 1, 'y');
                continue;
            }
 
            // If 'y' appears after 'x'
            // every sub-string ending at an 'x' appearing after this 'y'
            // and starting with the current 'x' is a valid sub-string
            else {
                count += countX[nextIndexY];
 
                // Find next occurrence of 'x'
                nextIndexX = nextIndex(str, nextIndexX + 1, 'x');
            }
        }
 
        // Return the count
        return count;
    }
 
    // Driver code
    public static void Main()
    {
 
        string s = "xyyxx";
 
        Console.WriteLine(countSubStrings(s));
    }
    // This code is contributed by Ryuga
}


PHP




<?php
// PHP implementation of the approach
  
// Function that returns the index of next occurrence
// of the character c in string str starting from index start
function nextIndex($str, $start, $c)
{
  
    // Starting from start
    for ($i = $start; $i < strlen($str); $i++) {
  
        // If current character = c
        if ($str[$i] == $c)
            return $i;
    }
  
    // Not found
    return -1;
}
  
// Function to return the count of required sub-strings
function countSubStrings($str)
{
    $n = strlen($str);
  
    // Stores running count of 'x' starting from the end
    $countX = array(0,$n,NULL);
  
    $count = 0;
    for ($i = $n - 1; $i >= 0; $i--) {
        if ($str[$i] == 'x')
            $count++;
        $countX[$i] = $count;
    }
  
    // Next index of 'x' starting from index 0
    $nextIndexX = nextIndex($str, 0, 'x');
  
    // Next index of 'y' starting from index 0
    $nextIndexY = nextIndex($str, 0, 'y');
  
    // To store the count of required sub-strings
    $count = 0;
    while ($nextIndexX != -1 && $nextIndexY != -1) {
  
        // If 'y' appears before 'x'
        // it won't contribute to a valid sub-string
        if ($nextIndexX > $nextIndexY) {
  
            // Find next occurrence of 'y'
            $nextIndexY = nextIndex($str, $nextIndexY + 1, 'y');
            continue;
        }
  
        // If 'y' appears after 'x'
        // every sub-string ending at an 'x' appearing after this 'y'
        // and starting with the current 'x' is a valid sub-string
        else {
            $count += $countX[$nextIndexY];
  
            // Find next occurrence of 'x'
            $nextIndexX = nextIndex($str, $nextIndexX + 1, 'x');
        }
    }
  
    // Return the count
    return $count;
}
  
// Driver code
 
$s = "xyyxx";
echo countSubStrings($s);
?>


Javascript




<script>
// Javascript implementation of the approach
     
    // Function that returns the index of next occurrence
    // of the character c in string str starting from index start
    function nextIndex(str,start,c)
    {
        // Starting from start
        for (let i = start; i < str.length; i++) {
   
            // If current character = c
            if (str[i] == c)
                return i;
        }
   
        // Not found
        return -1;
    }
     
    // Function to return the count of required sub-strings
    function countSubStrings(str)
    {
        let i, n = str.length;
   
        // Stores running count of 'x' starting from the end
        let countX = new Array(n);
   
        let count = 0;
        for (i = n - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
            if (str[i] == 'x')
                count++;
            countX[i] = count;
        }
   
        // Next index of 'x' starting from index 0
        let nextIndexX = nextIndex(str, 0, 'x');
   
        // Next index of 'y' starting from index 0
        let nextIndexY = nextIndex(str, 0, 'y');
   
        // To store the count of required sub-strings
        count = 0;
        while (nextIndexX != -1 && nextIndexY != -1) {
   
            // If 'y' appears before 'x'
            // it won't contribute to a valid sub-string
            if (nextIndexX > nextIndexY) {
   
                // Find next occurrence of 'y'
                nextIndexY = nextIndex(str, nextIndexY + 1, 'y');
                continue;
            }
   
            // If 'y' appears after 'x'
            // every sub-string ending at an 'x' appearing after this 'y'
            // and starting with the current 'x' is a valid sub-string
            else {
                count += countX[nextIndexY];
   
                // Find next occurrence of 'x'
                nextIndexX = nextIndex(str, nextIndexX + 1, 'x');
            }
        }
   
        // Return the count
        return count;
    }
     
    // Driver code
    let s = "xyyxx";
    document.write(countSubStrings(s));
 
 
// This code is contributed by avanitrachhadiya2155
</script>


Output

2

Complexity Analysis:

  • Time Complexity: O(n2)
  • Auxiliary Space: O(n), where n is the length of the string s.
Feeling lost in the world of random DSA topics, wasting time without progress? It’s time for a change! Join our DSA course, where we’ll guide you on an exciting journey to master DSA efficiently and on schedule.
Ready to dive in? Explore our Free Demo Content and join our DSA course, trusted by over 100,000 neveropen!

RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular

Dominic
32352 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Milvus
87 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Nango Kala
6720 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Nicole Veronica
11885 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Nokonwaba Nkukhwana
11942 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Shaida Kate Naidoo
6841 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Ted Musemwa
7105 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Thapelo Manthata
6797 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Umr Jansen
6795 POSTS0 COMMENTS