LeetCode - Valid Sudoku

2 minute read

Problem description

description

Determine if a 9x9 Sudoku board is valid. Only the filled cells need to be validated according to the following rules:

  1. Each row must contain the digits 1-9 without repetition.
  2. Each column must contain the digits 1-9 without repetition.
  3. Each of the 9 3x3 sub-boxes of the grid must contain the digits 1-9 without repetition.

valid-sudoku

The Sudoku board could be partially filled, where empty cells are filled with the character ‘.’.

Example 1:

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Input:
[
  ["5","3",".",".","7",".",".",".","."],
  ["6",".",".","1","9","5",".",".","."],
  [".","9","8",".",".",".",".","6","."],
  ["8",".",".",".","6",".",".",".","3"],
  ["4",".",".","8",".","3",".",".","1"],
  ["7",".",".",".","2",".",".",".","6"],
  [".","6",".",".",".",".","2","8","."],
  [".",".",".","4","1","9",".",".","5"],
  [".",".",".",".","8",".",".","7","9"]
]
Output: true

Example 2:

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Input:
[
  ["8","3",".",".","7",".",".",".","."],
  ["6",".",".","1","9","5",".",".","."],
  [".","9","8",".",".",".",".","6","."],
  ["8",".",".",".","6",".",".",".","3"],
  ["4",".",".","8",".","3",".",".","1"],
  ["7",".",".",".","2",".",".",".","6"],
  [".","6",".",".",".",".","2","8","."],
  [".",".",".","4","1","9",".",".","5"],
  [".",".",".",".","8",".",".","7","9"]
]
Output: false
Explanation: Same as Example 1, except with the 5 in the top left corner being 
    modified to 8. Since there are two 8's in the top left 3x3 sub-box, it is invalid.

Note:

  • A Sudoku board (partially filled) could be valid but is not necessarily solvable.
  • Only the filled cells need to be validated according to the mentioned rules.
  • The given board contain only digits 1-9 and the character ‘.’.
  • The given board size is always 9x9.

Analysis

Just do the three rules. Here’s the code:

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public class ValidSudoku {
  public boolean isValidSudoku(char[][] board) {
    HashSet<Character> set1 = new HashSet<>();
    HashSet<Character> set2 = new HashSet<>();
    HashSet<Character> set3 = new HashSet<>();

    for (int i = 0; i < 9; i++) {
      set1.clear();
      set2.clear();
      for (int j = 0; j < 9; j++) {
        char c1 = board[i][j];
        if (c1 != '.' && set1.contains(c1)) {
          return false;
        }
        if (c1 != '.') {
          set1.add(c1);
        }

        char c2 = board[j][i];
        if (c2 != '.' && set2.contains(c2)) {
          return false;
        }
        if (c2 != '.') {
          set2.add(c2);
        }
      }
    }

    for (int i = 0; i < 9; i += 3) {
      for (int j = 0; j < 9; j += 3) {
        set3.clear();

        for (int k = i; k < i + 3; k++) {
          for (int l = j; l < j + 3; l++) {
            char c3 = board[k][l];

            if (c3 != '.' && set3.contains(c3)) {
              return false;
            }
            if (c3 != '.') {
              set3.add(c3);
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }

    return true;
  }
}

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