Mastering Data Structures and Algorithms: Planting Flowers with No Adjacent Blooms

Introduction: In our ongoing journey through the exciting world of Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA), we have encountered a diverse range of challenges, from sorting algorithms to graph traversal. Today, we are continuing our exploration with a unique problem: planting flowers in a flowerbed without violating the rule of not having adjacent blooms. This real-world problem requires us to think critically and apply our algorithmic knowledge to find an efficient solution.

Problem Statement: We are given a flowerbed represented as an integer array, where each element can be either 0 or 1. A 0 represents an empty plot where a flower can be planted, while a 1 represents a plot where a flower is already planted. Additionally, we are provided with an integer 'n,' indicating the number of new flowers we want to plant in the flowerbed. The challenge is to determine whether it's possible to plant these 'n' new flowers in the flowerbed without violating the no-adjacent-flowers rule. In other words, we must find a way to distribute the new flowers so that no two flowers are planted in adjacent plots.

Approach: To tackle this problem effectively, we can follow a step-by-step approach:

Step 1: Initialization

• Create a variable 'count' and set it to 0. This variable will keep track of the number of flowers planted.

Step 2: Loop Through the Flowerbed

• Initialize a 'for' loop to iterate through each plot in the 'flowerbed' array.

Step 3: Check Valid Positions

• For each plot, check if it's a valid position to plant a flower.

• A position is valid if:

  • The current plot is empty (flowerbed[i] === 0).

  • The two adjacent plots (previous and next) are also empty or if the current plot is at the beginning or end of the flowerbed.

Step 4: Plant a Flower

• If the current plot is a valid position, plant a flower by setting flowerbed[i] to 1.

• Increment the 'count' variable to keep track of the number of planted flowers.

Step 5: Continue Looping

• Continue the loop, moving to the next plot in the 'flowerbed' array, and repeat the checks.

Step 6: Check if 'count' is Greater or Equal to 'n'

• After looping through the entire flowerbed, check if the 'count' variable is greater than or equal to 'n.'

• If 'count' is greater than or equal to 'n,' return 'true' because you've successfully planted at least 'n' flowers without violating the rule.

Step 7: Return 'false'

• If the loop finishes, and 'count' is less than 'n,' it means you couldn't plant enough flowers without violating the rule. In this case, return 'false.'

Implementation: Now, let's implement the solution in JavaScript:

function canPlaceFlowers(flowerbed, n) {
    let count = 0;

    for (let i = 0; i < flowerbed.length; i++) {
        if (flowerbed[i] === 0) {
            const isPreviousIndexEmpty = i === 0 || flowerbed[i - 1] === 0;
            const isNextIndexEmpty = i === flowerbed.length - 1 || flowerbed[i + 1] === 0;

            if (isPreviousIndexEmpty && isNextIndexEmpty) {
                flowerbed[i] = 1;
                count++;
            }
        }
    }

    return count >= n;
}

Conclusion: In this article, we tackled a practical problem involving planting flowers in a flowerbed while adhering to the rule of not having adjacent blooms. We followed a step-by-step approach, combining our knowledge of data structures and algorithms to arrive at an efficient solution. By implementing this solution, we can now confidently determine whether it's possible to plant a given number of flowers in a flowerbed without violating the no-adjacent-flowers rule. This problem is a valuable addition to our DSA journey, demonstrating the versatility of algorithmic thinking in solving real-world challenges.

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