>From the analysis of problem C of the qualification round: For example, we can find the shortest prefix and the shortest suffix that reduce to i and k, respectively. If the prefix does not overlap with the suffix, then we can reduce the rest to j. Care must be taken as the multiplication operator is not commutative. Exercise: Can the prefix-suffix pair actually overlap? Answer: No.
I'm probably reading this wrong, but isn't "kjjji" a counter-example? The shortest prefix that equals "i" is "kjjj" and the shortest suffix that equals "k" is "jjji", and these overlap. Thanks! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Google Code Jam" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/google-code/6dc25d79-9811-4398-8da6-4b1846dac1eb%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
