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LeetCode solutions

1850. Minimum Length of String After Deleting Similar Ends

My accepted Python solution to LeetCode problem 1850, Minimum Length of String After Deleting Similar Ends, running in 27ms.

  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Python
  • Runtime 27ms
  • Memory 18.4MB

Read the problem on LeetCode View on GitHub

The problem statement is LeetCode’s and stays on their site. What follows is my accepted solution.

Python

Accepted on LeetCode — runtime 27ms, memory 18.4MB, accepted 2025-12-30.

python
class Solution:
    def minimumLength(self, s: str) -> int:
        left, right = 0, len(s) - 1
        
        while left < right and s[left] == s[right]:
            char = s[left]
            # Move left pointer past all matching characters
            while left <= right and s[left] == char:
                left += 1
            # Move right pointer past all matching characters
            while left <= right and s[right] == char:
                right -= 1
        
        return right - left + 1

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