#C275. Word Ladder Transformation
Word Ladder Transformation
Word Ladder Transformation
You are given two words: a start word and a target word, and a list of words. Your task is to find the shortest transformation sequence from the start word to the target word, such that:
- Only one letter can be changed at a time.
- Each intermediate word must exist in the given word list.
If there is no valid transformation, output an empty sequence ([]
).
Note: The transformation sequence does not necessarily have to be unique. However, the algorithm should return the first valid shortest sequence it finds using a breadth-first search strategy. All formulas and conditions are provided in \(\LaTeX\) format when needed.
For example, for the transformation from hit
to cog
using the word list [hot, dot, dog, lot, log, cog]
, a valid answer is hit hot dot dog cog
.
inputFormat
The input is read from standard input and has the following format:
- The first line contains two space-separated strings, the start word and the target word.
- The second line contains an integer
n
representing the number of words in the word list. - The next
n
lines each contain a single word from the word list.
All words have the same length.
outputFormat
If a transformation sequence is found, output the sequence as space-separated words in one line.
If no valid transformation exists, output []
(without quotes).
hit cog
6
hot
dot
dog
lot
log
cog
hit hot dot dog cog