Count Asterisks

Problem Description

You are given a string s, where every two consecutive vertical bars '|' are grouped into a pair. Return the number of '' in s, excluding the '' between each pair of '|'.

Key Insights

• Vertical bars '|' define pairs that enclose sections of the string.
• Asterisks '*' inside these pairs must be excluded from the count.
• The problem can be solved by iterating through the string while keeping track of whether we are within a pair of '|'s.

Space and Time Complexity

Time Complexity: O(n), where n is the length of the string s.
Space Complexity: O(1), as we use a fixed amount of space regardless of the input size.

Solution

To solve the problem, we can use a simple iteration through the string while maintaining a counter for asterisks. We also need a flag to indicate whether we are currently inside a pair of vertical bars. The algorithm works as follows:

1. Initialize a counter for asterisks and a boolean flag for tracking if we are in a pair.
2. Traverse each character in the string:
   • If the character is '|', toggle the boolean flag.
   • If the character is '*', increment the counter only if the boolean flag indicates we are not in a pair.
3. Return the final count of asterisks.

Code Solutions