The Runtime Theory
mediumLeetCode#trie#prefix-search

Implement Trie Prefix Tree

Support insertion, exact-word search, and prefix search for lowercase words.

The Runtime Theory Team25 min read
Solve it

Solving happens on the judge — come back and mark it done

Sample cases

ininsert("apple"), search("apple"), search("app"), startsWith("app"), insert("app"), search("app")

out[true,false,true,true]

insearch("") in empty trie

outfalse

instartsWith("")

outtrue

Support insertion, exact-word search, and prefix search for lowercase words.

A good solution should

  • State the invariant or decision rule that makes the approach correct.
  • Explain the time and space complexity in terms of the input sizes and required output.
  • Handle empty, minimal, duplicate, and boundary-shaped inputs covered by the contract.

Reasoning prompt

Each edge represents a character. A node needs to distinguish a complete stored word from a prefix only.

Use the linked judge for the canonical problem. The examples above are compact TRT checks; write additional cases before submitting, especially for the boundary that tends to break your chosen invariant.

More practice in this topic

One dispatch a week

The trace behind each problem, the tradeoff that explains it, and one technical dispatch per week — no noise.

One technical dispatch per week. No noise.

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