The Runtime Theory
mediumLeetCode#dfs#boundary-connectivity

Surrounded Regions

Capture each O region not connected to the board boundary by changing it to X.

The Runtime Theory Team25 min read
Solve it

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

Sample cases

inboard=[["X","X","X","X"],["X","O","O","X"],["X","X","O","X"],["X","O","X","X"]]

outboundary O remains; enclosed O cells become X

inboard=[["X"]]

out[["X"]]

inboard=[["O","O"],["O","O"]]

outunchanged

Capture each O region not connected to the board boundary by changing it to X.

A good solution should

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

Reasoning prompt

Start from boundary O cells, mark all connected O cells safe, then flip only unmarked interior O cells.

Use the linked judge for the canonical challenge. The examples above are compact TRT checks; create additional tests around the boundary most likely to break your 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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