Count cycle in matrix
Last updated: February 22, 2026
Quick Overview
Given a 2D matrix consisting of 0s and 1s, write a function to count the number of distinct cycles formed by 1s in the matrix. A cycle is defined as a group of connected 1s that can be traversed in a circular manner, and connections can be made horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The function should return the total count of such cycles.
Adobe
February 22, 2026141
10
788 solved
Given a 2D matrix consisting of 0s and 1s, write a function to count the number of distinct cycles formed by 1s in the matrix. A cycle is defined as a group of connected 1s that can be traversed in a circular manner, and connections can be made horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The function should return the total count of such cycles.
Coding interviews at Adobe focus on problem-solving approach as much as the final solution. The interviewer wants to see you break down the problem, consider edge cases, and optimize iteratively. Communication throughout the process is key.
What the Interviewer Expects
- Recognize the underlying problem pattern (sliding window, two pointers, BFS/DFS, etc.)
- Discuss multiple approaches and trade-offs before coding
- Implement an optimal solution with clean, production-quality code
- Handle all edge cases including boundary conditions and invalid input
- Optimize both time and space complexity with clear justification
- Test your solution systematically with well-chosen examples
Key Topics to Cover
How to Approach This
- Clarify input constraints and edge cases before writing code.
- Walk through your approach verbally and confirm with the interviewer before coding.
- Start with a brute force solution, then optimize. Mention time and space complexity.
- Test your solution with examples, including edge cases like empty input or duplicates.
- Consider common patterns: sliding window, two pointers, hash map, BFS/DFS, dynamic programming.
Possible Follow-up Questions
- How would your solution change if the input was sorted?
- How would you test this solution thoroughly?
- What if the input doesn't fit in memory?
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Practice DSA ProblemsSample Answer
Problem Analysis
To count the distinct cycles formed by 1s in a 2D matrix, we can leverage the Depth-First Search (DFS) algorithm. The reason DFS is applicable here is that we need to explore all connected compone...
Approach
The algorithm can be broken down into the following steps:
- Initialization: Create a boolean matrix to track visited cells.
- Iterate through the matrix: For each cell, if it contains a 1 a...
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