Introduction

In this blog post, we will explore how to solve the LeetCode problem "736" using AI. LeetCode is a popular platform for preparing for coding interviews, and with the help of AI tools like Chatmagic, we can generate solutions quickly and efficiently - helping you pass the interviews and get the job offer without having to study for months.

Problem Statement

You are given a string expression representing a Lisp-like expression to return the integer value of. The syntax for these expressions is given as follows. An expression is either an integer, let expression, add expression, mult expression, or an assigned variable. Expressions always evaluate to a single integer. (An integer could be positive or negative.) A let expression takes the form "(let v1 e1 v2 e2 ... vn en expr)", where let is always the string "let", then there are one or more pairs of alternating variables and expressions, meaning that the first variable v1 is assigned the value of the expression e1, the second variable v2 is assigned the value of the expression e2, and so on sequentially; and then the value of this let expression is the value of the expression expr. An add expression takes the form "(add e1 e2)" where add is always the string "add", there are always two expressions e1, e2 and the result is the addition of the evaluation of e1 and the evaluation of e2. A mult expression takes the form "(mult e1 e2)" where mult is always the string "mult", there are always two expressions e1, e2 and the result is the multiplication of the evaluation of e1 and the evaluation of e2. For this question, we will use a smaller subset of variable names. A variable starts with a lowercase letter, then zero or more lowercase letters or digits. Additionally, for your convenience, the names "add", "let", and "mult" are protected and will never be used as variable names. Finally, there is the concept of scope. When an expression of a variable name is evaluated, within the context of that evaluation, the innermost scope (in terms of parentheses) is checked first for the value of that variable, and then outer scopes are checked sequentially. It is guaranteed that every expression is legal. Please see the examples for more details on the scope. Example 1: Input: expression = "(let x 2 (mult x (let x 3 y 4 (add x y))))" Output: 14 Explanation: In the expression (add x y), when checking for the value of the variable x, we check from the innermost scope to the outermost in the context of the variable we are trying to evaluate. Since x = 3 is found first, the value of x is 3. Example 2: Input: expression = "(let x 3 x 2 x)" Output: 2 Explanation: Assignment in let statements is processed sequentially. Example 3: Input: expression = "(let x 1 y 2 x (add x y) (add x y))" Output: 5 Explanation: The first (add x y) evaluates as 3, and is assigned to x. The second (add x y) evaluates as 3+2 = 5. Constraints: 1 <= expression.length <= 2000 There are no leading or trailing spaces in expression. All tokens are separated by a single space in expression. The answer and all intermediate calculations of that answer are guaranteed to fit in a 32-bit integer. The expression is guaranteed to be legal and evaluate to an integer.

Explanation

Here's a breakdown of the solution approach, complexity analysis, and the Python code:

• High-Level Approach:

  • Use recursion to evaluate the expression.
  • Maintain a stack of dictionaries to represent the scopes. Each dictionary stores variable-value mappings.
  • Parse the expression token by token, handling let, add, mult, integers, and variable lookups accordingly.

• Complexity:

  • Time Complexity: O(n), where n is the length of the expression.
  • Space Complexity: O(d), where d is the maximum depth of nested let expressions.

• Python Code:

Code

    def evaluate(expression: str) -> int:
    """
    Evaluates a Lisp-like expression.

    Args:
        expression: The string representation of the expression.

    Returns:
        The integer value of the expression.
    """

    scopes = [{}]  # Stack of dictionaries for scopes

    def evaluate_expr(tokens):
        if isinstance(tokens, int):
            return tokens
        if tokens[0] == 'let':
            new_scope = {}
            scopes.append(new_scope)
            i = 1
            while i < len(tokens) - 1:
                var = tokens[i]
                val = evaluate_expr(tokens[i + 1])
                new_scope[var] = val
                i += 2
            result = evaluate_expr(tokens[-1])
            scopes.pop()
            return result
        elif tokens[0] == 'add':
            return evaluate_expr(tokens[1]) + evaluate_expr(tokens[2])
        elif tokens[0] == 'mult':
            return evaluate_expr(tokens[1]) * evaluate_expr(tokens[2])
        else:  # Variable lookup
            var = tokens[0]
            for scope in reversed(scopes):
                if var in scope:
                    return scope[var]
            return 0 # Should not happen based on problem constraints


    def tokenize(expression):
        tokens = expression.replace('(', '( ').replace(')', ' )').split()

        def parse(tokens, i):
            result = []
            while i < len(tokens):
                token = tokens[i]
                if token == '(':
                    sub_expr, i = parse(tokens, i + 1)
                    result.append(sub_expr)
                elif token == ')':
                    return result, i + 1
                else:
                    try:
                        result.append(int(token))
                    except ValueError:
                        result.append(token)
                    i += 1
            return result, i

        parsed_expression, _ = parse(tokens, 0)
        return parsed_expression[0] # Remove the outer list

    tokens = tokenize(expression)
    return evaluate_expr(tokens)