Simplify Path · Interview Problem

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Leetcode

Medium

Strings

Stacks

Simulation

Simplify Path

Normalize an absolute Unix-style file path by resolving . , .. , and redundant slashes.

Acceptance 0%

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Problem Statement

Given an absolute path in Unix-style format, return its simplified canonical form.

The path may contain:

Multiple consecutive slashes //
Current-directory markers .
Parent-directory markers ..

Rules:

. means stay in the current directory.
.. means move up one directory, if possible.
Multiple slashes should be treated as a single separator.
The simplified path must start with / and contain no trailing slash unless it is the root directory.

Write a program that converts the given path into its canonical form.

Input Format

A single string path representing an absolute Unix-style path.
The path begins with /.

Output Format

Return the simplified canonical path as a string.

Constraints

path is an absolute path.
The path may contain letters, digits, underscores, periods, and slashes.
Consecutive slashes should be treated as one separator.
The result must be a valid canonical absolute path.

Examples

Sample cases returned by the problem API.

Example 1

Input

path = "/home/"

Output

"/home"

Explanation

The trailing slash is removed in canonical form.

Example 2

Input

path = "/a/./b/../../c/"

Output

"/c"

Explanation

./ stays in the current directory, and each .. moves up one level.

Show 1 more example

Example 3

Input

path = "/../"

Output

"/"

Explanation

At the root directory, .. cannot move above /.

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