Distinct Subsequences

To solve this coding challenge of finding the number of distinct subsequences of one string \( s \) that equal another string \( t \), we will employ dynamic programming. This approach helps in breaking down the problem into simpler subproblems and building up the solution step-by-step.
# Explanation
Problem Breakdown
The problem asks us to count the number of ways to derive string \( t \) from \( s \) by deleting some or no characters without changing the order of the remaining characters.
Key Points:
  1. A subsequence is derived by deleting some or no characters from a string without changing the order of the remaining characters.
  2. We need to find distinct subsequences in \( s \) that are equal to \( t \).
  3. Dynamic Programming Approach:
  4. Initialization : We will utilize a 2D array \( dp \) where \( dp[i][j] \) represents the number of ways to form the first \( i \) characters of \( t \) from the first \( j \) characters of \( s \).
  5. Base Case : When \( t \) is an empty string, there is one way to match it with any prefix of \( s \) by deleting all characters of \( s \). Hence, \( dp[0][j] = 1 \) for all \( 0 \leq j \leq \text{len}(s) \).
  6. Filling the Table :
    • If the characters of \( t \) and \( s \) match (i.e., \( t[i-1] == s[j-1] \)), then either we consider this match or we don’t.
      • \[ dp[i][j] = dp[i-1][j-1] + dp[i][j-1] \]
    • If they don’t match, then we simply carry forward the number of ways to form \( t \) without the current character of \( s \):
      • \[ dp[i][j] = dp[i][j-1] \]
    Final Result:
    The result will be stored in \( dp[\text{len}(t)][\text{len}(s)] \), representing the number of ways to form the entire string \( t \) using all characters of \( s \).
    Step-by-Step Explanation of Pseudocode
  7. Create and initialize the DP table :
    •                                             
      Initialize dp table with dimensions (len(t) + 1) x (len(s) + 1) to all zeros
      
      # Base Case: An empty t can be matched with any prefix of s by deleting all characters of s
      For j from 0 to len(s):
      dp[0][j] = 1
      
                                              
  8. Fill the DP table using nested loops :
    •                                             
      For i from 1 to len(t):
      For j from 1 to len(s):
      If t[i-1] == s[j-1]:  # Characters match
      dp[i][j] = dp[i-1][j-1] + dp[i][j-1]
      Else:  # Characters don't match
      dp[i][j] = dp[i][j-1]
      
                                              
  9. Return the result :
    •                                             
      Return dp[len(t)][len(s)]
      
                                              
Detailed Steps in Pseudocode
Initialize the DP Table
                                            
# Create a 2D list with (len(t) + 1) rows and (len(s) + 1) columns initialized with zeros
dp = [[0 for _ in range(len(s) + 1)] for _ in range(len(t) + 1)]

# Initialize the base case where the first row is filled with 1s
For j from 0 to len(s):
    dp[0][j] = 1  # There's exactly one way to match an empty substring t with any s's prefix by deleting all characters

                                        
Fill the DP Table
                                            
# Iterate over each character in t
For i from 1 to len(t):
    # Iterate over each character in s
    For j from 1 to len(s):
        If t[i-1] == s[j-1]:
            # Sum of ways: considering the current character match + not considering the current match
            dp[i][j] = dp[i-1][j-1] + dp[i][j-1]
        Else:
            # Carry forward the previous count without considering the current character of s
            dp[i][j] = dp[i][j-1]

                                        
Retrieve the Final Result
                                            
# The number of distinct subsequences that match t from s is found in the last cell
Return dp[len(t)][len(s)]

                                        
By following this detailed methodology, you can efficiently solve the problem of counting distinct subsequences using a dynamic programming approach.