# 329. Longest Increasing Path in a Matrix
Given an integer matrix, find the length of the longest increasing path.
From each cell, you can either move to four directions: left, right, up or down. You may NOT move diagonally or move outside of the boundary (i.e. wrap-around is not allowed).
Example 1:
Input: nums =
[
[9,9,4],
[6,6,8],
[2,1,1]
]
Output: 4
Explanation: The longest increasing path is [1, 2, 6, 9].
Example 2:
Input: nums =
[
[3,4,5],
[3,2,6],
[2,2,1]
]
Output: 4
Explanation: The longest increasing path is [3, 4, 5, 6]. Moving diagonally is not allowed.
# Solution
Approach 1: DP + backtracking -- memoized search on the grid.
Approach 2: alternatively, think of the grid as a DAG and find the longest path on the DAG.
# Code (Python)
Approach 1:
class Solution:
def longestIncreasingPath(self, matrix: list[list[int]]) -> int:
# no need to consider path overlaps since it's always increasing
if not matrix or not matrix[0]:
return 0
memory = {}
for row in range(len(matrix)):
for col in range(len(matrix[0])):
self._explore(row, col, matrix, memory)
return max(memory.values())
def _explore(self, row, col, matrix, memory):
if (row, col) in memory:
return memory[(row, col)]
max_length = 0
for delta in ((0, 1), (0, -1), (1, 0), (-1, 0)):
new_row, new_col = row + delta[0], col + delta[1]
if 0 <= new_row < len(matrix) and 0 <= new_col < len(matrix[0]) and matrix[new_row][new_col] > matrix[row][col]:
max_length = max(max_length, self._explore(new_row, new_col, matrix, memory))
max_length = max_length + 1
memory[(row, col)] = max_length
return max_length
# Code (C++)
Approach 1:
class Solution {
private:
vector<vector<int>> pathLens;
void doSearch(vector<vector<int>>& matrix, int row, int col) {
if (pathLens[row][col] > 0)
return;
pathLens[row][col] = 1;
int m = matrix.size();
int n = matrix[0].size();
/*
if (row > 0 && matrix[row][col] < matrix[row-1][col])
{
doSearch(matrix, row-1, col);
pathLens[row][col] = std::max(pathLens[row][col], pathLens[row-1][col]+1);
}
if (row < m-1 && matrix[row][col] < matrix[row+1][col])
{
doSearch(matrix, row+1, col);
pathLens[row][col] = std::max(pathLens[row][col], pathLens[row+1][col]+1);
}
if (col >0 && matrix[row][col] < matrix[row][col-1])
{
doSearch(matrix, row, col-1);
pathLens[row][col] = std::max(pathLens[row][col], pathLens[row][col-1]+1);
}
if (col < n-1 && matrix[row][col] < matrix[row][col+1])
{
doSearch(matrix, row, col+1);
pathLens[row][col] = std::max(pathLens[row][col], pathLens[row][col+1]+1);
}
*/
int rowNext[] = {-1, 1, 0, 0};
int colNext[] = {0, 0, -1, 1};
for (int i = 0; i < 4; ++i)
{
int row2 = row + rowNext[i];
int col2 = col + colNext[i];
if (row2 >= 0 && row2 < m && col2 >= 0 && col2 < n &&
matrix[row][col] < matrix[row2][col2])
{
doSearch(matrix, row2, col2);
pathLens[row][col] = std::max(pathLens[row][col], pathLens[row2][col2]+1);
}
}
}
public:
int longestIncreasingPath(vector<vector<int>>& matrix) {
int m = matrix.size();
if (m == 0) return 0;
int n = matrix[0].size();
if (n == 0) return 0;
pathLens = vector<vector<int>>(m, vector<int>(n, 0));
int maxPathLen = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < m; ++i)
{
for (int j = 0; j < n; ++j)
{
doSearch(matrix, i, j);
maxPathLen = std::max(maxPathLen, pathLens[i][j]);
}
}
return maxPathLen;
}
};