Construction
int[] zFunction(String s) {
int n = s.length();
int[] z = new int[n];
int l = 0, r = 0;
for (int i = 1; i < n; i++) {
if (i < r) z[i] = Math.min(r - i, z[i - l]);
while (i + z[i] < n && s.charAt(z[i]) == s.charAt(i + z[i])) z[i]++;
if (i + z[i] > r) { l = i; r = i + z[i]; }
}
return z;
}Advertisement
Pattern matching
Compute Z on P + '$' + T. Wherever Z[i] == |P|, pattern occurs at (i - |P| - 1) in T.
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vs KMP
Both O(N+M). Z simpler to reason about. KMP more memory-efficient during matching.
Applications
String matching. Longest common prefix queries. Palindrome checks.