firstNotRepeatingCharacter.js

firstNotRepeatingCharacter = s => {
    r = {}
    for (e of s)
        r[e] = -~r[e]
    for (e in r)
        if (r[e] == 1)
            return e
    return '_'
}

firstNotRepeatingCharacter.md

Note: Write a solution that only iterates over the string once and uses O(1) additional memory, since this is what you would be asked to do during a real interview.

Given a string s, find and return the first instance of a non-repeating character in it. If there is no such character, return '_'.

Example

For s = "abacabad", the output should be firstNotRepeatingCharacter(s) = 'c'.

There are 2 non-repeating characters in the string: 'c' and 'd'. Return c since it appears in the string first.

For s = "abacabaabacaba", the output should be firstNotRepeatingCharacter(s) = '_'.

There are no characters in this string that do not repeat.

Input/Output

[execution time limit] 4 seconds (js)

[input] string s

A string that contains only lowercase English letters.

Guaranteed constraints: 1 ≤ s.length ≤ 105.

[output] char

The first non-repeating character in s, or '_' if there are no characters that do not repeat.

[JavaScript (ES6)] Syntax Tips

// Prints help message to the console // Returns a string function helloWorld(name) { console.log("This prints to the console when you Run Tests"); return "Hello, " + name; }

what does -~ do?