Encode String with Shortest Length(LeetCode 471):

Problem

Given a string s, encode the string such that its encoded length is the shortest.

The encoding rule is: k[encoded_string], where the encoded_string inside the square brackets is being repeated exactly k times. k should be a positive integer.

If an encoding process does not make the string shorter, then do not encode it. If there are several solutions, return any of them.

 

Example 1:

Input: s = "aaa"
Output: "aaa"
Explanation: There is no way to encode it such that it is shorter than the input string, so we do not encode it.

Example 2:

Input: s = "aaaaa"
Output: "5[a]"
Explanation: "5[a]" is shorter than "aaaaa" by 1 character.

Example 3:

Input: s = "aaaaaaaaaa"
Output: "10[a]"
Explanation: "a9[a]" or "9[a]a" are also valid solutions, both of them have the same length = 5, which is the same as "10[a]".

 

Constraints:

  • 1 <= s.length <= 150
  • s consists of only lowercase English letters.