Daily Archives: June 3, 2022

C# || How To Find The Shortest Clear Path In A Binary Matrix Using C#

The following is a module with functions which demonstrates how to find the shortest clear path in a binary matrix using C#.


1. Shortest Path Binary Matrix – Problem Statement

Given an n x n binary matrix grid, return the length of the shortest clear path in the matrix. If there is no clear path, return -1.

A clear path in a binary matrix is a path from the top-left cell (i.e., (0, 0)) to the bottom-right cell (i.e., (n – 1, n – 1)) such that:

  • All the visited cells of the path are 0.
  • All the adjacent cells of the path are 8-directionally connected (i.e., they are different and they share an edge or a corner).

The length of a clear path is the number of visited cells of this path.

Example 1:


Input: grid = [[0,1],[1,0]]
Output: 2

Example 2:


Input: grid = [[0,0,0],[1,1,0],[1,1,0]]
Output: 4

Example 3:


Input: grid = [[1,0,0],[1,1,0],[1,1,0]]
Output: -1


2. Shortest Path Binary Matrix – Solution

The following is a solution which demonstrates how find the shortest clear path in a binary matrix.

QUICK NOTES:
The highlighted lines are sections of interest to look out for.

The code is heavily commented, so no further insight is necessary. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

Once compiled, you should get this as your output for the example cases:


2
4
-1