My first instinct was just word break DP and I started coding that before I even registered the camelCase constraint.
Clarify the problem constraints and edge cases first, then propose a greedy two-pointer or dynamic programming solution that scans the string while matching dictionary words. Walk through the algorithm with a concrete example, analyze time and space complexity, and discuss potential optimizations or alternative approaches.
Pro tip: Mention that you can use a trie or hash set for O(1) word lookups, and emphasize that the greedy approach works because the camelCase structure forces unique segmentation—no backtracking needed. This shows you understand the problem's inherent constraints.
Ask about dictionary size, word length limits, empty strings, and whether the variable name can be a single word. Confirm that the first segment must be all lowercase and subsequent segments must start with uppercase followed by lowercase.
Explain that you can scan the string from left to right, identifying segments by uppercase letters. For the first segment, take all leading lowercase letters; for subsequent segments, take an uppercase letter followed by all following lowercase letters until the next uppercase or end.
Use a hash set or trie for O(1) lookups. Check each extracted segment against the dictionary; if any segment is not found, return false. If all segments are valid, return true.
State that the time complexity is O(n) where n is the length of the variable name, as each character is processed once. Space complexity is O(m) for the dictionary storage. Mention that a trie could reduce memory if the dictionary is large.
Walk through examples like 'camelCase' with dictionary ['camel', 'case'] and edge cases like empty string, single word, or invalid segmentation. Confirm the algorithm handles them correctly.
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