Code Room
CodingHardcod-g133
Subject BacktrackingLevel Senior–Staff~35 minCommon in Algorithms & data structures interviewsIndustries Software development

Question

Given a string of digits 'num' and an integer target, count how many distinct expressions you can form by inserting the binary operators '+', '-', and '*' between digits (concatenating adjacent digits into multi-digit operands) so the expression evaluates to target. Operands may not have leading zeros (so '05' is disallowed, but a single '0' is fine). Standard precedence applies (multiplication binds tighter). 1 <= len(num) <= 10. Return the count.

Implement
count_target_expressions(num: str, target: int) → int
Examples
in["123",6]out2
What a strong answer looks like

State your approach and its time/space complexity out loud before you optimize. Handle the edge cases (empty input, duplicates, overflow), and say why you chose this over the brute force. Green tests are the floor, not the grade.

Vibe coding: describe the solution in plain language (or narrate it) and the coach grades your approach. Generating runnable code from your description is coming next.

Run or narrate your approach, then ask the coach.