LCS (Longest Common Subsequence) of three strings

Difficulty Level : Medium
Last Updated : 29 Apr, 2019

Given 3 strings of all having length < 100,the task is to find the longest common sub-sequence in all three given sequences.

Examples:

Input : str1 = "geeks"  
        str2 = "geeksfor"  
        str3 = "geeksforgeeks"
Output : 5
Longest common subsequence is "geeks"
i.e., length = 5

Input : str1 = "abcd1e2"  
        str2 = "bc12ea"  
        str3 = "bd1ea"
Output : 3
Longest common subsequence is "b1e" 
i.e. length = 3.

Recommended: Please solve it on “PRACTICE ” first, before moving on to the solution.

This problem is simply an extension of LCS

Let the input sequences be X[0..m-1], Y[0..n-1] and Z[0..o-1] of lengths m, n and o respectively. And let L(X[0..m-1], Y[0..n-1], Z[0..o-1]) be the lengths of LCS of the three sequences X, Y and Z. Following is the implementation:

The idea is to take a 3D array to store the 
length of common subsequence in all 3 given 
sequences i. e., L[m + 1][n + 1][o + 1]

1- If any of the string is empty then there
   is no common subsequence at all then
           L[i][j][k] = 0

2- If the characters of all sequences match
   (or X[i] == Y[j] ==Z[k]) then
        L[i][j][k] = 1 + L[i-1][j-1][k-1]

3- If the characters of both sequences do 
   not match (or X[i] != Y[j] || X[i] != Z[k] 
   || Y[j] !=Z[k]) then
        L[i][j][k] = max(L[i-1][j][k], 
                         L[i][j-1][k], 
                         L[i][j][k-1])

Below is implementation of above idea.

C++

// C++ program to find LCS of three strings 
#include<bits/stdc++.h> 
using namespace std; 
  
/* Returns length of LCS for X[0..m-1], Y[0..n-1] 
   and Z[0..o-1] */
int lcsOf3( string X, string Y, string Z, int m, 
                               int n, int o) 
{ 
    int L[m+1][n+1][o+1]; 
  
    /* Following steps build L[m+1][n+1][o+1] in 
       bottom up fashion. Note that L[i][j][k] 
       contains length of LCS of X[0..i-1] and 
       Y[0..j-1]  and Z[0.....k-1]*/
    for (int i=0; i<=m; i++) 
    { 
        for (int j=0; j<=n; j++) 
        { 
            for (int k=0; k<=o; k++) 
            { 
                if (i == 0 || j == 0||k==0) 
                    L[i][j][k] = 0; 
  
                else if (X[i-1] == Y[j-1] && X[i-1]==Z[k-1]) 
                    L[i][j][k] = L[i-1][j-1][k-1] + 1; 
  
                else
                    L[i][j][k] = max(max(L[i-1][j][k], 
                                         L[i][j-1][k]), 
                                     L[i][j][k-1]); 
            } 
        } 
    } 
  
    /* L[m][n][o] contains length of LCS for 
      X[0..n-1] and Y[0..m-1] and Z[0..o-1]*/
    return L[m][n][o]; 
} 
  
/* Driver program to test above function */
int main() 
{ 
    string X = "AGGT12"; 
    string Y = "12TXAYB"; 
    string Z = "12XBA"; 
  
    int m = X.length(); 
    int n = Y.length(); 
    int o = Z.length(); 
  
    cout << "Length of LCS is " << lcsOf3(X, Y, 
                                    Z, m, n, o); 
  
    return 0; 
} 

Java

// Java program to find LCS of three strings 
public class LCS_3Strings { 
       
    /* Returns length of LCS for X[0..m-1], Y[0..n-1] 
       and Z[0..o-1] */
    static int lcsOf3(String X, String Y, String Z, int m, 
                                   int n, int o) 
    { 
        int[][][] L = new int[m+1][n+1][o+1]; 
       
        /* Following steps build L[m+1][n+1][o+1] in 
           bottom up fashion. Note that L[i][j][k] 
           contains length of LCS of X[0..i-1] and 
           Y[0..j-1]  and Z[0.....k-1]*/
        for (int i=0; i<=m; i++) 
        { 
            for (int j=0; j<=n; j++) 
            { 
                for (int k=0; k<=o; k++) 
                { 
                    if (i == 0 || j == 0||k==0) 
                        L[i][j][k] = 0; 
       
                    else if (X.charAt(i - 1) == Y.charAt(j - 1)  
                                && X.charAt(i - 1)==Z.charAt(k - 1)) 
                        L[i][j][k] = L[i-1][j-1][k-1] + 1; 
       
                    else
                        L[i][j][k] = Math.max(Math.max(L[i-1][j][k], 
                                             L[i][j-1][k]), 
                                         L[i][j][k-1]); 
                } 
            } 
        } 
       
        /* L[m][n][o] contains length of LCS for 
          X[0..n-1] and Y[0..m-1] and Z[0..o-1]*/
        return L[m][n][o]; 
    } 
       
    /* Driver program to test above function */
    public static void main(String args[]) 
    { 
        String X = "AGGT12"; 
        String Y = "12TXAYB"; 
        String Z = "12XBA"; 
       
        int m = X.length(); 
        int n = Y.length(); 
        int o = Z.length(); 
       
        System.out.println("Length of LCS is " + 
                                lcsOf3(X, Y,Z, m, n, o)); 
       
    } 
} 
// This code is contributed by Sumit Ghosh 

Python3

# Python program to find 
# LCS of three strings 
  
# Returns length of LCS 
# for X[0..m-1], Y[0..n-1] 
# and Z[0..o-1] 
def lcsOf3(X, Y, Z, m, n, o): 
      
    L = [[[0 for i in range(o+1)] for j in range(n+1)] 
         for k in range(m+1)] 
  
    ''' Following steps build L[m+1][n+1][o+1] in 
    bottom up fashion. Note that L[i][j][k] 
    contains length of LCS of X[0..i-1] and 
    Y[0..j-1] and Z[0.....k-1] '''
    for i in range(m+1): 
        for j in range(n+1): 
            for k in range(o+1): 
                if (i == 0 or j == 0 or k == 0): 
                    L[i][j][k] = 0
                      
                elif (X[i-1] == Y[j-1] and
                      X[i-1] == Z[k-1]): 
                    L[i][j][k] = L[i-1][j-1][k-1] + 1
  
                else: 
                    L[i][j][k] = max(max(L[i-1][j][k], 
                    L[i][j-1][k]), 
                                    L[i][j][k-1]) 
  
    # L[m][n][o] contains length of LCS for 
    # X[0..n-1] and Y[0..m-1] and Z[0..o-1] 
    return L[m][n][o] 
  
# Driver program to test above function 
  
X = 'AGGT12'
Y = '12TXAYB'
Z = '12XBA'
  
m = len(X) 
n = len(Y) 
o = len(Z) 
  
print('Length of LCS is', lcsOf3(X, Y, Z, m, n, o)) 
  
# This code is contributed by Soumen Ghosh.                     

C#

// C# program to find  
// LCS of three strings 
using System; 
  
class GFG  
{ 
      
    /* Returns length of LCS  
    for X[0..m-1], Y[0..n-1] 
    and Z[0..o-1] */
    static int lcsOf3(String X, String Y,  
                      String Z, int m, 
                      int n, int o) 
    { 
        int [,,]L = new int[m + 1,  
                            n + 1, o + 1]; 
      
        /* Following steps build  
        L[m+1][n+1][o+1] in bottom  
        up fashion. Note that  
        L[i][j][k] contains length  
        of LCS of X[0..i-1] and 
        Y[0..j-1] and Z[0.....k-1]*/
        for (int i = 0; i <= m; i++) 
        { 
            for (int j = 0; j <= n; j++) 
            { 
                for (int k = 0; k <= o; k++) 
                { 
                    if (i == 0 ||  
                        j == 0 || k == 0) 
                        L[i, j, k] = 0; 
      
                    else if (X[i - 1] == Y[j - 1] &&  
                             X[i - 1] == Z[k - 1]) 
                        L[i, j, k] = L[i - 1,  
                                       j - 1, 
                                       k - 1] + 1; 
      
                    else
                        L[i, j, k] = Math.Max(Math.Max(L[i - 1, j, k],  
                                                       L[i, j - 1, k]), 
                                                       L[i, j, k - 1]); 
                } 
            } 
        } 
      
        /* L[m][n][o] contains length  
        of LCS for X[0..n-1] and 
        Y[0..m-1] and Z[0..o-1]*/
        return L[m, n, o]; 
    } 
      
    // Driver Code 
    public static void Main() 
    { 
        string X = "AGGT12"; 
        string Y = "12TXAYB"; 
        string Z = "12XBA"; 
      
        int m = X.Length; 
        int n = Y.Length; 
        int o = Z.Length; 
      
        Console.Write("Length of LCS is " +  
                       lcsOf3(X, Y, Z, m, n, o)); 
    } 
} 
  
// This code is contributed  
// by shiv_bhakt. 

PHP

<?php  
// PHP program to find  
// LCS of three strings 
  
/* Returns length of LCS for 
X[0..m-1], Y[0..n-1] and Z[0..o-1] */
function lcsOf3($X, $Y, $Z,  
                $m, $n, $o) 
{ 
    $L[$m + 1][$n + 1][$o + 1] = array(array(array())); 
  
    /* Following steps build  
    L[m+1][n+1][o+1] in bottom  
    up fashion. Note that  
    L[i][j][k] contains length 
    of LCS of X[0..i-1] and 
    Y[0..j-1] and Z[0.....k-1]*/
    for ($i = 0; $i <= $m; $i++) 
    { 
        for ($j = 0; $j <= $n; $j++) 
        { 
            for ($k = 0; $k <= $o; $k++) 
            { 
                if ($i == 0 || $j == 0||$k == 0) 
                    $L[$i][$j][$k] = 0; 
  
                else if ($X[$i - 1] == $Y[$j - 1] &&  
                         $X[$i - 1] == $Z[$k - 1]) 
                    $L[$i][$j][$k] = $L[$i - 1][$j - 1][$k - 1] + 1; 
  
                else
                    $L[$i][$j][$k] = max(max($L[$i - 1][$j][$k], 
                                              $L[$i][$j - 1][$k]), 
                                             $L[$i][$j][$k - 1]); 
            } 
        } 
    } 
  
    /* L[m][n][o] contains length  
    of LCS for X[0..n-1] and  
    Y[0..m-1] and Z[0..o-1]*/
    return $L[$m][$n][$o]; 
} 
  
// Driver code 
$X = "AGGT12"; 
$Y = "12TXAYB"; 
$Z = "12XBA"; 
  
$m = strlen($X); 
$n = strlen($Y); 
$o = strlen($Z); 
  
echo "Length of LCS is " .  
      lcsOf3($X, $Y, $Z,  
             $m, $n, $o); 
  
// This code is contributed 
// by ChitraNayal 
?> 

Output:

Length of LCS is 2

Another approach: (Using recursion)

C++

// C++ program to find LCS of three strings 
#include<bits/stdc++.h> 
using namespace std; 
  
    string X = "AGGT12";  
    string Y = "12TXAYB";  
    string Z = "12XBA";  
  
int dp[100][100][100]; 
  
/* Returns length of LCS for X[0..m-1], Y[0..n-1] 
and Z[0..o-1] */
int lcsOf3(int i, int j,int k) 
{ 
    if(i==-1||j==-1||k==-1) 
        return 0; 
    if(dp[i][j][k]!=-1) 
        return dp[i][j][k]; 
      
    if(X[i]==Y[j] && Y[j]==Z[k]) 
        return dp[i][j][k] = 1+lcsOf3(i-1,j-1,k-1); 
    else
        return dp[i][j][k] = max(max(lcsOf3(i-1,j,k), 
                            lcsOf3(i,j-1,k)),lcsOf3(i,j,k-1)); 
} 
  
// Driver code 
int main() 
{ 
    memset(dp, -1,sizeof(dp)); 
    int m = X.length();  
    int n = Y.length();  
    int o = Z.length();  
  
    cout << "Length of LCS is " << lcsOf3(m-1,n-1,o-1); 
// this code is contributed by Kushdeep Mittal 
} 

Java

// Java program to find LCS of three strings  
class GFG  
{ 
  
    static String X = "AGGT12"; 
    static String Y = "12TXAYB"; 
    static String Z = "12XBA"; 
  
    static int[][][] dp = new int[100][100][100]; 
  
    /* Returns length of LCS for X[0..m-1],  
    Y[0..n-1] and Z[0..o-1] */
    static int lcsOf3(int i, int j, int k)  
    { 
        if (i == -1 || j == -1 || k == -1) 
        { 
            return 0; 
        } 
        if (dp[i][j][k] != -1)  
        { 
            return dp[i][j][k]; 
        } 
  
        if (X.charAt(i) == Y.charAt(j) && 
            Y.charAt(j) == Z.charAt(k)) 
        { 
            return dp[i][j][k] = 1 + lcsOf3(i - 1, j - 1, k - 1); 
        } else { 
            return dp[i][j][k] = Math.max(Math.max(lcsOf3(i - 1, j, k), 
                                lcsOf3(i, j - 1, k)), 
                                lcsOf3(i, j, k - 1)); 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Driver code  
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    { 
  
        for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++) 
        { 
            for (int j = 0; j < 100; j++)  
            { 
                for (int k = 0; k < 100; k++)  
                { 
                    dp[i][j][k] = -1; 
                } 
            } 
        } 
        int m = X.length(); 
        int n = Y.length(); 
        int o = Z.length(); 
  
        System.out.print("Length of LCS is "
                + lcsOf3(m - 1, n - 1, o - 1)); 
    } 
} 
  
// This code has been contributed by 29AjayKumar 

Python3

# Python3 program to find LCS of 
# three strings  
X = "AGGT12"
Y = "12TXAYB"
Z = "12XBA"
  
dp = [[[-1 for i in range(100)]  
           for j in range(100)]  
           for k in range(100)]  
          
# Returns length of LCS for  
# X[0..m-1], Y[0..n-1] and Z[0..o-1] 
def lcsOf3(i, j, k) : 
  
    if(i == -1 or j == -1 or k == -1) : 
        return 0
          
    if(dp[i][j][k] != -1) : 
        return dp[i][j][k] 
      
    if(X[i] == Y[j] and Y[j] == Z[k]) : 
        dp[i][j][k] = 1 + lcsOf3(i - 1,  
                                 j - 1, k - 1)  
        return dp[i][j][k] 
          
    else : 
        dp[i][j][k] = max(max(lcsOf3(i - 1, j, k),  
                              lcsOf3(i, j - 1, k)),  
                              lcsOf3(i, j, k - 1)) 
          
        return dp[i][j][k] 
  
# Driver code  
if __name__ == "__main__" :  
    m = len(X) 
    n = len(Y)  
    o = len(Z)  
  
    print("Length of LCS is",  
           lcsOf3(m - 1, n - 1, o - 1)) 
      
# This code is contributed by Ryuga 

C#

// C# program to find LCS of three strings  
using System;  
  
class GFG  
{  
static string X = "AGGT12";  
static string Y = "12TXAYB";  
static string Z = "12XBA";  
  
static int[,,] dp = new int[100, 100, 100];  
  
/* Returns length of LCS for X[0..m-1],  
Y[0..n-1] and Z[0..o-1] */
static int lcsOf3(int i, int j, int k)  
{  
    if(i == -1 || j == -1 || k == -1)  
        return 0;  
    if(dp[i, j, k] != -1)  
        return dp[i, j, k];  
      
    if(X[i] == Y[j] && Y[j] == Z[k])  
        return dp[i, j, k] = 1 + lcsOf3(i - 1, j - 1, k - 1);  
    else
        return dp[i, j, k] = Math.Max(Math.Max(lcsOf3(i - 1, j, k),  
                                               lcsOf3(i, j - 1, k)), 
                                               lcsOf3(i, j, k - 1));  
}  
  
// Driver code  
static void Main()  
{  
    for(int i = 0; i < 100; i++) 
        for(int j = 0; j < 100; j++) 
            for(int k = 0; k < 100; k++) 
                dp[i, j, k] = -1; 
    int m = X.Length;  
    int n = Y.Length;  
    int o = Z.Length;  
  
    Console.Write("Length of LCS is " +  
                   lcsOf3(m - 1, n - 1, o - 1));  
} 
} 
  
// This code is contributed by DrRoot_ 

PHP

<?php 
// PHP program to find LCS of three strings 
  
    $X = "AGGT12";  
    $Y = "12TXAYB";  
    $Z = "12XBA";  
  
    $dp=array_fill(0, 100, array_fill(0, 100, array_fill(0, 100, -1))); 
  
/* Returns length of LCS for X[0..m-1], Y[0..n-1] 
and Z[0..o-1] */
function lcsOf3($i, $j, $k) 
{ 
    global $dp, $X, $Y, $Z; 
    if($i == -1 || $j == -1 || $k == -1) 
        return 0; 
    if($dp[$i][$j][$k] != -1) 
        return $dp[$i][$j][$k]; 
      
    if($X[$i] == $Y[$j] && $Y[$j] == $Z[$k]) 
        return $dp[$i][$j][$k] = 1+lcsOf3($i - 1, $j - 1, $k - 1); 
    else
        return $dp[$i][$j][$k] = max(max(lcsOf3($i - 1, $j, $k), 
                            lcsOf3($i, $j - 1, $k)), lcsOf3($i, $j, $k - 1)); 
} 
  
// Driver code 
    $m = strlen($X);  
    $n = strlen($Y);  
    $o = strlen($Z);  
  
    echo "Length of LCS is ".lcsOf3($m - 1, $n - 1, $o - 1); 
  
// This code is contributed by mits 
  
?> 

Output:

Length of LCS is 2

This article is contributed by Sahil Chhabra (akku). If you like GeeksforGeeks and would like to contribute, you can also write an article using contribute.geeksforgeeks.org or mail your article to contribute@geeksforgeeks.org. See your article appearing on the GeeksforGeeks main page and help other Geeks.

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My Personal Notes

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Recommended: Please solve it on “PRACTICE ” first, before moving on to the solution.

C++

Java

Python3

C#

PHP

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Java

Python3

C#

PHP