Ways to arrange Balls such that adjacent balls are of different types

There are ‘p’ balls of type P, ‘q’ balls of type Q and ‘r’ balls of type R. Using the balls we want to create a straight line such that no two balls of same type are adjacent.
Examples : 

Input  : p = 1, q = 1, r = 0
Output : 2
There are only two arrangements PQ and QP

Input  : p = 1, q = 1, r = 1
Output : 6
There are only six arrangements PQR, QPR,
QRP, RQP, PRQ and RPQ

Input  : p = 2, q = 1, r = 1
Output : 6
There are only six arrangements PQRP, QPRP,
PRQP, RPQP, PRPQ and PQPR

We strongly recommend that you click here and practice it, before moving on to the solution.

Naive Solution:
The naive solution to this problem is a recursive solution. We recursively call for three cases 
1) Last ball to be placed is of type P 
2) Last ball to be placed is of type Q 
3) Last ball to be placed is of type R
Below is the implementation of above idea. 

C++

// C++ program to count number of ways to arrange three
// types of balls such that no two balls of same color
// are adjacent to each other
#include<bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

// Returns count of arrangements where last placed ball is
// 'last'.  'last' is 0 for 'p', 1 for 'q' and 2 for 'r'
int countWays(int p, int q, int r, int last)
{
    // if number of balls of any color becomes less
    // than 0 the number of ways arrangements is 0.
    if (p<0 || q<0 || r<0)
        return 0;

    // If last ball required is of type P and the number
    // of balls of P type is 1 while number of balls of
    // other color is 0 the number of ways is 1.
    if (p==1 && q==0 && r==0 && last==0)
        return 1;

    // Same case as above for 'q' and 'r'
    if (p==0 && q==1 && r==0 && last==1)
        return 1;
    if (p==0 && q==0 && r==1 && last==2)
        return 1;

    // if last ball required is P and the number of ways is
    // the sum of number of ways to form sequence with 'p-1' P
    // balls, q Q Balls and r R balls ending with Q and R.
    if (last==0)
        return countWays(p-1,q,r,1) + countWays(p-1,q,r,2);

    // Same as above case for 'q' and 'r'
    if (last==1)
        return countWays(p,q-1,r,0) + countWays(p,q-1,r,2);
    if (last==2)
        return countWays(p,q,r-1,0) + countWays(p,q,r-1,1);
}

// Returns count of required arrangements
int countUtil(int p, int q, int r)
{
   // Three cases arise:
   return countWays(p, q, r, 0) +  // Last required balls is type P
          countWays(p, q, r, 1) +  // Last required balls is type Q
          countWays(p, q, r, 2); // Last required balls is type R
}

// Driver code to test above
int main()
{
    int p = 1, q = 1, r = 1;
    printf("%d", countUtil(p, q, r));
    return 0;
}

Java

// Java program to count number
// of ways to arrange three types of
// balls such that no two balls of
// same color are adjacent to each other
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;

class GFG {

    // Returns count of arrangements
    // where last placed ball is
    // 'last'. 'last' is 0 for 'p',
    // 1 for 'q' and 2 for 'r'
    static int countWays(int p, int q, int r, int last)
    {
        // if number of balls of any
        // color becomes less than 0
        // the number of ways arrangements is 0.
        if (p < 0 || q < 0 || r < 0)
            return 0;

        // If last ball required is
        // of type P and the number
        // of balls of P type is 1
        // while number of balls of
        // other color is 0 the number
        // of ways is 1.
        if (p == 1 && q == 0 && r == 0 && last == 0)
            return 1;

        // Same case as above for 'q' and 'r'
        if (p == 0 && q == 1 && r == 0 && last == 1)
            return 1;
        if (p == 0 && q == 0 && r == 1 && last == 2)
            return 1;

        // if last ball required is P
        // and the number of ways is
        // the sum of number of ways
        // to form sequence with 'p-1' P
        // balls, q Q Balls and r R balls
        // ending with Q and R.
        if (last == 0)
            return countWays(p - 1, q, r, 1)
                + countWays(p - 1, q, r, 2);

        // Same as above case for 'q' and 'r'
        if (last == 1)
            return countWays(p, q - 1, r, 0)
                + countWays(p, q - 1, r, 2);

        if (last == 2)
            return countWays(p, q, r - 1, 0)
                + countWays(p, q, r - 1, 1);

        return 0;
    }

    // Returns count of required arrangements
    static int countUtil(int p, int q, int r)
    {
        // Three cases arise:
        return countWays(p, q, r, 0)
            + // Last required balls is type P
            countWays(p, q, r, 1)
            + // Last required balls is type Q
            countWays(p, q, r,
                      2); // Last required balls is type R
    }

    // Driver code
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int p = 1, q = 1, r = 1;
        System.out.print(countUtil(p, q, r));
    }
}

// This code is contributed by Anant Agarwal.

Python3

# Python3 program to count
# number of ways to arrange
# three types of balls such
# that no two balls of same
# color are adjacent to each
# other

# Returns count of arrangements
# where last placed ball is
# 'last'. 'last' is 0 for 'p',
# 1 for 'q' and 2 for 'r'
def countWays(p, q, r, last):

    # if number of balls of
    # any color becomes less
    # than 0 the number of
    # ways arrangements is 0.
    if (p < 0 or q < 0 or r < 0):
        return 0;

    # If last ball required is
    # of type P and the number
    # of balls of P type is 1
    # while number of balls of
    # other color is 0 the number
    # of ways is 1.
    if (p == 1 and q == 0 and
        r == 0 and last == 0):
        return 1;

    # Same case as above
    # for 'q' and 'r'
    if (p == 0 and q == 1 and
        r == 0 and last == 1):
        return 1;

    if (p == 0 and q == 0 and
        r == 1 and last == 2):
        return 1;

    # if last ball required is P
    # and the number of ways is
    # the sum of number of ways
    # to form sequence with 'p-1' P
    # balls, q Q Balls and r R
    # balls ending with Q and R.
    if (last == 0):
        return (countWays(p - 1, q, r, 1) +
                countWays(p - 1, q, r, 2));

    # Same as above case
    # for 'q' and 'r'
    if (last == 1):
        return (countWays(p, q - 1, r, 0) +
                countWays(p, q - 1, r, 2));
    if (last == 2):
        return (countWays(p, q, r - 1, 0) +
                countWays(p, q, r - 1, 1));

# Returns count of
# required arrangements
def countUtil(p, q, r):

    # Three cases arise:
    # Last required balls is type P
    # Last required balls is type Q
    # Last required balls is type R
    return (countWays(p, q, r, 0) +
            countWays(p, q, r, 1) +
            countWays(p, q, r, 2));

# Driver Code
p = 1;
q = 1;
r = 1;
print(countUtil(p, q, r));

# This code is contributed by mits

C#

// C# program to count number
// of ways to arrange three types of
// balls such that no two balls of
// same color are adjacent to each other
using System;

class GFG {

    // Returns count of arrangements
    // where last placed ball is
    // 'last'. 'last' is 0 for 'p',
    // 1 for 'q' and 2 for 'r'
    static int countWays(int p, int q,
                            int r, int last)
    {

        // if number of balls of any
        // color becomes less than 0
        // the number of ways
        // arrangements is 0.
        if (p < 0 || q < 0 || r < 0)
            return 0;

        // If last ball required is
        // of type P and the number
        // of balls of P type is 1
        // while number of balls of
        // other color is 0 the number
        // of ways is 1.
        if (p == 1 && q == 0 && r == 0
                              && last == 0)
            return 1;

        // Same case as above for 'q' and 'r'
        if (p == 0 && q == 1 && r == 0
                               && last == 1)
            return 1;
        if (p == 0 && q == 0 && r == 1
                               && last == 2)
            return 1;

        // if last ball required is P
        // and the number of ways is
        // the sum of number of ways
        // to form sequence with 'p-1' P
        // balls, q Q Balls and r R balls
        // ending with Q and R.
        if (last == 0)
            return countWays(p - 1, q, r, 1) +
                    countWays(p - 1, q, r, 2);

        // Same as above case for 'q' and 'r'
        if (last == 1)
            return countWays(p, q - 1, r, 0) +
                countWays(p, q - 1, r, 2);

        if (last == 2)
            return countWays(p, q, r - 1, 0) +
                    countWays(p, q, r - 1, 1);

        return 0;
    }

    // Returns count of required arrangements
    static int countUtil(int p, int q, int r)
    {

        // Three cases arise:
        // 1. Last required balls is type P
        // 2. Last required balls is type Q
        // 3. Last required balls is type R
        return countWays(p, q, r, 0) +
               countWays(p, q, r, 1) +
               countWays(p, q, r, 2);
    }

    // Driver code
    public static void Main()
    {
        int p = 1, q = 1, r = 1;

        Console.Write(countUtil(p, q, r));
    }
}

// This code is contributed by nitin mittal.

PHP

<?php
// PHP program to count number
// of ways to arrange three
// types of balls such that
// no two balls of same color
// are adjacent to each other

// Returns count of arrangements
// where last placed ball is
// 'last'. 'last' is 0 for 'p',
// 1 for 'q' and 2 for 'r'
function countWays($p, $q,
                   $r, $last)
{

    // if number of balls of
    // any color becomes less
    // than 0 the number of
    // ways arrangements is 0.
    if ($p < 0 || $q
           < 0 || $r < 0)
        return 0;

    // If last ball required is
    // of type P and the number
    // of balls of P type is 1
    // while number of balls of
    // other color is 0 the number
    // of ways is 1.
    if ($p == 1 && $q == 0 &&
        $r == 0 && $last == 0)
        return 1;

    // Same case as above
    // for 'q' and 'r'
    if ($p == 0 && $q == 1 &&
        $r == 0 && $last == 1)
        return 1;

    if ($p == 0 && $q == 0 &&
        $r == 1 && $last == 2)
        return 1;

    // if last ball required is P
    // and the number of ways is
    // the sum of number of ways
    // to form sequence with 'p-1' P
    // balls, q Q Balls and r R
    // balls ending with Q and R.
    if ($last == 0)
        return countWays($p - 1, $q, $r, 1) +
               countWays($p - 1, $q, $r, 2);

    // Same as above case
    // for 'q' and 'r'
    if ($last == 1)
        return countWays($p, $q - 1, $r, 0) +
               countWays($p, $q - 1, $r, 2);
    if ($last == 2)
        return countWays($p, $q, $r - 1, 0) +
               countWays($p, $q, $r - 1, 1);
}

// Returns count of
// required arrangements
function countUtil($p, $q, $r)
{

    // Three cases arise:
    // Last required balls is type P
    // Last required balls is type Q
    // Last required balls is type R
    return countWays($p, $q, $r, 0) +
           countWays($p, $q, $r, 1) +
           countWays($p, $q, $r, 2);
}

    // Driver Code
    $p = 1;
    $q = 1;
    $r = 1;
    echo(countUtil($p, $q, $r));

// This code is contributed by nitin mittal.
?>

Javascript

<script>

// JavaScript program to count number
// of ways to arrange three
// types of balls such that no
// two balls of same color
// are adjacent to each other

    // Returns count of arrangements
    // where last placed ball is
    // 'last'. 'last' is 0 for 'p',
    // 1 for 'q' and 2 for 'r'
    function countWays(p, q, r, last)
    {

        // if number of balls of any
        // color becomes less than 0
        // the number of ways arrangements is 0.
        if (p < 0 || q < 0 || r < 0)
        return 0;

        // If last ball required is
        // of type P and the number
        // of balls of P type is 1
        // while number of balls of
        // other color is 0 the number
        // of ways is 1.
        if (p == 1 && q == 0 && r == 0 && last == 0)
            return 1;

        // Same case as above for 'q' and 'r'
        if (p == 0 && q == 1 && r == 0 && last == 1)
            return 1;
        if (p == 0 && q == 0 && r == 1 && last == 2)
            return 1;

        // if last ball required is P
        // and the number of ways is
        // the sum of number of ways
        // to form sequence with 'p-1' P
        // balls, q Q Balls and r R balls
        // ending with Q and R.
        if (last == 0)
        return countWays(p - 1, q, r, 1) +
               countWays(p - 1, q, r, 2);

        // Same as above case for 'q' and 'r'
        if (last == 1)
            return countWays(p, q - 1, r, 0) +
                   countWays(p, q - 1, r, 2);

        if (last == 2)
        return countWays(p, q, r - 1, 0) +
               countWays(p, q, r - 1, 1);

        return 0;
    }

    // Returns count of required arrangements
    function countUtil(p, q, r)
    {

        // Three cases arise:
        return countWays(p, q, r, 0) + // Last required balls is type P
               countWays(p, q, r, 1) + // Last required balls is type Q
               countWays(p, q, r, 2);  // Last required balls is type R
    }

// Driver Code

        let p = 1, q = 1, r = 1;
        document.write(countUtil(p, q, r));

    // This code is contributed by target_2.
</script>

Output

6

Time Complexity: The time complexity of this program is O(3^n), where n is the total number of balls. This is because for each ball placement, there are three possibilities (p, q, or r) and there are n balls in total. Therefore, the total number of possible arrangements is 3^n.

Space Comlexity: The space complexity of this program is O(1) because there are no additional data structures being used beyond the input variables and the return value. The program uses recursive function calls to calculate the number of ways to arrange the balls, and these function calls use the call stack to store intermediate values. However, the depth of the call stack is at most n, so the space complexity is O(1) in terms of the input size.

We can observe that there are many subproblems being solved again and again so the problem can be solved using Dynamic Programming (DP). We can easily make memoization solution to this problem. 

C++

// C++ program to count number of ways to arrange three
// types of balls such that no two balls of same color
// are adjacent to each other
#include<bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
#define MAX 100

// table to store to store results of subproblems
int dp[MAX][MAX][MAX][3];

// Returns count of arrangements where last placed ball is
// 'last'.  'last' is 0 for 'p', 1 for 'q' and 2 for 'r'
int countWays(int p, int q, int r, int last)
{
    // if number of balls of any color becomes less
    // than 0 the number of ways arrangements is 0.
    if (p<0 || q<0 || r<0)
        return 0;

    // If last ball required is of type P and the number
    // of balls of P type is 1 while number of balls of
    // other color is 0 the number of ways is 1.
    if (p==1 && q==0 && r==0 && last==0)
        return 1;

    // Same case as above for 'q' and 'r'
    if (p==0 && q==1 && r==0 && last==1)
        return 1;
    if (p==0 && q==0 && r==1 && last==2)
        return 1;

    // If this subproblem is already evaluated
    if (dp[p][q][r][last] != -1)
        return dp[p][q][r][last];

    // if last ball required is P and the number of ways is
    // the sum of number of ways to form sequence with 'p-1' P
    // balls, q Q Balls and r R balls ending with Q and R.
    if (last==0)
       dp[p][q][r][last] = countWays(p-1,q,r,1) + countWays(p-1,q,r,2);

    // Same as above case for 'q' and 'r'
    else if (last==1)
       dp[p][q][r][last] = countWays(p,q-1,r,0) + countWays(p,q-1,r,2);
    else //(last==2)
       dp[p][q][r][last] =  countWays(p,q,r-1,0) + countWays(p,q,r-1,1);

    return dp[p][q][r][last];
}

// Returns count of required arrangements
int countUtil(int p, int q, int r)
{
   // Initialize 'dp' array
   memset(dp, -1, sizeof(dp));

   // Three cases arise:
   return countWays(p, q, r, 0) +  // Last required balls is type P
          countWays(p, q, r, 1) +  // Last required balls is type Q
          countWays(p, q, r, 2); // Last required balls is type R
}

// Driver code to test above
int main()
{
    int p = 1, q = 1, r = 1;
    printf("%d", countUtil(p, q, r));
    return 0;
}

Java

// Java program to count number
// of ways to arrange three
// types of balls such that no
// two balls of same color
// are adjacent to each other
import java.util.Arrays;

class GFG
{

    static final int MAX = 100;

    // table to store to store results of subproblems
    static int dp[][][][] = new int[MAX][MAX][MAX][3];

    // Returns count of arrangements
    // where last placed ball is
    // 'last'. 'last' is 0 for 'p',
    // 1 for 'q' and 2 for 'r'
    static int countWays(int p, int q, int r, int last)
    {
        // if number of balls of any
        // color becomes less than 0
        // the number of ways arrangements is 0.
        if (p < 0 || q < 0 || r < 0)
        return 0;

        // If last ball required is
        // of type P and the number
        // of balls of P type is 1
        // while number of balls of
        // other color is 0 the number
        // of ways is 1.
        if (p == 1 && q == 0 && r == 0 && last == 0)
            return 1;

        // Same case as above for 'q' and 'r'
        if (p == 0 && q == 1 && r == 0 && last == 1)
            return 1;

        if (p == 0 && q == 0 && r == 1 && last == 2)
            return 1;

        // If this subproblem is already evaluated
        if (dp[p][q][r][last] != -1)
            return dp[p][q][r][last];

        // if last ball required is P and
        // the number of ways is the sum
        // of number of ways to form sequence
        // with 'p-1' P balls, q Q balss and
        // r R balls ending with Q and R.
        if (last == 0)
        dp[p][q][r][last] = countWays(p - 1, q, r, 1) +
                            countWays(p - 1, q, r, 2);

        // Same as above case for 'q' and 'r'
        else if (last == 1)
        dp[p][q][r][last] = countWays(p, q - 1, r, 0) +
                            countWays(p, q - 1, r, 2);
        //(last==2)
        else
        dp[p][q][r][last] = countWays(p, q, r - 1, 0) +
                            countWays(p, q, r - 1, 1);

        return dp[p][q][r][last];
    }

    // Returns count of required arrangements
    static int countUtil(int p, int q, int r)
    {
        // Initialize 'dp' array
        for (int[][][] row : dp)
        {
            for (int[][] innerRow : row)
            {
                for (int[] innerInnerRow : innerRow)
                {
                    Arrays.fill(innerInnerRow, -1);
                }
            }
        };

        // Three cases arise:
        return countWays(p, q, r, 0) + // Last required balls is type P
            countWays(p, q, r, 1) +    // Last required balls is type Q
            countWays(p, q, r, 2);       // Last required balls is type R
    }

    // Driver code
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int p = 1, q = 1, r = 1;
        System.out.print(countUtil(p, q, r));
    }
}

// This code is contributed by Anant Agarwal.

C#

// C# program to count number
// of ways to arrange three
// types of balls such that no
// two balls of same color
// are adjacent to each other
using System;

class GFG
{

    static int MAX = 101;

    // table to store to store results of subproblems
    static int[,,,] dp = new int[MAX, MAX, MAX, 4];

    // Returns count of arrangements
    // where last placed ball is
    // 'last'. 'last' is 0 for 'p',
    // 1 for 'q' and 2 for 'r'
    static int countWays(int p, int q, int r, int last)
    {
        // if number of balls of any
        // color becomes less than 0
        // the number of ways arrangements is 0.
        if (p < 0 || q < 0 || r < 0)
        return 0;

        // If last ball required is
        // of type P and the number
        // of balls of P type is 1
        // while number of balls of
        // other color is 0 the number
        // of ways is 1.
        if (p == 1 && q == 0 && r == 0 && last == 0)
            return 1;

        // Same case as above for 'q' and 'r'
        if (p == 0 && q == 1 && r == 0 && last == 1)
            return 1;

        if (p == 0 && q == 0 && r == 1 && last == 2)
            return 1;

        // If this subproblem is already evaluated
        if (dp[p, q, r, last] != -1)
            return dp[p, q, r, last];

        // if last ball required is P and
        // the number of ways is the sum
        // of number of ways to form sequence
        // with 'p-1' P balls, q Q balss and
        // r R balls ending with Q and R.
        if (last == 0)
        dp[p, q, r, last] = countWays(p - 1, q, r, 1) +
                            countWays(p - 1, q, r, 2);

        // Same as above case for 'q' and 'r'
        else if (last == 1)
        dp[p, q, r, last] = countWays(p, q - 1, r, 0) +
                            countWays(p, q - 1, r, 2);
        //(last==2)
        else
        dp[p, q, r, last] = countWays(p, q, r - 1, 0) +
                            countWays(p, q, r - 1, 1);

        return dp[p, q, r, last];
    }

    // Returns count of required arrangements
    static int countUtil(int p, int q, int r)
    {
        // Initialize 'dp' array
        for(int i = 0; i < MAX; i++)
        for(int j = 0; j < MAX; j++)
        for(int k = 0; k < MAX; k++)
        for(int l = 0; l < 4; l++)
        dp[i, j, k, l] = -1;

        // Three cases arise:
        return countWays(p, q, r, 0) + // Last required balls is type P
            countWays(p, q, r, 1) + // Last required balls is type Q
            countWays(p, q, r, 2); // Last required balls is type R
    }

    // Driver code
    static void Main()
    {
        int p = 1, q = 1, r = 1;
        Console.WriteLine(countUtil(p, q, r));
    }
}

// This code is contributed by mits.

Python3

# Python3 program to count number of ways to
# arrange three types of balls such that no
# two balls of same color are adjacent to each other
MAX = 100;

# table to store to store results of subproblems
dp = [[[[-1] * 4 for i in range(MAX)]
                 for j in range(MAX)]
                 for k in range(MAX)];

# Returns count of arrangements where last
# placed ball is 'last'. 'last' is 0 for 'p',
# 1 for 'q' and 2 for 'r'
def countWays(p, q, r, last):

    # if number of balls of any color becomes less
    # than 0 the number of ways arrangements is 0.
    if (p < 0 or q < 0 or r < 0):
        return 0;

    # If last ball required is of type P and the
    # number of balls of P type is 1 while number
    # of balls of other color is 0 the number of
    # ways is 1.
    if (p == 1 and q == 0 and
        r == 0 and last == 0):
        return 1;

    # Same case as above for 'q' and 'r'
    if (p == 0 and q == 1 and
        r == 0 and last == 1):
        return 1;
    if (p == 0 and q == 0 and
        r == 1 and last == 2):
        return 1;

    # If this subproblem is already evaluated
    if (dp[p][q][r][last] != -1):
        return dp[p][q][r][last];

    # if last ball required is P and the number
    # of ways is the sum of number of ways to
    # form sequence with 'p-1' P balls, q Q Balls
    # and r R balls ending with Q and R.
    if (last == 0):
        dp[p][q][r][last] = (countWays(p - 1, q, r, 1) +
                             countWays(p - 1, q, r, 2));

    # Same as above case for 'q' and 'r'
    elif (last == 1):
        dp[p][q][r][last] = (countWays(p, q - 1, r, 0) +
                             countWays(p, q - 1, r, 2));
    else:

        #(last==2)
        dp[p][q][r][last] = (countWays(p, q, r - 1, 0) +
                             countWays(p, q, r - 1, 1));

    return dp[p][q][r][last];

# Returns count of required arrangements
def countUtil(p, q, r):

    # Three cases arise:
    # Last required balls is type P
    # Last required balls is type Q
    # Last required balls is type R
    return (countWays(p, q, r, 0) +
            countWays(p, q, r, 1) +
            countWays(p, q, r, 2));

# Driver Code
p, q, r = 1, 1, 1;
print(countUtil(p, q, r));

# This code is contributed by mits

PHP

<?php
// PHP program to count number of ways to
// arrange three types of balls such that
// no two balls of same color are adjacent
// to each other
$MAX = 100;

// table to store to store results of subproblems
$dp = array_fill(0, $MAX, array_fill(0, $MAX,
      array_fill(0, $MAX, array_fill(0, 3, -1))));

// Returns count of arrangements where last
// placed ball is 'last'. 'last' is 0 for 'p',
// 1 for 'q' and 2 for 'r'
function countWays($p, $q, $r, $last)
{
    global $dp;

    // if number of balls of any color becomes less
    // than 0 the number of ways arrangements is 0.
    if ($p < 0 || $q < 0 || $r < 0)
        return 0;

    // If last ball required is of type P and the
    // number of balls of P type is 1 while number
    // of balls of other color is 0 the number of
    // ways is 1.
    if ($p == 1 && $q == 0 && $r == 0 && $last == 0)
        return 1;

    // Same case as above for 'q' and 'r'
    if ($p == 0 && $q == 1 && $r == 0 && $last == 1)
        return 1;
    if ($p == 0 && $q == 0 && $r == 1 && $last == 2)
        return 1;

    // If this subproblem is already evaluated
    if ($dp[$p][$q][$r][$last] != -1)
        return $dp[$p][$q][$r][$last];

    // if last ball required is P and the number of
    // ways is the sum of number of ways to form
    // sequence with 'p-1' P balls, q Q Balls and r
    // R balls ending with Q and R.
    if ($last == 0)
    $dp[$p][$q][$r][$last] = countWays($p - 1, $q, $r, 1) +
                             countWays($p - 1, $q, $r, 2);

    // Same as above case for 'q' and 'r'
    else if ($last == 1)
    $dp[$p][$q][$r][$last] = countWays($p, $q - 1, $r, 0) +
                             countWays($p, $q - 1, $r, 2);
    else //(last==2)
    $dp[$p][$q][$r][$last] = countWays($p, $q, $r - 1, 0) +
                             countWays($p, $q, $r - 1, 1);

    return $dp[$p][$q][$r][$last];
}

// Returns count of required arrangements
function countUtil($p, $q, $r)
{

// Three cases arise:
return countWays($p, $q, $r, 0) + // Last required balls is type P
       countWays($p, $q, $r, 1) + // Last required balls is type Q
       countWays($p, $q, $r, 2); // Last required balls is type R
}

// Driver code
$p = 1;
$q = 1;
$r = 1;
print(countUtil($p, $q, $r));

// This code is contributed by mits
?>

Javascript

<script>

// javascript program to count number
// of ways to arrange three
// types of balls such that no
// two balls of same color
// are adjacent to each other


var MAX = 100;

// table to store to store results of subproblems
var dp = Array(MAX).fill(-1).map(x =>
Array(MAX).fill(-1).map(x =>
Array(MAX).fill(-1).map(x => Array(3).fill(-1))));

// Returns count of arrangements
// where last placed ball is
// 'last'. 'last' is 0 for 'p',
// 1 for 'q' and 2 for 'r'
function countWays( p , q , r , last)
{
    // if number of balls of any
    // color becomes less than 0
    // the number of ways arrangements is 0.
    if (p < 0 || q < 0 || r < 0)
    return 0;

    // If last ball required is
    // of type P and the number
    // of balls of P type is 1
    // while number of balls of
    // other color is 0 the number
    // of ways is 1.
    if (p == 1 && q == 0 && r == 0 && last == 0)
        return 1;

    // Same case as above for 'q' and 'r'
    if (p == 0 && q == 1 && r == 0 && last == 1)
        return 1;

    if (p == 0 && q == 0 && r == 1 && last == 2)
        return 1;

    // If this subproblem is already evaluated
    if (dp[p][q][r][last] != -1)
        return dp[p][q][r][last];

    // if last ball required is P and
    // the number of ways is the sum
    // of number of ways to form sequence
    // with 'p-1' P balls, q Q balss and
    // r R balls ending with Q and R.
    if (last == 0)
    dp[p][q][r][last] = countWays(p - 1, q, r, 1) +
                        countWays(p - 1, q, r, 2);

    // Same as above case for 'q' and 'r'
    else if (last == 1)
    dp[p][q][r][last] = countWays(p, q - 1, r, 0) +
                        countWays(p, q - 1, r, 2);
    //(last==2)
    else
    dp[p][q][r][last] = countWays(p, q, r - 1, 0) +
                        countWays(p, q, r - 1, 1);

    return dp[p][q][r][last];
}

// Returns count of required arrangements
function countUtil(p , q , r)
{

    // Three cases arise:
    return countWays(p, q, r, 0) + // Last required balls is type P
        countWays(p, q, r, 1) +    // Last required balls is type Q
        countWays(p, q, r, 2);       // Last required balls is type R
}

// Driver code
var p = 1, q = 1, r = 1;
document.write(countUtil(p, q, r));

// This code contributed by Princi Singh
</script>

Output

6

Time complexity : O(p*q*r) 
Auxiliary Space : O(p*q*r*3)
This article is contributed by Bhavuk Chawla. If you like GeeksforGeeks and would like to contribute, you can also write an article and mail your article to review-team@geeksforgeeks.org. See your article appearing on the GeeksforGeeks main page and help other Geeks.
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