Hard Python Algorithm Function | Dataford Interview Questions

Write a function to solve a specific algorithm problem using Python.

Implement ladder_length to return the number of words in the shortest transformation from begin_word to end_word. Change exactly one character at a time, and every intermediate word must belong to word_list. Return 0 if no transformation exists. The function must handle duplicate words and avoid revisiting states efficiently.

Input: two lowercase words of equal length and a list of lowercase words.

Output: an integer path length, including both endpoints.

Constraints

1 <= len(begin_word) = len(end_word) <= 10
1 <= len(word_list) <= 5000
All words contain lowercase English letters only
Words in word_list may be duplicated
A transformation may use each valid word at most once

Function Signature

def ladder_length(begin_word, end_word, word_list):

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