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Spiral Search Implementation
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Spiral Search Implementation

MediumPython

Problem

An ASML YieldStar-style measurement grid stores integer readings in a rectangular matrix. Implement a clockwise spiral search that starts at the top-left cell and returns the coordinates of the first cell containing target.

Traverse the outer boundary from left to right, then top to bottom, then right to left, then bottom to top. Continue inward until the target is found or every cell has been visited.

Formal Specification

Implement spiral_search(grid, target).

  • grid is a non-empty rectangular list of lists of integers.
  • target is an integer.
  • Return [row, column] for the first occurrence of target in clockwise spiral order.
  • Return [] if target does not occur.
  • Rows and columns are zero-indexed.

Constraints

  • 1 <= rows, columns <= 500
  • -10^9 <= grid[row][column], target <= 10^9
  • The grid is rectangular
  • Duplicate values are allowed

Function Signature

def spiral_search(grid, target):
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