1578. Minimum Time to Make Rope Colorful

https://leetcode.com/problems/minimum-time-to-make-rope-colorful/

Python

Two Pointer

class Solution:
    def minCost(self, colors: str, neededTime: List[int]) -> int:
        cost = 0
        left, right = 0, 0
        while left < len(colors) and right < len(colors):
            total, maximum = 0, 0
            while right < len(colors) and colors[left] == colors[right]:
                total += neededTime[right]
                maximum = max(maximum, neededTime[right])
                right += 1
            cost += total - maximum
            left = right
        return cost