Word Ladder Shortest Path

Hard
bfs graph shortest-path word-transformation
Problem Description

Find the shortest transformation sequence from a start word to an end word, changing only one letter at a time. Each intermediate word must be in the given dictionary. Return the length of the shortest path, or 0 if impossible.

Input Format
First line: start word. Second line: end word. Third line: n (dictionary size). Next n lines: dictionary words.
Output Format
Length of shortest transformation path, or 0 if impossible.
Constraints
• 1 ≤ word length ≤ 10
• 1 ≤ dictionary size ≤ 1000
• All words same length
• Words contain only lowercase letters
• Start and end words may not be in dictionary
Sample Input/Output
Input:
hit
cog
6
hot
dot
dog
lot
log
cog
Output:
5
Explanation

Shortest path: hit → hot → dot → dog → cog. Length = 5 (including start and end).

Solution Hints
145
Points
4000ms
Time Limit
512MB
Memory Limit
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