Word Search in Java: Explanation & Practice

Find if word exists in grid

Problem summary

Given a 2D grid of characters and a word, determine if the word exists in the grid. Word can be constructed from adjacent cells (up, down, left, right).

Starter code

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        char[][] board = {
            {'A','B','C','E'},
            {'S','F','C','S'},
            {'A','D','E','E'}
        };
        String word = "ABCCED";
        
        // Backtracking with visited marking
        // Try starting from each cell
        // Print: Found: true
    }
}

Expected output and test cases

ABCCED exists
```
Found: true
```
SEE exists
```
Found: true
```
ABCB doesn't exist
```
Found: false
```

Hints

Try starting DFS from each cell that matches first character
Mark current cell as visited (change to special char)
Try all 4 directions recursively
Restore cell after backtracking

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