# 276. Paint Fence

There is a fence with n posts, each post can be painted with one of the k colors.

You have to paint all the posts such that no more than two adjacent fence posts have the same color.

Return the total number of ways you can paint the fence.

**Note:**\
n and k are non-negative integers.

**Example:**

```
Input: n = 3, k = 2
Output: 6
Explanation: Take c1 as color 1, c2 as color 2. All possible ways are:

            post1  post2  post3      
 -----      -----  -----  -----       
   1         c1     c1     c2 
   2         c1     c2     c1 
   3         c1     c2     c2 
   4         c2     c1     c1  
   5         c2     c1     c2
   6         c2     c2     c1
```

```cpp
// Dynamic Programming
int numWays(int n, int k) { // time: O(n); space: O(n)
    if (n == 0) return 0;
    if (n == 1) return k;
    vector<int> same(n, 0); // total # of ways when ith post has the same color as the i-1 th post
    vector<int> diff(n, 0); // total # of ways when ith post has the different color as the i-1 th post
    same[0] = same[1] = k;
    diff[0] = k;
    diff[1] = k * (k - 1);
    for (int i = 2; i < n; ++i) {
        same[i] = diff[i - 1];
        diff[i] = (k - 1) * same[i - 1] + (k - 1) * diff[i - 1];
    }
    return same.back() + diff.back();
}
```

```cpp
// Space Optimized Dynamic Programming
int numWays(int n, int k) { // time: O(n); space: O(1)
    if (n == 0) return 0;
    if (n == 1) return k;
    int same = k; // total # of ways when ith post has the same color as the i-1 th post
    int diff = k * (k - 1); // total # of ways when ith post has the different color as the i-1 th post
    for (int i = 2; i < n; ++i) {
        int tmpSame = same;
        same = diff;
        diff = (tmpSame + diff) * (k - 1);
    }
    return same + diff;
}
```


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://jimmylin1991.gitbook.io/practice-of-algorithm-problems/dynamic-programming/276.-paint-fence.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
