Problem:
Score : 300 points

Problem Statement

Snuke can change a string t of length N into a string t' of length N - 1 under the following rule:

For each i (1 ≤ i ≤ N - 1), the i-th character of t' must be either the i-th or (i + 1)-th character of t.

There is a string s consisting of lowercase English letters.
Snuke's objective is to apply the above operation to s repeatedly so that all the characters in s are the same.
Find the minimum necessary number of operations.

Constraints

1 ≤ |s| ≤ 100

s consists of lowercase English letters.

Input

Input is given from Standard Input in the following format:

s

Output

Print the minimum necessary number of operations to achieve the objective.

Sample Input 1

serval

Sample Output 1

3

One solution is: serval → srvvl → svvv → vvv.

Sample Input 2

jackal

Sample Output 2

2

One solution is: jackal → aacaa → aaaa.

Sample Input 3

zzz

Sample Output 3

0

All the characters in s are the same from the beginning.

Sample Input 4

whbrjpjyhsrywlqjxdbrbaomnw

Sample Output 4

8

In 8 operations, he can change s to rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Solution in Common Lisp (SBCL 1.1.14) (judge verdict: Accepted)

;; -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
(eval-when (:compile-toplevel :load-toplevel :execute)
  (sb-int:defconstant-eqx OPT
    #+swank '(optimize (speed 3) (safety 2))
    #-swank '(optimize (speed 3) (safety 0) (debug 0))
    #'equal)
  #+swank (ql:quickload '(:cl-debug-print :fiveam) :silent t)
  #-swank (set-dispatch-macro-character
           ;; enclose the form with VALUES to avoid being captured by LOOP macro
           #\# #\> (lambda (s c p) (declare (ignore c p)) `(values ,(read s nil nil t)))))
#+swank (cl-syntax:use-syntax cl-debug-print:debug-print-syntax)
#-swank (disable-debugger) ; for CS Academy

;; BEGIN_INSERTED_CONTENTS
(macrolet ((def (name fname)
             `(define-modify-macro ,name (new-value) ,fname)))
  (def minf min)
  (def maxf max)
  (def mulf *)
  (def divf /)
  (def iorf logior)
  (def xorf logxor)
  (def andf logand))

(defmacro dbg (&rest forms)
  #+swank
  (if (= (length forms) 1)
      `(format *error-output* "~A => ~A~%" ',(car forms) ,(car forms))
      `(format *error-output* "~A => ~A~%" ',forms `(,,@forms)))
  #-swank (declare (ignore forms)))

(defmacro define-int-types (&rest bits)
  `(progn
     ,@(mapcar (lambda (b) `(deftype ,(intern (format nil "UINT~A" b)) () '(unsigned-byte ,b))) bits)
     ,@(mapcar (lambda (b) `(deftype ,(intern (format nil "INT~A" b)) () '(signed-byte ,b))) bits)))
(define-int-types 2 4 7 8 15 16 31 32 62 63 64)

(declaim (inline println))
(defun println (obj &optional (stream *standard-output*))
  (let ((*read-default-float-format* 'double-float))
    (prog1 (princ obj stream) (terpri stream))))

(defconstant +mod+ 1000000007)

;;;
;;; Body
;;;

(defun main ()
  (let* ((s (read-line))
         (n (length s)))
    (labels ((calc-cost (c)
               (let ((res 0)
                     (prev 0))
                 (loop
                   (let ((next (or (position c s :start prev) n)))
                     (maxf res (- next prev))
                     (when (= next n)
                       (return res))
                     (setq prev (+ next 1)))))))
      (println
       (loop for c across "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"
             minimize (calc-cost c))))))

#-swank (main)

;;;
;;; Test and benchmark
;;;

#+swank
(defun io-equal (in-string out-string &key (function #'main) (test #'equal))
  "Passes IN-STRING to *STANDARD-INPUT*, executes FUNCTION, and returns true if
the string output to *STANDARD-OUTPUT* is equal to OUT-STRING."
  (labels ((ensure-last-lf (s)
             (if (eql (uiop:last-char s) #\Linefeed)
                 s
                 (uiop:strcat s uiop:+lf+))))
    (funcall test
             (ensure-last-lf out-string)
             (with-output-to-string (out)
               (let ((*standard-output* out))
                 (with-input-from-string (*standard-input* (ensure-last-lf in-string))
                   (funcall function)))))))

#+swank
(defun get-clipbrd ()
  (with-output-to-string (out)
    ;; (run-program "C:/Windows/System32/WindowsPowerShell/v1.0/powershell.exe" '("get-clipboard") :output out)
    (run-program "powershell.exe" '("-Command" "Get-Clipboard") :output out :search t)))

#+swank (defparameter *this-pathname* (uiop:current-lisp-file-pathname))
#+swank (defparameter *dat-pathname* (uiop:merge-pathnames* "test.dat" *this-pathname*))

#+swank
(defun run (&optional thing (out *standard-output*))
  "THING := null | string | symbol | pathname

null: run #'MAIN using the text on clipboard as input.
string: run #'MAIN using the string as input.
symbol: alias of FIVEAM:RUN!.
pathname: run #'MAIN using the text file as input."
  (let ((*standard-output* out))
    (etypecase thing
      (null
       (with-input-from-string (*standard-input* (delete #\Return (get-clipbrd)))
         (main)))
      (string
       (with-input-from-string (*standard-input* (delete #\Return thing))
         (main)))
      (symbol (5am:run! thing))
      (pathname
       (with-open-file (*standard-input* thing)
         (main))))))

#+swank
(defun gen-dat ()
  (uiop:with-output-file (out *dat-pathname* :if-exists :supersede)
    (format out "")))

#+swank
(defun bench (&optional (out (make-broadcast-stream)))
  (time (run *dat-pathname* out)))

;; To run: (5am:run! :sample)
#+swank
(it.bese.fiveam:test :sample
  (it.bese.fiveam:is
   (common-lisp-user::io-equal "serval
"
    "3
"))
  (it.bese.fiveam:is
   (common-lisp-user::io-equal "jackal
"
    "2
"))
  (it.bese.fiveam:is
   (common-lisp-user::io-equal "zzz
"
    "0
"))
  (it.bese.fiveam:is
   (common-lisp-user::io-equal "whbrjpjyhsrywlqjxdbrbaomnw
"
    "8
")))