Shortest Compressed String After Removal

Problem Overview

• Determine the shortest possible length of the run-length compressed string after removing exactly K consecutive characters from S.
• Input: uppercase string S (length N) and integer K (0 ≤ K ≤ N); output: minimal compressed length.
• Compression rule: each run becomes count+char; single letters stay unchanged.
• Domain: string processing and compression for storage efficiency.
• From Microsoft interviews: a coding interview problem and common interview question.