/* Given a string, does "xyz" appear in the middle of the string? To define * middle, we'll say that the number of chars to the left and right of the * "xyz" must differ by at most one. This problem is harder than it looks. */ public boolean xyzMiddle(String str) { if(str.length() < 3) return false; int start1 = str.length() / 2 - 2; int start2 = str.length() / 2 - 1; if(str.length() % 2 == 0) { return str.substring(start1, start1 + 3).equals("xyz") || str.substring(start2, start2 + 3).equals("xyz"); } return str.substring(start2, start2 + 3).equals("xyz"); }