Untitled

public class PaintHouses {
    public int minCost(int[][] costs) {
        if (costs == null || costs.length == 0) {
            return 0;
        }
        return helper(costs, 0, -1);
    }

    private int helper(int[][] costs, int houseIndex, int prevColor) {
        // Base case: If all houses are painted, return 0
        if (houseIndex == costs.length) {
            return 0;
        }

        int minCost = Integer.MAX_VALUE;

        // Try all colors for the current house
        for (int color = 0; color < costs[0].length; color++) {
            // Ensure that the current color is not the same as the previous color
            if (color != prevColor) {
                // Calculate the cost for the current house and recursively for the next houses
                int currentCost = costs[houseIndex][color] + helper(costs, houseIndex + 1, color);
                // Update the minimum cost
                minCost = Math.min(minCost, currentCost);
            }
        }

        return minCost;
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        PaintHouses solution = new PaintHouses();

        // Sample Input 1
        int[][] costs1 = {
            {1, 5, 3},
            {2, 9, 4}
        };
        System.out.println(solution.minCost(costs1)); // Output: 5

        // Sample Input 2
        int[][] costs2 = {
            {1, 4, 5},
            {2, 3, 5},
            {6, 7, 8}
        };
        System.out.println(solution.minCost(costs2)); // Output: 10

        // Additional Test Case
        int[][] costs3 = {
            {1, 2, 3},
            {10, 11, 12}
        };
        System.out.println(solution.minCost(costs3)); // Output: 12

        int[][] costs4 = {
            {4, 2}
        };
        System.out.println(solution.minCost(costs4)); // Output: 2
    }
}