💥 Beginner-Friendly Guide 'Check if Binary String Has at Most One Segment of Ones' - Problem 1784 (C++, Python, JavaScript)

Binary strings often appear simple, but they are the foundation of how data is stored and processed in every computer. Mastering how to traverse these strings and identify patterns is a fundamental skill for any aspiring software engineer. Problem Summary You're given: A binary string $s$ consisting only of characters '0' and '1'. The guarantee that $s$ does not have leading zeros, meaning it always starts with '1'. Your goal: Return true if the string contains at most one contiguous segment of ones. Return false if there are multiple separated segments of ones. Intuition The problem states that the string always starts with a '1'. If there is only one segment of ones, all the '1's must be clustered at the beginning or stay together without being interrupted by a '0'. If we ever see a '0' followed immediately by a '1' (the pattern "01"), it means a new segment of ones has started after a gap. Since we are only allowed one segment, the presence of the substring "01" is the "smoking gun"