#!/usr/bin/python3
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

""" --- Day 10: Elves Look, Elves Say ---

Today, the Elves are playing a game called look-and-say.
They take turns making sequences by reading aloud the previous sequence
and using that reading as the next sequence.
For example, 211 is read as "one two, two ones",
which becomes 1221 (1 2, 2 1s).

Look-and-say sequences are generated iteratively,
using the previous value as input for the next step.
For each step, take the previous value,
and replace each run of digits (like 111)
with the number of digits (3) followed by the digit itself (1).

For example:

1 becomes 11 (1 copy of digit 1).
11 becomes 21 (2 copies of digit 1).
21 becomes 1211 (one 2 followed by one 1).
1211 becomes 111221 (one 1, one 2, and two 1s).
111221 becomes 312211 (three 1s, two 2s, and one 1).

Starting with the digits in your puzzle input,
apply this process 40 times. What is the length of the result? """


import re


# get the input number
with open('./input.txt', 'r') as f:
    number = f.readline().strip()


# iterate 40 times, repeating the process
for i in range(50):
    # each number is two strings:
    # length of the input, and the digit of the input
    number = ''.join([
        # join the first matched group containing the repeated digits
        ''.join((str(len(match.group(0))), match.group(0)[0]))
        # extract the repeated digits as group from the input
        for match in re.finditer(r'(\d)\1*', number)])

# print the length of the number as answer
print(len(number))
