LeetCode Valid Sudoku

Description:

Determine if a Sudoku is valid, according to: Sudoku Puzzles - The Rules.

The Sudoku board could be partially filled, where empty cells are filled with the character '.'.

Solution:

Use a HashSet to find whether there exists duplicate numbers.

import java.util.HashSet;

public class Solution {
	public boolean isValidSudoku(char[][] board) {
		HashSet<Integer> set = new HashSet<Integer>();
		int num;

		for (int i = 0; i < 9; i++) {
			set.clear();
			for (int j = 0; j < 9; j++) {
				if (board[i][j] == '.') {
					continue;
				} else {
					num = board[i][j] - '0';
					if (set.contains(num))
						return false;
					set.add(num);
				}
			}
		}

		for (int i = 0; i < 9; i++) {
			set.clear();
			for (int j = 0; j < 9; j++) {
				if (board[j][i] == '.') {
					continue;
				} else {
					num = board[j][i] - '0';
					if (set.contains(num))
						return false;
					else
						set.add(num);
				}
			}
		}

		for (int a = 0; a < 9; a += 3)
			for (int b = 0; b < 9; b += 3) {
				set.clear();
				for (int i = a; i < a + 3; i++)
					for (int j = b; j < b + 3; j++) {
						if (board[i][j] == '.') {
							continue;
						} else {
							num = board[i][j] - '0';
							if (set.contains(num))
								return false;
							else
								set.add(num);
						}
					}
			}

		return true;
	}
}