Count kth largest element in grid
Last updated: February 13, 2026
Quick Overview
Given a 2D grid of integers, write a function to find the k-th largest element in the grid. The function should take the grid and an integer k as input and return the k-th largest element as output. The grid may contain duplicate values, and k will always be a valid index within the range of the grid's elements.
Databricks
February 13, 202643
12
1,125 solved
Given a 2D grid of integers, write a function to find the k-th largest element in the grid. The function should take the grid and an integer k as input and return the k-th largest element as output. The grid may contain duplicate values, and k will always be a valid index within the range of the grid's elements.
Coding interviews at Databricks focus on problem-solving approach as much as the final solution. The interviewer wants to see you break down the problem, consider edge cases, and optimize iteratively. Communication throughout the process is key.
What the Interviewer Expects
- Recognize the underlying problem pattern (sliding window, two pointers, BFS/DFS, etc.)
- Discuss multiple approaches and trade-offs before coding
- Implement an optimal solution with clean, production-quality code
- Handle all edge cases including boundary conditions and invalid input
- Optimize both time and space complexity with clear justification
- Test your solution systematically with well-chosen examples
Key Topics to Cover
How to Approach This
- Clarify input constraints and edge cases before writing code.
- Walk through your approach verbally and confirm with the interviewer before coding.
- Start with a brute force solution, then optimize. Mention time and space complexity.
- Test your solution with examples, including edge cases like empty input or duplicates.
- Consider common patterns: sliding window, two pointers, hash map, BFS/DFS, dynamic programming.
Possible Follow-up Questions
- How would you parallelize this solution?
- How would you modify your solution to handle streaming input?
- What is the worst-case input for your solution?
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Problem Analysis
The problem requires us to find the k-th largest element in a 2D grid of integers. This is a classic problem that can be approached using a min-heap (priority queue) because we need to efficiently tra...
Approach
- Flatten the Grid: Since the grid is 2D, we will iterate through each row and each column to extract all elements into a single list. For example, if the grid is: [[3, 1, 5], [4, 2, 8],...
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