Merge K Sorted grids
Last updated: August 25, 2025
Quick Overview
Given k sorted graphs, merge them into a single sorted result.
HashiCorp
August 25, 20258
7
1,672 solved
Given k sorted graphs, merge them into a single sorted result.
HashiCorp uses this problem in the Take-home Project to evaluate your algorithmic thinking. They expect you to discuss multiple approaches, analyze trade-offs between them, and implement the optimal solution with clean, readable code.
What the Interviewer Expects
- Identify the correct data structure and algorithm for the problem
- Write clean, bug-free code with proper variable naming
- Analyze time and space complexity correctly
- Handle basic edge cases (empty input, single element)
- Communicate your thought process while coding
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 modify your solution to handle streaming input?
- What is the worst-case input for your solution?
- What happens if the input contains duplicates?
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Practice DSA ProblemsSample Answer
Problem Analysis
To merge k sorted grids efficiently, we can leverage a min-heap (or priority queue) as our primary data structure. Each grid can be thought of as a sorted list, and our goal is to extract the smallest...
Approach
- Initialize a min-heap: Create a min-heap to store the current minimum elements from each of the k grids, along with their respective grid and element indices.
- Populate the heap: Insert t...
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