Split a Message into Length-Limited Parts with Numbered Suffixes

Question

The candidate is asked to write a function that splits a given message into parts that do not exceed a specified length, appending a numbered suffix to each part to indicate its order.

Codemia · Accepted Answer

The task is to split a message into parts that do not exceed a specified length. Each part should be numbered to indicate its order. For example, if the message is 'Hello World' and the length limit is 5, the output should be ['Hello 1', ' Worl 2', 'd 3'].

1. **Input Validation**: Check if the input message and length are valid. 
2. **Splitting Logic**: Iterate through the message, creating substrings that fit within the length limit. 
3. **Numbering**: Append a suffix to each substring indicating its order. 
4. **Output**: Return the list of substrings.

Here is a Python implementation of the solution:

```python
def split_message(message, max_length):
    parts = []
    index = 0
    part_number = 1

while index < len(message):
        end_index = min(index + max_length, len(message))
        part = message[index:end_index]
        parts.append(f'{part} {part_number}')
        index = end_index
        part_number += 1

return parts
```
This function iterates through the message, slicing it into parts and appending the appropriate suffix.

The time complexity of this solution is O(n), where n is the length of the input message, as we traverse the message once. The space complexity is also O(n) due to the storage of the parts in a list.

Consider scenarios such as an empty message, a message shorter than the max length, or a max length of zero. The function should handle these gracefully, returning an empty list for an empty message or a list with the full message for a message shorter than the max length.

Split a Message into Length-Limited Parts with Numbered Suffixes

Hudson River Trading

What the Interviewer Expects

Key Topics to Cover

How to Approach This

Possible Follow-up Questions

Sharpen Your Skills on Codemia

Sample Answer

Requirements

High-Level Design

Submit Your Answer

Hudson River Trading Software Engineer Interview Guide

Related Questions

Design a scalable Search System

Design a Video Streaming for Rippling

Design a Load Balancing Service

Design a Image Processing Service

Build a high-throughput Image Processing Pipeline