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Array Coding: Palindrome and Second Largest
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Array Coding: Palindrome and Second Largest

EasyPython

Problem

Labcorp Patient input validation may need to evaluate a text label and a numeric result summary together. Write a function that checks whether a string is a palindrome and finds the second distinct largest value in an integer array.

For the palindrome check, ignore capitalization and every character that is not a letter or digit. Use a two-pointer approach rather than reversing or building a second normalized string. For the array, return the second distinct largest value. If fewer than two distinct values exist, return None for that result.

Formal Specification

Implement analyze_patient_input(text, nums). The input text is a string, and nums is a list of integers. Return a dictionary with this exact structure: {"is_palindrome": boolean, "second_largest": integer or None}.

Constraints

  • 0 <= len(text) <= 10^5
  • 2 <= len(nums) <= 10^5
  • -10^9 <= nums[i] <= 10^9
  • Only letters and digits participate in palindrome matching
  • The second-largest result must be distinct from the largest

Function Signature

def analyze_patient_input(text, nums):
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