Array Largest Elements Without Built-ins | Dataford Interview Questions

A Genesys Cloud CX monitoring service receives an array of integer metric values for a completed interval. Return the two largest values without using built-in functions such as max, min, sorted, or sort.

The result must contain the largest value first and the second-largest value second. Values represent individual observations, so duplicates are valid. For example, [8, 8, 3] returns [8, 8]. The algorithm must process the array in one left-to-right pass and use constant extra space.

Formal Specification

Implement find_top_two(nums), where nums is a list of integers. Return a two-element list [largest, second_largest]. Assume the input contains at least two elements. Do not modify the input array.

Constraints

2 <= len(nums) <= 10^6
-10^9 <= nums[i] <= 10^9
Duplicate values are allowed.
The input array must not be modified.
Do not use max, min, sorted, sort, or equivalent ordering helpers.
Process the array in one left-to-right pass.

Function Signature

def find_top_two(nums):

Your question is Array Largest Elements Without Built-ins. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.

Problem

Formal Specification

Constraints

2 <= len(nums) <= 10^6
-10^9 <= nums[i] <= 10^9
Duplicate values are allowed.
The input array must not be modified.
Do not use max, min, sorted, sort, or equivalent ordering helpers.
Process the array in one left-to-right pass.

Function Signature

def find_top_two(nums):

Your question is Array Largest Elements Without Built-ins. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.