Clock Hands Angle | Dataford Interview Questions

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Problem

A Deem travel itinerary may display local departure times in a compact analog-clock preview. Given a valid 12-hour clock time, calculate the smaller angle between the hour and minute hands.

The hour hand moves continuously as the minutes advance. For example, at 3:30, the hour hand is halfway between 3 and 4, not exactly on 3.

Formal Specification

Implement clock_angle(hour, minute):

Input: hour, an integer from 1 through 12, and minute, an integer from 0 through 59.
Output: the smaller angle between the two hands, represented as a number of degrees. Return an integer when the result is whole, otherwise return the exact decimal value.

The answer must be in the range [0, 180].

Constraints

1 <= hour <= 12
0 <= minute <= 59
The clock is a standard 12-hour analog clock
The result must not be rounded

Function Signature

def clock_angle(hour, minute):