Flatten Nested Objects | Dataford Interview Questions

NIKE product services may represent a product configuration as a deeply nested JSON-like structure. Write a function that flattens the structure into a single-level mapping whose keys describe each value's path.

Use dot-separated path keys. For arrays, use the zero-based index as the next path segment. Store only scalar values and non-empty container contents. If a nested dictionary or list is empty, store that empty container as a value. The root input is always a dictionary.

Formal Specification

Implement flatten_object(obj), where obj is a JSON-like dictionary containing dictionaries, lists, strings, numbers, booleans, or None. Return a dictionary mapping strings to scalar values or empty dictionaries/lists. Avoid recursion so the function can handle very deep structures.

Constraints

1 <= total number of nodes <= 200,000
Maximum nesting depth is 100,000
Dictionary keys are strings without dots
Values are valid JSON-like values
The root value is a dictionary
Path segments for list elements are decimal indices

Function Signature

def flatten_object(obj):

Your question is Flatten Nested Objects. 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

1 <= total number of nodes <= 200,000
Maximum nesting depth is 100,000
Dictionary keys are strings without dots
Values are valid JSON-like values
The root value is a dictionary
Path segments for list elements are decimal indices

Function Signature

def flatten_object(obj):

Your question is Flatten Nested Objects. 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.