Merge and Sort Two Arrays | Dataford Interview Questions

Given two unsorted integer arrays a and b, where a has enough placeholder positions at the end to hold all elements of b, merge b into a and sort the final array in ascending order. Example: a = [5, 1, 3, 0, 0, 0], b = [6, 2, 4] -> a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].

Asked in the coding stage. The result must be stored in a; both arrays are unsorted, and no explicit O(1) space requirement is imposed.

Function: def merge_and_sort(a, b):. The first len(a) - len(b) elements of a are data, and its remaining positions are placeholders. Return the modified a.

Constraints

0 <= len(b) <= len(a) <= 5000
The final length of a is len(a)
The first len(a) - len(b) positions of a contain the actual input values
The final len(b) positions of a are placeholders
-10^9 <= a[i], b[i] <= 10^9

Function Signature

def merge_and_sort(a, b):

Your question is Merge and Sort Two Arrays. 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

Asked in the coding stage. The result must be stored in a; both arrays are unsorted, and no explicit O(1) space requirement is imposed.

Function: def merge_and_sort(a, b):. The first len(a) - len(b) elements of a are data, and its remaining positions are placeholders. Return the modified a.

Constraints

0 <= len(b) <= len(a) <= 5000
The final length of a is len(a)
The first len(a) - len(b) positions of a contain the actual input values
The final len(b) positions of a are placeholders
-10^9 <= a[i], b[i] <= 10^9

Function Signature

def merge_and_sort(a, b):

Your question is Merge and Sort Two Arrays. 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.