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Palindromic Number Iterations
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Palindromic Number Iterations

MediumPython

Problem

Implement a function for an Andela coding assessment that repeatedly reverses a decimal number and adds the reversed value to the original. Stop at the first palindrome and return both the palindrome and the number of operations performed.

The input may contain thousands of digits, so do not convert it to a built-in integer. If no palindrome is found within max_iterations, return ["", -1].

Formal Specification

  • Input: number, a non-empty decimal string with no leading zeros unless it is "0"; and max_iterations, a positive integer.
  • Output: A two-element list [palindrome, iterations], where palindrome is the first palindrome found as a canonical decimal string. If the initial number is already a palindrome, return it with 0 iterations.
  • Each operation replaces number with number + reverse(number) using exact decimal string arithmetic.

Constraints

  • 1 <= len(number) <= 10^4
  • 1 <= max_iterations <= 1000
  • number contains only decimal digits
  • number has no leading zeros unless it is "0"
  • Do not convert number to a built-in integer

Function Signature

def reverse_add_palindrome(number, max_iterations):
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