Parse Logs for Top IPs | Dataford Interview Questions

Write a script to parse a large log file and extract the top ten most frequent IP addresses.

Implement top_ten_ip_addresses(log_lines), where log_lines is an iterable of log-line strings. Extract valid IPv4 addresses, count their occurrences, and return up to ten addresses ordered by descending frequency, then lexicographically for ties. Process the input as a stream rather than reading the entire file at once.

Constraints

1 <= number of log lines <= 10^6
Each log line contains arbitrary text and zero or more IPv4 addresses
Only valid IPv4 addresses are counted
Return at most 10 addresses
Ties are ordered lexicographically by IP address

Function Signature

def top_ten_ip_addresses(log_lines):

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Problem

Write a script to parse a large log file and extract the top ten most frequent IP addresses.

Constraints

1 <= number of log lines <= 10^6
Each log line contains arbitrary text and zero or more IPv4 addresses
Only valid IPv4 addresses are counted
Return at most 10 addresses
Ties are ordered lexicographically by IP address

Function Signature

def top_ten_ip_addresses(log_lines):

Your question is Parse Logs for Top IPs. 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.