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Python Basics and Simple String/Lists
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Python Basics and Simple String/Lists

MediumPython

Problem

Solve a coding problem involving Python basics like constructor, pass, string operations, and finding the first most non-duplicate element in a list.

Implement first_non_duplicate(items) for a list of strings. Return the first element whose complete string value occurs exactly once, preserving list order. Return an empty string when every element is repeated or the list is empty. Matching is case-sensitive, and whitespace is part of each string.

Constraints

  • 0 <= len(items) <= 10^4
  • Each element is a non-empty string
  • Each string may contain letters, digits, spaces, or punctuation
  • Matching is case-sensitive
  • Return the first element with frequency exactly one

Function Signature

def first_non_duplicate(items):
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