String Parsing Coding Approach | Dataford Interview Questions

How would you approach a string parsing coding problem?

Implement parse_pairs(text) for a comma-separated string of key=value pairs. Return a dictionary with whitespace removed around keys and values. If a key appears more than once, keep its last value. Inputs contain valid nonempty keys and values.

Contract: text is a string, and the function returns a dictionary. An empty string returns {}.

Examples: "name=Alex, role=Engineer" returns {"name": "Alex", "role": "Engineer"}. "mode=dev, mode=prod" returns {"mode": "prod"}.

Constraints

0 <= len(text) <= 1000
Pairs are separated by commas
Each nonempty pair contains one or more equals signs
Keys and values are nonempty after trimming
Duplicate keys are resolved using the last value

Function Signature

def parse_pairs(text):

Your question is String Parsing Coding Approach. 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