Top K Closest Obstacles Stream | Dataford Interview Questions

Given a stream of obstacle readings, where each reading is a pair (obstacle_id, distance), implement a function that returns the k closest obstacles seen so far. If the same obstacle_id appears multiple times, treat each reading independently. Return the result ordered from closest to farthest.

Constraints

1 <= len(readings) <= 10^5
1 <= k <= len(readings)
0 <= distance <= 10^9
obstacle_id is an integer
Multiple readings may have the same distance or the same obstacle_id

Function Signature

def top_k_closest_obstacles(readings, k):

Your question is Top K Closest Obstacles Stream. 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

Constraints

1 <= len(readings) <= 10^5
1 <= k <= len(readings)
0 <= distance <= 10^9
obstacle_id is an integer
Multiple readings may have the same distance or the same obstacle_id

Function Signature

def top_k_closest_obstacles(readings, k):

Your question is Top K Closest Obstacles Stream. 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.