Compute Max Score From Up to 3 Categories
Company: Meta
Role: Data Engineer
Category: Coding & Algorithms
Difficulty: hard
Interview Round: Technical Screen
You are implementing a scoring function for a library summer reading program.
Each book a student read is represented as a tuple `(category: str, points: int)`.
Rules:
- The student may count points from **at most 3 books**.
- Any counted books must be from **distinct categories** (i.e., you can pick **at most one book per category**).
- The student may pick fewer than 3 books if fewer categories exist.
Task:
Implement the function:
```python
from typing import List, Tuple
def get_max_score(books: List[Tuple[str, int]]) -> int:
"""Return the maximum total points achievable under the rules."""
```
Examples:
```python
test1 = [
("Adventure", 5),
("Adventure", 2),
("History", 3),
]
# Pick Adventure(5) + History(3) = 8
assert get_max_score(test1) == 8
test2 = [
("Adventure", 4),
("History", 3),
("Reference", 1),
("Fiction", 2),
]
# Pick top 3 categories: 4 + 3 + 2 = 9
assert get_max_score(test2) == 9
test3 = [
("Biography", 2),
("Biography", 4),
("Science", 3),
("Science", 1),
]
# Pick Biography(4) + Science(3) = 7
assert get_max_score(test3) == 7
test4 = []
assert get_max_score(test4) == 0
```
Constraints: assume `len(books)` can be large, so your solution should be efficient (better than trying all combinations).
Quick Answer: This Coding & Algorithms question in the Data Engineer domain evaluates grouping and top‑k aggregation concepts, testing the ability to combine per-category aggregation with selection under a uniqueness constraint.
Pick at most one book from each category and at most three books total to maximize points.
Constraints
- Inputs are Python literals matching the function signature.
- Return a deterministic exact-match value.
Examples
Input: ([("Adventure",5),("Adventure",2),("History",3)],)
Expected Output: 8
Explanation: Pick the best book per category.
Input: ([("Adventure",4),("History",3),("Reference",1),("Fiction",2)],)
Expected Output: 9
Explanation: Pick the top three categories.
Hints
- Clarify edge cases before coding.
- Keep outputs deterministic when several valid answers exist.