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Compute delay times in priority array

Last updated: Mar 29, 2026

Quick Overview

This question evaluates algorithmic efficiency in array processing, specifically reasoning about nearest-smaller relationships and the use of auxiliary structures to achieve subquadratic performance.

  • Medium
  • Amazon
  • Coding & Algorithms
  • Software Engineer

Compute delay times in priority array

Company: Amazon

Role: Software Engineer

Category: Coding & Algorithms

Difficulty: Medium

Interview Round: Take-home Project

##### Question Given an array of integers representing task priorities processed from right to left, return an array where each element is the distance (index difference) to the first smaller priority found to its right (or 0 if none exists). Design an algorithm faster than O(N^ 2).

Quick Answer: This question evaluates algorithmic efficiency in array processing, specifically reasoning about nearest-smaller relationships and the use of auxiliary structures to achieve subquadratic performance.

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Aug 4, 2025, 10:55 AM
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Take-home Project
Coding & Algorithms
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Question

Given an array of integers representing task priorities processed from right to left, return an array where each element is the distance (index difference) to the first smaller priority found to its right (or 0 if none exists). Design an algorithm faster than O(N^ 2).

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