Compute maximum score using up to 3 categories

Problem

A library runs a summer reading program. Each book a student reads earns a certain number of points, and each book belongs to a category.

A student may score points from at most 3 books, with the restriction that the selected books must be from distinct categories (i.e., no two selected books can share the same category).

Given a list of books the student read, compute the maximum total score the student can achieve.

Input

• books : a list of tuples (category: str, points: int)
  • The list may be empty.
  • Assume points are integers (typically non-negative).

Output

• Return an integer: the maximum achievable total points.

Function signature (Python)

def get_max_score(books: list[tuple[str, int]]) -> int:
    ...

Examples / Tests

test1 = [
    ("Adventure", 5),
    ("Adventure", 2),
    ("History", 3),
]
assert get_max_score(test1) == 8  # 5 (Adventure) + 3 (History)

test2 = [
    ("Adventure", 4),
    ("History", 3),
    ("Reference", 1),
    ("Fiction", 2),
]
assert get_max_score(test2) == 9  # 4 + 3 + 2

test3 = [
    ("Biography", 2),
    ("Biography", 4),
    ("Science", 3),
    ("Science", 1),
]
assert get_max_score(test3) == 7  # 4 + 3

test4 = []
assert get_max_score(test4) == 0

Clarifications

• You may pick 0, 1, 2, or 3 books (whichever maximizes the score).
• You cannot pick more than one book from the same category.