Find the Longest Common Digit Prefix Across Two Arrays

Quick Overview

This Hudson River Trading software engineering question tests efficient detection of the longest common digit prefix across two arrays. It helps candidates practice string conversion trade-offs, prefix data structures, and complexity analysis for numeric inputs.

Find the Longest Common Digit Prefix Across Two Arrays

Company: Hudson River Trading

Role: Software Engineer

Category: Software Engineering Fundamentals

Difficulty: medium

Interview Round: Technical Screen

Given two arrays of positive integers, convert each integer to its decimal string representation and find the maximum length of a common prefix between any number in the first array and any number in the second array. ### Constraints & Assumptions - Numbers are non-negative or positive integers. - Prefix comparison is string-based decimal comparison. - Return the maximum prefix length, not the pair itself. - Input sizes may be large enough to require better than all-pairs comparison. ### Clarifying Questions to Ask - Can numbers be zero? - Should leading zeroes ever appear in input strings? - Do we need to return the matching pair? - What are the maximum array sizes? - Can arrays be empty? ### What a Strong Answer Covers ```premium-lock What a Strong Answer Covers ``` ### Follow-up Questions - How would you return all pairs with the maximum prefix? - How would memory change for very long strings? - Could sorting both arrays solve this? - How would duplicates affect the answer?

Quick Answer: This Hudson River Trading software engineering question tests efficient detection of the longest common digit prefix across two arrays. It helps candidates practice string conversion trade-offs, prefix data structures, and complexity analysis for numeric inputs.

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Hudson River Trading
Jul 2, 2026, 7:02 PM
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Given two arrays of positive integers, convert each integer to its decimal string representation and find the maximum length of a common prefix between any number in the first array and any number in the second array.

Constraints & Assumptions

  • Numbers are non-negative or positive integers.
  • Prefix comparison is string-based decimal comparison.
  • Return the maximum prefix length, not the pair itself.
  • Input sizes may be large enough to require better than all-pairs comparison.

Clarifying Questions to Ask Guidance

  • Can numbers be zero?
  • Should leading zeroes ever appear in input strings?
  • Do we need to return the matching pair?
  • What are the maximum array sizes?
  • Can arrays be empty?

What a Strong Answer Covers Premium

Follow-up Questions Guidance

  • How would you return all pairs with the maximum prefix?
  • How would memory change for very long strings?
  • Could sorting both arrays solve this?
  • How would duplicates affect the answer?
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