Interleave Two Words Starting with the First
Company: Google
Role: Software Engineer
Category: Coding & Algorithms
Difficulty: easy
Interview Round: Other
### Problem
Create a string by alternately taking the next character from `word1` and `word2`, starting with word1. After one word ends, append all remaining characters of the other in their existing order. Return the resulting string.
```cpp
class Solution {
public:
string mergeAlternately(string word1, string word2);
};
```
### Examples
**Example 1:**
```text
word1 = "dog", word2 = "xy"
Output: "dxoyg"
Explanation: Take d,x,o,y, then the remaining g.
```
**Example 2:**
```text
word1 = "hi", word2 = "abcd"
Output: "haibcd"
Explanation: Alternate h,a,i,b, then append c,d.
```
### Constraints
- Each word length is in `[1,100]`.
- Both words contain lowercase English letters only.
### Clarifying Questions
Preserve the relative order within each input word. Alternation always begins with word1.
```hint Inspect the structure
Which word supplies the first character, and what happens after one word is exhausted?
```
### Reasoning checkpoints
- Start each pair with word1.
- Append the longer word’s unmatched suffix without reordering.
### Optional extensions
How would you interleave an arbitrary list of words in round-robin order?
Overview: Interleave Two Words Starting with the First. Create a string by alternately taking the next character from word1 and word2, starting with word1. After one word ends, append all remaining characters of the other in their existing order.