Introduction

In this blog post, we will explore how to solve the LeetCode problem "1768" using AI. LeetCode is a popular platform for preparing for coding interviews, and with the help of AI tools like Chatmagic, we can generate solutions quickly and efficiently - helping you pass the interviews and get the job offer without having to study for months.

Problem Statement

You are given two strings word1 and word2. Merge the strings by adding letters in alternating order, starting with word1. If a string is longer than the other, append the additional letters onto the end of the merged string. Return the merged string. Example 1: Input: word1 = "abc", word2 = "pqr" Output: "apbqcr" Explanation: The merged string will be merged as so: word1: a b c word2: p q r merged: a p b q c r Example 2: Input: word1 = "ab", word2 = "pqrs" Output: "apbqrs" Explanation: Notice that as word2 is longer, "rs" is appended to the end. word1: a b word2: p q r s merged: a p b q r s Example 3: Input: word1 = "abcd", word2 = "pq" Output: "apbqcd" Explanation: Notice that as word1 is longer, "cd" is appended to the end. word1: a b c d word2: p q merged: a p b q c d Constraints: 1 <= word1.length, word2.length <= 100 word1 and word2 consist of lowercase English letters.

Explanation

Here's the solution to the string merging problem:

• Iterate and Merge: Use a single loop to iterate up to the length of the shorter string, appending characters from word1 and word2 alternately to the result.

• Append Remaining Characters: After the loop, determine which string (if any) has remaining characters and append them to the result.

• Runtime Complexity: O(m+n), where m and n are the lengths of word1 and word2 respectively.

• Storage Complexity: O(m+n), to store the merged string.

Code

    def mergeAlternately(word1: str, word2: str) -> str:
    """
    Merges two strings by adding letters in alternating order, starting with word1.
    If a string is longer than the other, append the additional letters onto the end
    of the merged string.
    """

    merged = ""
    n1 = len(word1)
    n2 = len(word2)
    i = 0
    while i < min(n1, n2):
        merged += word1[i]
        merged += word2[i]
        i += 1

    if n1 > n2:
        merged += word1[i:]
    elif n2 > n1:
        merged += word2[i:]

    return merged