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Merge Two Sorted Lists

Python data engineering interview problem. Difficulty: beginner. Pattern: Two Pointers. About 10 minutes. Free to practice.

Merge two sorted lists in linear time without calling sort. Treat this as a production helper: match the contracted return shape, including empty and duplicate inputs.

Implement merge_sorted(a: list, b: list) -> list merging two ascending sorted lists. Do not use sort() or sorted(). Target O(n+m).

Requirements

  • a and b are sorted ascending (possibly empty).

Constraints

  • Do not call sort/sorted.

Examples

Input: merge_sorted([1, 3, 5], [2, 4, 6]) Output: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] Pointers advance through both sides.

Topics: lakebench, python, merge.

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beginner

Merge Two Sorted Lists

Interview-style drill: Merge two sorted lists in linear time without calling sort.

Implement `merge_sorted(a: list, b: list) -> list` merging two ascending sorted lists. Do **not** use `sort()` or `sorted()`. Target O(n+m). Keep the harness.