## Problem Implement a string matching game engine. The system selects a secret word; the player submits guesses. Each guess receives per-character feedback: - `'G'` (green) — correct character, correct position - `'Y'` (yellow) — character in word, wrong position - `'X'` (gray) — character not in word Multiple occurrences are handled carefully: yellows and greens together should not exceed the true count of that character in the secret. ```python class StringMatchingGame: def __init__(self, secret: str): ... def guess(self, word: str) -> list[str]: # list of 'G'/'Y'/'X' per character def is_solved(self) -> bool: def attempts(self) -> int: ``` ## Example ``` game = StringMatchingGame("apple") game.guess("paper") # secret: a p p l e # guess: p a p e r # -> ['Y','Y','G','Y','X'] # p: in word (Y), a: in word (Y), p: correct pos (G), e: in word wrong pos (Y), r: not in word (X) game.guess("apple") -> ['G','G','G','G','G'] game.is_solved() -> True ``` ## Follow-ups 1. Walk through the exact algorithm for handling duplicate characters correctly. 2. How would you implement an optimal solver (information-theory based, minimizing expected guesses)? 3. How do you validate that the guess is a real word — what data structure for O(1) lookup?

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String Matching Game: Implement a Wordle-Style String Guessing Game Engine

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Problem Implement a string matching game engine. The system selects a secret word; the player submits guesses. Each guess receives per-character feedback: 'G' (green) — correct character, correct position 'Y' (yellow) — character in word, wrong position 'X' (gray) — character not in word Multiple occurrences are handled carefully: yellows and greens together should not exceed the true count of that character in the secret. Example Follow-ups Walk through the exact algorithm for handling duplicat…

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This is a reported interview question from a jane street interview during the phone round.

It covers the following topics: Coding, Onsite, Phone, Strings .

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Coding Onsite Phone Strings

String Matching Game: Implement a Wordle-Style String Guessing Game Engine

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