Code Room
CodingEasycod-g1274
Subject HeapsLevel Entry–Mid~10 minCommon in Algorithms & data structures interviewsIndustries Software development

Question

Given a list of integers and an integer k, return the sum of the k largest values. Values may repeat, and each occurrence counts on its own. If k is greater than the length of the list, sum every element; if k is zero or the list is empty, return 0. Negative numbers are allowed. Example: nums = [4, 1, 7, 3], k = 2 gives 11 because the two largest values are 7 and 4.

Implement
sum_of_k_largest(nums: list[int], k: int) → int
Examples
in[[4,1,7,3],2]out11
What a strong answer looks like

State your approach and its time/space complexity out loud before you optimize. Handle the edge cases (empty input, duplicates, overflow), and say why you chose this over the brute force. Green tests are the floor, not the grade.

Vibe coding: describe the solution in plain language (or narrate it) and the coach grades your approach. Generating runnable code from your description is coming next.

Run or narrate your approach, then ask the coach.