Code Room
CodingMediumcod-g170
Subject MathLevel Mid–Senior~25 minCommon in Algorithms & data structures interviewsIndustries Software development

Question

Given an integer n (1 <= n <= 10^15), determine whether it is a perfect power, i.e. whether there exist integers b >= 2 and e >= 2 with b**e == n. If so, return the pair [b, e] using the SMALLEST possible base b (equivalently the largest exponent). If n is not a perfect power, return an empty list. For example 64 = 2^6 = 4^3 = 8^2, and the smallest base is 2, so return [2, 6].

Implement
perfect_power_check(n: int) → list[int]
Examples
in[64]out[2,6]
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.