CodingMediumcod-g620

Subject Edit distanceLevel Entry–Mid~18 minCommon in Algorithms & data structures interviewsIndustries Software development

Question

Given two strings a and b, return True iff they are exactly one edit distance apart. One edit is a single character insert, delete, or replace. Strings that are identical are NOT one edit apart. 0 <= len(a), len(b) <= 100000, lowercase letters. Example: a='ab', b='acb' -> True (insert 'c').

Implement

is_one_edit_distance(a: str, b: str) → bool

Examples

in["ab","acb"]outtrue

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.

Learn the concepts

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.