Overview
What this challenge is about.
Read the current dispatcher source (around 400 lines of Python). Identify the linear scan and the operations that touch it (insert, decrease-key on a re-scored courier, extract-min). Implement a binary min-heap with a sibling index for decrease-key in O(log n). Replace the list with the heap. Benchmark with the provided 30-minute production-shaped trace (around 22M operations). Deliver a Git branch with the refactor, a benchmark report showing CPU and tail-latency before/after, and a 4-page writeup that any junior engineer on the team can read.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
Refactor a dispatcher's courier selection from a linear scan over 4,000 records to a binary min-heap and prove the win on a production-shaped trace.
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Recognize when a linear scan should become a heap
- Implement decrease-key in a binary heap with an auxiliary index
- Benchmark a real Python service, not a synthetic micro-benchmark
- Explain a data-structure change in writing for a teammate
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Where this fits in your program.
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Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
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