How do you assign cookies to children to maximize the number of content children?
PICTURE THIS: HOW TO EXPLAIN IT
Simple meaning
Sort greed sizes and cookie sizes, then walk both with two pointers, assigning the smallest cookie that satisfies the current child.
WHY — Greedy instead of guessing?
Why interviewers care about Greedy:
question about Greedy.
trade-offs, and what you would actually do on a DSA project - not buzzwords.
Name the idea, why it exists, then one short example.
End with when you use it and one common pitfall.
STEPS — What happens step by step?
Before you speak the answer, walk the interviewer through these steps:
- 1Sort greed sizes and
cookie sizes, then walk both with two pointers, assigning the smallest cookie that satisfies the current child.
- 2Time is O(n log
n + m log m) from sorting, extra space O(1) besides the sort.
- 3A larger cookie wasted
on a small greed would block a hungrier child later.
- 4Give an example
One tiny concrete case you can say aloud.
- 5Common mistake
What juniors usually get wrong.
- 6Close
When you pick this over the alternative.
EXAMPLE — See it in action
Here's a short line you can speak, broken into clear beats:
Note: Adapt this scaffold to your own project — keep it under 60–90 seconds.
Key takeaway
Sort greed sizes and cookie sizes, then walk both with two pointers, assigning the smallest cookie that satisfies the current child. Time is O(n log n + m log m) from sorting, extra space O(1) besides the sort.