Omid - Challenge 283

data-challenges
advanced-exercises
🔰 Question Result 2023 2024 2025 Product ID MN-11 MN-12
Published

March 24, 2026

Illustration for Omid - Challenge 283

Challenge Description

🔰 Question Result 2023 2024 2025 Product ID MN-11 MN-12

Solutions

library(tidyverse)
library(readxl)

path = "files/200-299/283/CH-283 Advanced Sorting.xlsx"
input = read_excel(path, range = "B2:E9")
test  = read_excel(path, range = "G2:J9")

result = input %>% 
  arrange(desc(pmap_dbl(select(., -`Product ID`), ~max(...))),
          desc(pmap_dbl(select(., -`Product ID`), ~sort(c(...), TRUE)[2])))

all.equal(result, test, check.attributes = FALSE)
# > [1] TRUE

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook ranges needed for the challenge

  • Strengths:

    • The R solution stays close to the workbook rule and keeps the transformation compact.

  • Areas for Improvement:

    • The code assumes the sheet structure and source ranges remain stable.

  • Gem:

    • The strongest part of the solution is choosing the right intermediate representation before shaping the final output.
import pandas as pd

path = "200-299/283/CH-283 Advanced Sorting.xlsx"
input = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="B:E", skiprows=1, nrows=7)
test = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="G:J", skiprows=1, nrows=7)
test.columns = input.columns

result = input.loc[
    input.drop("Product ID", axis=1)
      .apply(lambda r: (-r.nlargest(2)).tolist(), axis=1)
      .argsort()
].reset_index(drop=True)

print(result.equals(test)) # True

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook ranges needed for the challenge

  • Strengths:

    • The Python version follows the same rule in a direct dataframe-oriented implementation.

  • Areas for Improvement:

    • The code assumes the workbook layout remains stable, so any sheet redesign would require small adjustments.

  • Gem:

    • The implementation stays close to the original workbook rule instead of adding unnecessary abstraction.

Difficulty Level

This task is moderate:

  • The business rule is readable, but the workbook still requires careful implementation to reach the expected layout.