Question

How to find the longest common string prefix in a list of strings in Python

Answer 1

def longest_common_prefix(arr):
    size = len(arr)

    if size == 0:
        return ""

    if size == 1:
        return arr[0]

    arr.sort()

    min_length = min(len(arr[0]), len(arr[size - 1]))

    i = 0
    while i < min_length and arr[0][i] == arr[size - 1][i]:
        i += 1

    return arr[0][:i]
    

arr = ["cartography", "carburettor", "carbonating"]

print("Longest common prefix:", longest_common_prefix(arr))

  
  
'''
run:
   
Longest common prefix: car
   
'''

 

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