Sort the letters
- O(n log n) · Hard
- Full plan
- Python
- JavaScript
- strings
- sorting
- lists
Problem
A word-guessing game gives a hint before each round: it shows the letters of the secret word lined up from a to z, so you see all of them without giving the order away. For "planet" the hint is "aelnpt".
Write a function that takes a word and returns a new string with its letters sorted from a to z.
The rules: capitals don't change where a letter goes and the hint comes out all in lowercase, so for "Sofia" the hint is "afios". Repeated letters all stay, none gets lost: for "banana" the hint is "aaabnn". If an empty string arrives, you return an empty string. The words arrive in one piece: no spaces, no accents, plain letters only.
Watch what you return: it is a string, not a list of letters.
Examples
With a repeated letter
"onion" → "innoo"
Already in order
"almost" → "almost"
Starts with a capital
"Nora" → "anor"
Besides these, the challenge has hidden tests that are revealed when you submit your solution.
You start with this
Python
def sort_letters(word):
passJavaScript
function sortLetters(word) {
}It opens in your browser, with the editor and the tests. This challenge is part of the full plan; the O(1) and O(log n) ones are free.