Question
When should a Python developer choose Union-Find / Disjoint Set deliberately?
- Choose Union-Find / Disjoint Set mainly when you want to postpone validation and fix issues manually later.
- Choose Union-Find / Disjoint Set whenever you want the code to look more advanced, even if the design gets less clear.
- Use union-find for connectivity, cycle detection in undirected graphs, and grouping problems with many merge operations.
- Choose Union-Find / Disjoint Set only to avoid modeling the real data shape or domain contract explicitly.
Hint
Think about the production scenario where the choice genuinely improves the code.
Answer and rationale
Correct answer: C. Use union-find for connectivity, cycle detection in undirected graphs, and grouping problems with many merge operations.
Use union-find for connectivity, cycle detection in undirected graphs, and grouping problems with many merge operations. Interviewers often ask this to see whether you can connect the concept to real design decisions.
Track: Python