Coding questions · Intuit

Find largest filename from ls -l output

This question evaluates proficiency in text parsing, tokenization, and numeric comparison applied to command-line style output, emphasizing robust handling of varied input formats and edge cases.

You are given a multi-line string (via stdin) that represents the output of ls -l, with one entry per line.

Each file line follows the typical ls -l format:

<mode> <links> <owner> <group> <size> <month> <day> <time_or_year> <name...>

Task: print the file name (the <name...> part) of the entry with the largest <size>.

Requirements:

Correctly parse columns so that you read the numeric size field.
File names may contain spaces, so you cannot assume the name is a single token.
Ignore non-entry lines such as total N if present.

Output only the file name of the largest file (any tie-breaking is acceptable unless otherwise specified).

Largest File Name from ls -l Output

Examples

Example 1

Input: ('total 8\n-rw-r--r-- 1 me staff 12 Jan 1 12:00 small.txt\n-rw-r--r-- 1 me staff 100 Jan 1 12:01 big file.txt',)
Output: 'big file.txt'

Explanation: File name contains spaces.

Example 2

Input: ('-rw-r--r-- 1 u g 5 May 1 2025 a\n-rw-r--r-- 1 u g 5 May 1 2025 b',)
Output: 'a'

Explanation: Tie keeps first.

Hints

Choose a representation that makes the requested operation direct.
Handle empty inputs and boundary cases first.