---
id: 69162d64f96574d9bb629efb
title: "Challenge 110: Word Guesser"
challengeType: 29
dashedName: challenge-110
---

# --description--

Given two strings of the same length, a secret word and a guess, compare the guess to the secret word using the following rules:

- The secret word and guess will only consist of uppercase letters (`"A"` to `"Z"`);
- For each letter in the guess, replace it with a number according to how it matches the secret word:
  - `"2"` if the letter is in the secret word and in the correct position.
  - `"1"` if the letter is in the secret word but in the wrong position.
  - `"0"` if the letter is not in the secret word.
- Each letter in the secret word can be used at most once.
- Exact matches (`"2"`) are assigned first, then partial matches (`"1"`) are assigned from left to right for remaining letters.
- If a letter occurs multiple times in the guess, it can only match as many times as it appears in the secret word.

For example, given a secret word of `"APPLE"` and a guess of `"POPPA"`, return `"10201"`:

The first `"P"` is not in the correct location (`"1"`), the `"O"` isn't in the secret word (`"0"`), the second `"P"` is in the correct location (`"2"`), the third `"P"` is a zero (`"0"`) because the two `"P"`'s in the secret word have been used, and the `"A"` is not in the correct location (`"1"`).

# --hints--

`compare("APPLE", "POPPA")` should return `"10201"`.

```js
({test: () => { runPython(`
from unittest import TestCase
TestCase().assertEqual(compare("APPLE", "POPPA"), "10201")`)
}})
```

`compare("REACT", "TRACE")` should return `"11221"`.

```js
({test: () => { runPython(`
from unittest import TestCase
TestCase().assertEqual(compare("REACT", "TRACE"), "11221")`)
}})
```

`compare("DEBUGS", "PYTHON")` should return `"000000"`.

```js
({test: () => { runPython(`
from unittest import TestCase
TestCase().assertEqual(compare("DEBUGS", "PYTHON"), "000000")`)
}})
```

`compare("JAVASCRIPT", "TYPESCRIPT")` should return `"0000222222"`.

```js
({test: () => { runPython(`
from unittest import TestCase
TestCase().assertEqual(compare("JAVASCRIPT", "TYPESCRIPT"), "0000222222")`)
}})
```

`compare("ORANGE", "ROUNDS")` should return `"110200"`.

```js
({test: () => { runPython(`
from unittest import TestCase
TestCase().assertEqual(compare("ORANGE", "ROUNDS"), "110200")`)
}})
```

`compare("WIRELESS", "ETHERNET")` should return `"10021000"`.

```js
({test: () => { runPython(`
from unittest import TestCase
TestCase().assertEqual(compare("WIRELESS", "ETHERNET"), "10021000")`)
}})
```

# --seed--

## --seed-contents--

```py
def compare(word, guess):

    return word
```

# --solutions--

```py
def compare(word, guess):
    n = len(word)
    result = ["0"] * n
    used_secret = [False] * n

    for i in range(n):
        if guess[i] == word[i]:
            result[i] = "2"
            used_secret[i] = True

    for i in range(n):
        if result[i] == "0":
            for j in range(n):
                if not used_secret[j] and guess[i] == word[j]:
                    result[i] = "1"
                    used_secret[j] = True
                    break

    return "".join(result)
```