Greedy Algorithms : Implementing Lecture Scheduling : Coding Interview

Problem Statement

In a conference, N people from a company XYZ are present to attend maximum number of presentations. Each presentation is scheduled between 8:00 and 8:00. Here the second 8:00 means 8:00 pm. Our task is to assign people to presentations such that the number of unique presentations attended by XYZ as a company is maximised.

Input Format

Input is provided in the form a file (taken as command line argument). The first line contains N i.e # of people. Second line contains M i.e # of presentation on that day. M lines follow each containing start and end time of presentation. Time will be in format of HH:MM.

Output Format

Output : The maximum number of presentations that can be attended.

Sample Input

3 
5 
08:00 08:00 
08:00 08:00 
08:00 08:00 
08:00 08:00 
08:00 08:00

Sample Output

3

Explanation

3 people can attend max 3 presentations for the given timings.

Solution