I stumbled upon this interesting coding challenge and couldn’t help but think about how common bracket errors can be in programming. We often focus on our main logic, but those pesky unmatched brackets can really throw us for a loop!

Here’s the challenge: you’re given a string of characters that can include letters, digits, and brackets (both round `(` and `)` as well as square `[` and `]`). The goal is to remove any unmatched brackets while keeping the rest of the string intact. This means that if the brackets don’t have a corresponding match, they should be eliminated.

For example, let’s say you have the string: `a(b[c]d)e)f(`. Here’s what would happen: the unmatched closing bracket `)` at the end and the unmatched opening bracket `(` would get removed, so the expected output is `a(b[c]d)ef`. On the other hand, if your input is something like `a(b[c]d)e`, there are no unmatched brackets, so you’d simply return the whole string as is.

But here’s a twist: you need to consider how you would approach the problem if you had a very large input string. Would your method still work efficiently, or would it become a bottleneck? What kind of algorithm or strategy would you use to handle both correctness and efficiency?

Also, if you’re feeling adventurous (or just extra curious!), think about how you would tackle a scenario where different types of brackets need to be matched correctly. Like, if `(` matches with `)`, and `[` matches with `]`, you’d need not only to ensure they are matched but also in the correct order.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Have you tackled a similar problem before, and how did you go about it? What programming language do you think is best suited for tackling such a challenge? Let’s brainstorm some efficient and clever solutions together!