Maximum Candies Allocated to K Children

lcpy gen -n 2226   # by problem number
lcpy gen -s maximum_candies_allocated_to_k_children   # by problem name

Input: candies = [5,8,6], k = 3
Output: 5
Explanation: We can divide candies[1] into 2 piles of size 5 and 3, and candies[2] into 2 piles of size 5 and 1. We now have five piles of candies of sizes 5, 5, 3, 5, and 1. We can allocate the 3 piles of size 5 to 3 children. It can be proven that each child cannot receive more than 5 candies.

Input: candies = [2,5], k = 11
Output: 0
Explanation: There are 11 children but only 7 candies in total, so it is impossible to ensure each child receives at least one candy. Thus, each child gets no candy and the answer is 0.

class Solution:
    # Time: O(n * log(max(candies)))
    # Space: O(1)
    def maximum_candies(self, candies: list[int], k: int) -> int:
        lo, hi = 1, max(candies)
        while lo <= hi:
            mid = (lo + hi) // 2
            if sum(pile // mid for pile in candies) >= k:
                lo = mid + 1
            else:
                hi = mid - 1
        return hi