No, it does. Once both strings are sorted alphabetically, you just compare them. "tallaf" -> sort -> "aafllt" "laftal" -> sort -> "aafllt" Does "aafllt" == "

No, it does. Once both strings are sorted alphabetically, you just compare them. "tallaf" -> sort -> "aafllt" "laftal" -> sort -> "aafllt" Does "aafllt" == "aafllt" ? yes? Then we're good! What you're saying: "tallaffffff" -> sort -> "aaffffffllt" "latfal" -> sort -> "aafllt" Does "aaffffffllt" == "aafllt" ? Of course not. The length check is just early exit. Actually for my solution the length is necessary. Your solution is good too - I actually googled after to see other possible solutions and counting characters was the "second" solution.