merge_strings_alternately.py

class Solution:
    def mergeAlternately(self, word1: str, word2: str) -> str:
        result = []
        maxLen = max(len(word1), len(word2))

        for i in range(maxLen):
            if i < len(word1):
                result += word1[i]
            if i < len(word2):
                result += word2[i]

        return "".join(result)