Data Structures & Algorithms Interview Questions

Review this list of 255 data structures & algorithms interview questions and answers verified by hiring managers and candidates.
  • Goldman Sachs logoAsked at Goldman Sachs 
    +9

    "public static Integer[] findLargest(int[] input, int m) { if(input==null || input.length==0) return null; PriorityQueue minHeap=new PriorityQueue(); for(int i:input) { if(minHeap.size()(int)top){ minHeap.poll(); minHeap.add(i); } } } Integer[] res=minHeap.toArray(new Integer[0]); Arrays.sort(res); return res; }"

    Divya R. - "public static Integer[] findLargest(int[] input, int m) { if(input==null || input.length==0) return null; PriorityQueue minHeap=new PriorityQueue(); for(int i:input) { if(minHeap.size()(int)top){ minHeap.poll(); minHeap.add(i); } } } Integer[] res=minHeap.toArray(new Integer[0]); Arrays.sort(res); return res; }"See full answer

    Machine Learning Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +2 more
  • Meta (Facebook) logoAsked at Meta (Facebook) 
    +1

    "public class CircularBuffer { private T[] buffer; private int head; private int tail; private int size; private final int capacity; public CircularBuffer(int capacity) { this.capacity = capacity; this.buffer = (T[]) new Object[capacity]; this.head = 0; this.tail = 0; this.size = 0; } public void enqueue(T item) { if (isFull()) { throw new IllegalStateException("Buffer is full"); } buf"

    Vidhyadhar V. - "public class CircularBuffer { private T[] buffer; private int head; private int tail; private int size; private final int capacity; public CircularBuffer(int capacity) { this.capacity = capacity; this.buffer = (T[]) new Object[capacity]; this.head = 0; this.tail = 0; this.size = 0; } public void enqueue(T item) { if (isFull()) { throw new IllegalStateException("Buffer is full"); } buf"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +1 more
  • Meta (Facebook) logoAsked at Meta (Facebook) 

    "Given a Binary Tree, the task is to find its vertical traversal starting from the leftmost level to the rightmost level. If multiple nodes pass through a vertical line, they should be printed as they appear in the level order traversal of the tree. The idea is to traverse the tree using dfs and maintain a hashmap to store nodes at each horizontal distance (HD) from the root. Starting with an HD of 0 at the root, the HD is decremented for left children and incremented for right children. As we"

    Anonymous Mongoose - "Given a Binary Tree, the task is to find its vertical traversal starting from the leftmost level to the rightmost level. If multiple nodes pass through a vertical line, they should be printed as they appear in the level order traversal of the tree. The idea is to traverse the tree using dfs and maintain a hashmap to store nodes at each horizontal distance (HD) from the root. Starting with an HD of 0 at the root, the HD is decremented for left children and incremented for right children. As we"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
  • "/* You are with your friends in a castle, where there are multiple rooms named after flowers. Some of the rooms contain treasures - we call them the treasure rooms. Each room contains a single instruction that tells you which room to go to next. * instructions1 and treasurerooms_1 * lily* --------- daisy sunflower | | | v v v jasmin --> tulip* violet* ----> rose* --> ^ | ^ ^ | "

    Azeezat R. - "/* You are with your friends in a castle, where there are multiple rooms named after flowers. Some of the rooms contain treasures - we call them the treasure rooms. Each room contains a single instruction that tells you which room to go to next. * instructions1 and treasurerooms_1 * lily* --------- daisy sunflower | | | v v v jasmin --> tulip* violet* ----> rose* --> ^ | ^ ^ | "See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +1 more
  • Amazon logoAsked at Amazon 

    "Was the statement very similar to the leetcode or was it changed and only the main idea remained?"

    Anonymous Wombat - "Was the statement very similar to the leetcode or was it changed and only the main idea remained?"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +1 more
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  • Apple logoAsked at Apple 

    "Average case - lookup/insert/delete - o(1) -> assuming a low load factor and uniform hash distribution. Worst case - o(n) -> where are keys collide in same bucket"

    Kargi C. - "Average case - lookup/insert/delete - o(1) -> assuming a low load factor and uniform hash distribution. Worst case - o(n) -> where are keys collide in same bucket"See full answer

    Engineering Manager
    Data Structures & Algorithms
  • Adobe logoAsked at Adobe 
    Video answer for 'Find a triplet in an array with a given sum.'
    +11

    "from typing import List def three_sum(nums: List[int]) -> List[List[int]]: nums.sort() triplets = set() for i in range(len(nums) - 2): firstNum = nums[i] l = i + 1 r = len(nums) - 1 while l 0: r -= 1 elif potentialSum < 0: l += 1 "

    Anonymous Roadrunner - "from typing import List def three_sum(nums: List[int]) -> List[List[int]]: nums.sort() triplets = set() for i in range(len(nums) - 2): firstNum = nums[i] l = i + 1 r = len(nums) - 1 while l 0: r -= 1 elif potentialSum < 0: l += 1 "See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +3 more
  • Adobe logoAsked at Adobe 
    Video answer for 'Given an nxn grid of 1s and 0s, return the number of islands in the input.'
    +10

    " from typing import List def getnumberof_islands(binaryMatrix: List[List[int]]) -> int: if not binaryMatrix: return 0 rows = len(binaryMatrix) cols = len(binaryMatrix[0]) islands = 0 for r in range(rows): for c in range(cols): if binaryMatrixr == 1: islands += 1 dfs(binaryMatrix, r, c) return islands def dfs(grid, r, c): if ( r = len(grid) "

    Rick E. - " from typing import List def getnumberof_islands(binaryMatrix: List[List[int]]) -> int: if not binaryMatrix: return 0 rows = len(binaryMatrix) cols = len(binaryMatrix[0]) islands = 0 for r in range(rows): for c in range(cols): if binaryMatrixr == 1: islands += 1 dfs(binaryMatrix, r, c) return islands def dfs(grid, r, c): if ( r = len(grid) "See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +4 more
  • Amazon logoAsked at Amazon 
    +8

    "Questions to ask : Are there negative values in the input array? Interview : YES Will the product of two number fit into 32-bit Integer. If not, will it fit 64-bit Integer. If not, then is it safe to use Big Integer? Interview : let's worry only about 32 bit Integer What should we return if the input array is null or size (size of input array) is less than 2? Return 0 From above Information: General approach is as follows : a) Track smallest 2 elements in the array -> p"

    Rajendra D. - "Questions to ask : Are there negative values in the input array? Interview : YES Will the product of two number fit into 32-bit Integer. If not, will it fit 64-bit Integer. If not, then is it safe to use Big Integer? Interview : let's worry only about 32 bit Integer What should we return if the input array is null or size (size of input array) is less than 2? Return 0 From above Information: General approach is as follows : a) Track smallest 2 elements in the array -> p"See full answer

    Data Structures & Algorithms
    Coding
  • Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +4 more
  • Adobe logoAsked at Adobe 
    +41

    "from typing import List def two_sum(nums: List[int], target: int) -> List[int]: prevMap = {} for i, n in enumerate(nums): diff = target - n if diff in prevMap: return [prevMap[diff], i] else: prevMap[n] = i return [] debug your code below print(two_sum([2, 7, 11, 15], 9)) `"

    Anonymous Roadrunner - "from typing import List def two_sum(nums: List[int], target: int) -> List[int]: prevMap = {} for i, n in enumerate(nums): diff = target - n if diff in prevMap: return [prevMap[diff], i] else: prevMap[n] = i return [] debug your code below print(two_sum([2, 7, 11, 15], 9)) `"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +5 more
  • Adobe logoAsked at Adobe 
    Video answer for 'Given the root of a binary tree of integers, return the maximum path sum.'

    "\# Definition for a binary tree node. class TreeNode: def init(self, val=0, left=None, right=None): self.val = val self.left = left self.right = right class Solution: def maxPathSum(self, root: TreeNode) -> int: self.max_sum = float('-inf')"

    Jerry O. - "\# Definition for a binary tree node. class TreeNode: def init(self, val=0, left=None, right=None): self.val = val self.left = left self.right = right class Solution: def maxPathSum(self, root: TreeNode) -> int: self.max_sum = float('-inf')"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +4 more
  • Microsoft logoAsked at Microsoft 
    +1

    "Approach 1: Use sorting and return the kth largest element from the sorted list. Time complexity: O(nlogn) Approach 2: Use max heap and then select the kth largest element. time complexity: O(n+logn) Approach 3: Quickselect. Time complexity O(n) I explained my interviewer the 3 approaches. He told me to solve in a naive manner. Used Approach 1 had some time left so coded approach 3 also The average time complexity of Quickselect is O(n), making it very efficient for its purpose. However, in"

    GalacticInterviewer - "Approach 1: Use sorting and return the kth largest element from the sorted list. Time complexity: O(nlogn) Approach 2: Use max heap and then select the kth largest element. time complexity: O(n+logn) Approach 3: Quickselect. Time complexity O(n) I explained my interviewer the 3 approaches. He told me to solve in a naive manner. Used Approach 1 had some time left so coded approach 3 also The average time complexity of Quickselect is O(n), making it very efficient for its purpose. However, in"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +1 more
  • Amazon logoAsked at Amazon 

    "input_logs = [ f"{senderid} {receiverid} {transaction_count}" "1 2 2", "3 2 42", "2 2 22", "1 1 12", "2 1 1", "2 5 4", "4 2 15" ] input_threshold = 20 exptected_output = [ list of user_ids that made more than 20 transactions sorted by number of transactions in descending order "3", # 42 transactions "2", # 27 transactions (22 + 1 + 4) #"4", # 15 transactions #"1" # 14 transactions (2 + 12 + 1) ] def gettopapi_users(logs, thres"

    Anonymous Unicorn - "input_logs = [ f"{senderid} {receiverid} {transaction_count}" "1 2 2", "3 2 42", "2 2 22", "1 1 12", "2 1 1", "2 5 4", "4 2 15" ] input_threshold = 20 exptected_output = [ list of user_ids that made more than 20 transactions sorted by number of transactions in descending order "3", # 42 transactions "2", # 27 transactions (22 + 1 + 4) #"4", # 15 transactions #"1" # 14 transactions (2 + 12 + 1) ] def gettopapi_users(logs, thres"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +1 more
  • "Write a function which Caesar ciphers all the strings so that the first character is "a". Use ascii code points and the modulo operator to do this. Use this function to create a hashmap between each string and the CC-a string. Then go through each key:value pair in the hashmap, and use the CC-a ciphered value as the key in a new defaultdict(list), adding the original string to the value field in the output."

    Michael B. - "Write a function which Caesar ciphers all the strings so that the first character is "a". Use ascii code points and the modulo operator to do this. Use this function to create a hashmap between each string and the CC-a string. Then go through each key:value pair in the hashmap, and use the CC-a ciphered value as the key in a new defaultdict(list), adding the original string to the value field in the output."See full answer

    Machine Learning Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +2 more
  • +19

    " from typing import List def find_first(array: List[int], num: int) -> int: left = 0 right = len(array) - 1 result = -1 # keep track of leftmost occurence found so far while left <= right: mid = (left + right) // 2 if array[mid] == num: result = mid #Found a potential result right = mid - 1 elif array[mid] < num: left = mid + 1 else: right = mid - 1 return result debug your code"

    Akash C. - " from typing import List def find_first(array: List[int], num: int) -> int: left = 0 right = len(array) - 1 result = -1 # keep track of leftmost occurence found so far while left <= right: mid = (left + right) // 2 if array[mid] == num: result = mid #Found a potential result right = mid - 1 elif array[mid] < num: left = mid + 1 else: right = mid - 1 return result debug your code"See full answer

    Data Structures & Algorithms
    Coding
  • "It's a 2Sum question with duplicate array elements."

    Anzhe M. - "It's a 2Sum question with duplicate array elements."See full answer

    Data Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +1 more
  • "def changeString(org: str,target:str) -> bool: lOrg = len(org) lTarget = len(target) \# They have to be equal in lenght if lOrg != lTarget: return False counter1 = Counter(org) counter2 = Counter(target) \# Counter internally iterates through the input sequence, counts the number of times a given object occurs, and stores objects as keys and the counts as values. if counter1 != counter2: return False diff = sum(org[i] != target[i] for i in range(n)) return diff == 2 or (diff == 0 and any(v > 1 f"

    Rafał P. - "def changeString(org: str,target:str) -> bool: lOrg = len(org) lTarget = len(target) \# They have to be equal in lenght if lOrg != lTarget: return False counter1 = Counter(org) counter2 = Counter(target) \# Counter internally iterates through the input sequence, counts the number of times a given object occurs, and stores objects as keys and the counts as values. if counter1 != counter2: return False diff = sum(org[i] != target[i] for i in range(n)) return diff == 2 or (diff == 0 and any(v > 1 f"See full answer

    Data Structures & Algorithms
    Coding
  • Apple logoAsked at Apple 
    +10

    "class ListNode: def init(self, val=0, next=None): self.val = val self.next = next def has_cycle(head: ListNode) -> bool: slow, fast = head, head while fast and fast.next: slow = slow.next fast = fast.next.next if slow == fast: return True return False debug your code below node1 = ListNode(1) node2 = ListNode(2) node3 = ListNode(3) node4 = ListNode(4) creates a linked list with a cycle: 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4"

    Anonymous Roadrunner - "class ListNode: def init(self, val=0, next=None): self.val = val self.next = next def has_cycle(head: ListNode) -> bool: slow, fast = head, head while fast and fast.next: slow = slow.next fast = fast.next.next if slow == fast: return True return False debug your code below node1 = ListNode(1) node2 = ListNode(2) node3 = ListNode(3) node4 = ListNode(4) creates a linked list with a cycle: 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +4 more
  • "solving to find a cycle in directed graph"

    XponentShift32 - "solving to find a cycle in directed graph"See full answer

    Backend Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +1 more
Showing 61-80 of 255