ACKO Software Developer Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Round duration - 60 Minutes
Round difficulty - Medium

Q1. 
Palindrome String Validation
Determine if a given string 'S' is a palindrome, considering only alphanumeric characters and ignoring spaces and symbols.
Note:
The string 'S' should be evaluated in a case...read more
Ans. 
The task is to check whether a given string is a palindrome or not, considering only alphabets and numbers and ignoring symbols and whitespaces.
• Convert the string to lowercase and remove all symbols and whitespaces.

• Reverse the modified string and compare it with the original string.

• If they are equal, then the string is a palindrome.

• If not, then the string is not a palindrome.
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Q2. 
Square Root (Integral) Problem Statement
Given a number N, calculate its square root and output the integer part only.
Example:
Input:
18
Output:
4
Explanation:
The square root of 18 is approximate...read more
Ans. 
The task is to find the integral part of the square root of a given number.
• Use the built-in square root function to find the square root of the number.

• Convert the result to an integer by rounding down or using the floor function.

• Print the integer part of the square root as the output.
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Q3. 
Min Steps to One Using Dynamic Programming
Given a positive integer N, your task is to determine the minimum number of steps required to reduce N to 1.
Allowed Operations:
1) Subtract 1 from it: n = n -...read more
Ans. 
The task is to find the minimum number of steps required to reduce a positive integer to 1 using three given operations.
• Use dynamic programming to solve the problem efficiently.

• Create an array to store the minimum steps required for each number from 1 to N.

• Iterate from 2 to N and calculate the minimum steps for each number based on the three operations.

• Return the minimum steps for N.
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Round duration - 60 Minutes
Round difficulty - Medium

They started Fundamentals of OOP- Inheritance, Polymorphism

Q1. 
Maximum Subarray Sum Problem Statement
Given an array of integers, determine the maximum possible sum of any contiguous subarray within the array.
Example:
Input:
array = [34, -50, 42, 14, -5, 86]
Out...read more
Ans. 
The maximum sum of any contiguous subarray in an array is found using Kadane's algorithm in O(N) time.
• Initialize two variables, maxSum and currentSum, both set to the first element of the array.

• Iterate through the array from the second element.

• For each element, update currentSum by adding the element to it.

• If currentSum becomes negative, reset it to 0.

• If currentSum is greater than maxSum, update maxSum.

• After iterating ...read more
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Round duration - 30 Minutes
Round difficulty - Medium

Some people had two HR interviews but I only had one and interview went up till 11:30 pm and you get only 5-10 minutes to prepare for HR on Zoom

Round duration - 90 minutes
Round difficulty - Medium

It was conducted in Hacker rank which consisted of 10 aptitude questions that included C, C++, Java MCQ. 2 programming questions were also given.

Q1. 
Minimum Cost Path Problem Statement
Given an N x M matrix filled with integers, determine the minimum sum obtainable from a path that starts at a specified cell (x, y) and ends at the top left corner of t...read more
Ans. 
The problem involves finding the minimum sum path from a specified cell to the top left corner of a matrix.
• Start from the specified cell and calculate the minimum sum path to reach the top left corner using dynamic programming.

• Consider the three possible moves: down, right, and down-right diagonal.

• Keep track of the minimum sum at each cell and update it based on the minimum of the three possible moves.

• Finally, the mini...read more
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Q2. 
Balanced Parentheses Combinations
Given an integer N representing the number of pairs of parentheses, find all the possible combinations of balanced parentheses using the given number of pairs.
Explanati...read more
Ans. 
Generate all possible combinations of balanced parentheses for a given number of pairs.
• Use backtracking to generate all possible combinations of balanced parentheses.

• Keep track of the number of open and close parentheses used in each combination.

• Recursively generate combinations by adding open parentheses if there are remaining, and closing parentheses if the number of open parentheses is greater than the number of clo...read more
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Round duration - 60 minutes
Round difficulty - Medium

Technical round with questions based on data structures, oops and networking.

Q1. 
Character Counting Challenge
Create a program that counts and prints the total number of specific character types from user input. Specifically, you need to count lowercase English alphabets, numeric digi...read more
Ans. 
Create a program to count lowercase alphabets, digits, and white spaces from user input until '$' is encountered.
• Read characters from input stream until '$' is encountered

• Count lowercase alphabets, digits, and white spaces separately

• Print the counts of each character type as three integers separated by spaces
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Q2. 
K Largest Elements Problem Statement
Given an unsorted array containing 'N' integers, you are required to find 'K' largest elements from the array and return them in non-decreasing order.
Input:
The fir...read more
Ans. 
Find K largest elements in an unsorted array and return them in non-decreasing order.
• Sort the array in non-decreasing order.

• Return the last K elements of the sorted array.
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Q3. How can you check whether you have an internet connection on your system?
Ans. 
To check internet connection on a system, you can use various methods like pinging a website or checking network status.
• Use ping command to check connectivity to a website (e.g. ping www.google.com)

• Check network status using network settings or command line tools

• Try accessing a website or online service to verify internet connection
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Q4. What happens when you type a URL in a web browser?
Ans. 
When you type a URL in a web browser, the browser sends a request to the server hosting the website, which then responds with the necessary files to display the webpage.
• Browser checks cache for DNS resolution

• If not found, browser sends a DNS query to resolve the domain name to an IP address

• Browser establishes a TCP connection with the server

• Browser sends an HTTP request to the server for the webpage

• Server processes the...read more
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Round duration - 60 minutes
Round difficulty - Medium

Technical round with questions based on data structures, oops and networking.

Q1. 
Counting Sort Problem Statement
Ninja is learning about sorting algorithms, specifically those that do not rely on comparisons. Can you help Ninja implement the counting sort algorithm?
Example:
Input:
...read more
Ans. 
Implement counting sort algorithm to sort an array of integers without comparisons.
• Count the frequency of each element in the input array.

• Calculate the prefix sum of frequencies to determine the position of each element in the sorted array.

• Place each element in its correct position based on the prefix sum.

• Time complexity of counting sort is O(n+k), where n is the number of elements and k is the range of input.

• Example: ...read more
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Q2. What are the applications of the Fibonacci series in real life?
Ans. 
The Fibonacci series has applications in various fields such as mathematics, computer science, art, and nature.
• Used in algorithms for optimization problems and dynamic programming.

• Found in nature, such as the arrangement of leaves on a stem, the branching of trees, and the spiral shapes of shells.

• Applied in financial markets for predicting stock prices and analyzing market trends.

• Utilized in art and design for creating
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Round duration - 30 minutes
Round difficulty - Easy

HR round where the interviewer asked questions to know more about me.

Round duration - 60 minutes
Round difficulty - Easy

Technical Interview Round with questions based on Data structures, OOPS and SQL.

Q1. 
Delete a Node from a Linked List
You are provided with a linked list of integers. Your task is to implement a function that deletes a node located at a specified position 'POS'.
Input:
The first line co...read more
Ans. 
Implement a function to delete a node from a linked list at a specified position.
• Traverse the linked list to find the node at the specified position.

• Update the pointers of the previous and next nodes to skip the node to be deleted.

• Handle edge cases such as deleting the head or tail of the linked list.

• Ensure to free the memory of the deleted node to avoid memory leaks.
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Q2. Write an SQL query to find the nth highest salary.
Ans. 
SQL query to find the nth highest salary
• Use the ORDER BY clause to sort salaries in descending order

• Use the LIMIT and OFFSET clauses to skip the first n-1 highest salaries

• Combine the above steps in a single query to find the nth highest salary
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Q3. Can you explain the concepts of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)?
Ans. 
OOP is a programming paradigm based on the concept of objects, which can contain data in the form of fields and code in the form of procedures.
• OOP focuses on creating objects that interact with each other to solve problems.

• Key concepts include encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.

• Encapsulation involves bundling data and methods that operate on the data into a single unit.

• Inheritance allows classes to inherit at...read more
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Round duration - 60 minutes
Round difficulty - Easy

Was asked me about my favorite technologies, What i liked about Facebook. And asked me to design a cinema ticket reservation web site­ like the one satyam has.

Q1. 
Kth Largest Element Problem
Given an array containing N distinct positive integers and a number K, determine the Kth largest element in the array.
Example:
Input:
N = 6, K = 3, array = [2, 1, 5, 6, 3, ...read more
Ans. 
Find the Kth largest element in an array of distinct positive integers.
• Sort the array in non-increasing order and return the Kth element.

• Handle multiple test cases efficiently.

• Ensure all elements in the array are distinct.
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Q2. What are virtual functions?
Ans. 
Virtual functions are functions in a base class that are overridden in derived classes to achieve runtime polymorphism.
• Virtual functions are declared in a base class with the 'virtual' keyword.

• They are overridden in derived classes using the 'override' keyword.

• They allow a function to be called based on the runtime type of an object.

• Virtual functions enable dynamic binding and late binding in C++.

• Example: virtual void ...read more
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Q3. Design a Cinema Ticket Reservation System.
Ans. 
Design a Cinema Ticket Reservation System
• Use a database to store movie information, showtimes, and seat availability

• Allow users to search for movies, select showtimes, and choose seats

• Implement a payment system for ticket purchases

• Send confirmation emails with QR codes for ticket validation
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Q4. In how many attempts can you find a defective ball among 10 given balls using a two-pan balance scale?
Ans. 
You can find a defective ball among 10 given balls in 2 attempts using a two-pan balance scale.
• Divide the 10 balls into two groups of 5 each.

• Weigh the two groups on the balance scale.

• If one group is heavier, it contains the defective ball. If they are equal, the defective ball is in the remaining 5 balls.

• Divide the group of 5 balls with the defective one into two groups of 2 and 3 balls.

• Weigh the two groups on the bala...read more
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Round duration - 30 minutes
Round difficulty - Easy

HR round that lasted for about 30 minutes. The interviewer asked me questions to know more about me and a puzzle.

Q1. Can you tell me about your projects and your extracurricular activities?
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