Applied Materials Software QA Engineer Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Use bitwise operations to find the sum of two numbers without using mathematical operators.

• Use bitwise XOR to find the sum of two numbers without carrying.

• Use bitwise AND and left shift to find the carry.

• Repeat the process until there is no carry left.

To delete a node from a linked list when only given a reference to the node, we can copy the data of the next node to the given node and delete the next node.

• Copy the data of the next node to the given node

• Update the next pointer of the given node to skip the next node

• Delete the next node

Need more context. What needs to be done with the large rectangle?

• What are the dimensions of the rectangle?

• Is it a 2D or 3D object?

• What is the context of the problem?

• Are there any constraints or limitations?

• What tools or programming languages can be used?

Derive a formula to determine how many smaller rectangles fit into a bigger rectangle given their dimensions.

• Calculate the number of times the smaller rectangle can fit into the bigger rectangle horizontally and vertically

• Divide the width of the bigger rectangle by the width of the smaller rectangle to get the horizontal count

• Divide the height of the bigger rectangle by the height of the smaller rectangle to get the ve...read more

At least 4 points are required to draw a rectangle.

• A rectangle has 4 sides and 4 corners, so at least 4 points are needed to define those corners.

• The points must be arranged in a specific order to form a closed shape with 4 sides.

• Additional points can be used to add details or modify the shape of the rectangle.

• The number of points required may vary depending on the software or tool used to draw the rectangle.

Answering how to calculate new coordinates of a scaled rectangle and providing a program for it.

• To calculate new coordinates, multiply the original coordinates by the scaling factor

• Scaling factor can be calculated by dividing the new length/breadth by the original length/breadth

• Program can take input of original coordinates, scaling factor, and output new coordinates

• Example: Original coordinates: (0,0), (0,5), (5,5), (...read more

The question asks to fill the blanks in a pyramid where each number is the sum of the numbers in the bottom two cells.

• Start from the bottom row and work your way up, calculating the sum of the numbers in the bottom two cells for each blank space.

• Use a loop to iterate through each row and column of the pyramid.

• Store the calculated sum in the corresponding blank space.

• Repeat the process until all the blanks are filled.

Moore's Law is the observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles about every two years.

• Named after Intel co-founder Gordon Moore

• First stated in 1965

• Has been a driving force behind technological advancements

• Predicts exponential growth in computing power

• Has been challenged in recent years due to physical limitations

A process is an instance of a program while a thread is a subset of a process.

• A process has its own memory space while threads share memory space

• Processes are heavyweight while threads are lightweight

• Processes communicate through inter-process communication while threads communicate through shared memory

• Examples of processes include web browsers, text editors, etc. while examples of threads include GUI updates, backgro

Multi-core processors provide faster and more efficient computing.

• Improved performance and speed

• Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously

• Reduced power consumption

• Better multitasking capabilities

• Enhanced user experience

• Examples: Intel Core i7, AMD Ryzen 9

I am a software engineer with a loving family.

• I have been working as a software engineer for 5 years.

• My wife is a teacher and we have two children.

• We enjoy spending time together outdoors and traveling.

• My parents live in a different state but we keep in touch regularly.

• Family is very important to me and I prioritize spending time with them.

Developed a web-based project management tool and a mobile app for tracking expenses

• Created a responsive UI using React and Bootstrap

• Implemented user authentication and authorization using Firebase

• Integrated Google Maps API for location tracking in the mobile app

• Used Node.js and MongoDB for backend development

• Collaborated with a team of four to complete the projects

I have 5 years of experience in software engineering with expertise in Java and Python.

• Developed and maintained web applications using Java and Spring framework

• Designed and implemented RESTful APIs using Python and Flask

• Worked on database management and optimization using MySQL and MongoDB

• Collaborated with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality software products

• Participated in code reviews and provided construc

My academic interests include computer science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

• Computer science

• Artificial intelligence

• Machine learning

Explain Big O notation

• Big O notation is used to describe the time complexity of an algorithm

• It helps us understand how the algorithm's performance changes with input size

• O(1) means constant time, O(n) means linear time, O(n^2) means quadratic time

• We want algorithms with lower Big O values for better performance

I am open to relocation based on the job opportunity and growth prospects.

• Open to relocation for the right opportunity

• Willing to move for career growth

• Flexible with location based on job requirements

Yes, I would love to have a pizza slice!

• I am a big fan of pizza and would never say no to a slice!

• Pizza is the perfect food for any occasion, whether it's a quick lunch or a late-night snack.

• I particularly enjoy pepperoni and mushroom pizza, but I'm open to trying new toppings as well.

UDP is preferred over TCP in this project due to its low latency and lightweight nature.

• UDP is a connectionless protocol, which means it does not establish a direct connection between the sender and receiver.

• UDP is faster than TCP as it does not have the overhead of establishing and maintaining a connection.

• UDP is suitable for applications where real-time data transmission is crucial, such as video streaming or online ...read more

To clear the 7th bit in a 32-bit register, perform a bitwise AND operation with a mask that has all bits set to 1 except the 7th bit.

• Create a mask with the 7th bit set to 0 and all other bits set to 1

• Perform a bitwise AND operation between the register and the mask

• Store the result back in the register

Locate sum of 2 numbers in a linear array (unsorted and sorted) and their complexities

• For unsorted array, use nested loops to compare each element with every other element until the sum is found

• For sorted array, use two pointers approach starting from the beginning and end of the array and move them towards each other until the sum is found

• Complexity for unsorted array is O(n^2) and for sorted array is O(n)

Pointers are used to manipulate memory addresses and values in C++. Increment/decrement, address of and value at operators are commonly used.

• Incrementing a pointer moves it to the next memory location of the same data type

• Decrementing a pointer moves it to the previous memory location of the same data type

• The address of operator (&) returns the memory address of a variable

• The value at operator (*) returns the value sto

To determine if a point is inside or outside a rectangle, we check if the point's coordinates fall within the rectangle's boundaries.

• Check if the point's x-coordinate is greater than the left edge of the rectangle

• Check if the point's x-coordinate is less than the right edge of the rectangle

• Check if the point's y-coordinate is greater than the top edge of the rectangle

• Check if the point's y-coordinate is less than the b...read more

To find line that divides rectangle into 2 equal halves through a point inside it.

• Find the center of the rectangle

• Draw a line from the center to the given point

• Extend the line to the opposite side of the rectangle

• The extended line will divide the rectangle into 2 equal halves

There are multiple combinations of 8-bit and 16-bit signed numbers. How many such combinations are possible?

• There are 2^8 (256) possible combinations of 8-bit signed numbers.

• There are 2^16 (65,536) possible combinations of 16-bit signed numbers.

• To find the total number of combinations, we can add the number of combinations of 8-bit and 16-bit signed numbers.

• Therefore, the total number of possible combinations is 256 +

Find duplicates in an array of elements in 0(n) time and 0(1) space.

• Use the property of inputs to your advantage

• Iterate through the array and mark elements as negative

• If an element is already negative, it is a duplicate

• Return all the negative elements as duplicates