100+ Arcesium Interview Questions and Answers

Given 'N' ropes of varying lengths, find the minimum cost to connect all ropes into one single rope.

• Sort the lengths of ropes in ascending order.

• Keep connecting the two shortest ropes at each step.

• Update the total cost by adding the lengths of the connected ropes.

• Repeat until all ropes are connected.

• Return the total cost as the minimum cost to connect all ropes.

Determine if a binary string can be sorted in decreasing order by removing non-adjacent characters.

• Check if the count of '1's in the string is equal to the length of the string, in which case it can be sorted in decreasing order.

• If there are multiple '0's between two '1's, they can be removed to sort the string in decreasing order.

• If there are more '0's than '1's, it is not possible to sort the string in decreasing order.

Given N meetings with start and end times, determine the maximum number of meetings that can be organized in a single room without overlap.

• Sort the meetings based on their end times.

• Iterate through the sorted meetings and select the first meeting that does not overlap with the previous one.

• Repeat the process until all meetings are considered.

• Return the selected meetings in the order they are organized.

Implement a function to find any topological sorting of a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG).

• Use Depth First Search (DFS) to traverse the graph and add vertices to the result in reverse order of finishing times.

• Maintain a visited array to keep track of visited vertices to avoid revisiting them.

• Start DFS from any unvisited vertex and recursively explore its neighbors.

• Once all neighbors are visited, add the current vertex to the result.

• Repeat the process until all vertices are visite...read more

Convert a binary search tree into a Greater Tree by replacing each node's value with the sum of all values greater than or equal to it.

• Traverse the BST in reverse inorder (right, root, left) to visit nodes in descending order.

• Keep track of the running sum of visited nodes and update each node's value with this sum.

• Recursively apply the above steps to all nodes in the BST.

• Example: Input - 4 1 6 0 2 5 7 -1 -1 -1 3 -1 -1 -1 -1, Output - 20 24 21 15 26 16 7 -1 -1 -1 3 -1 -1 -1 -1

The minimum number of operations required to make all elements of the given array equal is calculated by finding the median of the array elements.

• Calculate the median of the array elements to determine the target value for all elements to be equal.

• Find the absolute difference between each element and the target value, sum these differences to get the minimum number of operations.

• For odd length arrays, the median is the middle element. For even length arrays, the median is the...read more

Find the N-th node from the end of a Singly Linked List containing integers.

• Traverse the list to find the length L of the list.

• Calculate the position of the N-th node from the beginning as L - N + 1.

• Traverse the list again to reach the calculated position and return the node's value.

• Handle edge cases like N being equal to 1 or equal to the length of the list.

Maximize memory usage by pairing downloads and games within memory limit 'K'.

• Sort downloads and games in descending order.

• Iterate through downloads and games to find the pair with maximum memory usage.

• Return the indices of the selected download and game pairs.

Implement a function to output the Spiral Order traversal of a binary tree given in level order.

• Traverse the binary tree in a spiral order, alternating between left to right and right to left at each level.

• Use a queue to keep track of nodes at each level and a stack to reverse the order of nodes at odd levels.

• Handle null nodes appropriately to maintain the spiral order traversal.

• Example: Input: 1 2 3 -1 -1 4 5, Output: 1 3 2 4 5

Given a binary tree, return the bottom view of the tree when viewed from left to right.

• Traverse the tree level by level and keep track of the horizontal distance of each node from the root.

• For each horizontal distance, store the node with the maximum depth in a map.

• After traversing the entire tree, return the values of the map in sorted order of their horizontal distance.

Implement serialization and deserialization methods for a binary tree of integers.

• Use level order traversal for serialization and deserialization.

• Use -1 to represent null nodes in the binary tree.

• Ensure the serialized string can be correctly decoded back to form the original binary tree.

The task is to determine the number of islands in a grid consisting of 0s and 1s.

• Iterate through the grid and perform depth-first search (DFS) to find connected 1s.

• Mark visited 1s as 0 to avoid counting them again.

• Increment the island count each time a new island is found.

• Consider all 8 adjacent cells (horizontally, vertically, diagonally) while performing DFS.

• Handle edge cases like out of bounds and already visited cells.

Count subarrays with sum divisible by K in an array.

• Iterate through the array and keep track of prefix sum modulo K.

• Use a hashmap to store the frequency of each prefix sum modulo K.

• For each prefix sum, increment the count by the frequency of (prefix sum - K) modulo K in the hashmap.

• Handle the case where prefix sum itself is divisible by K separately.

• Return the total count of subarrays with sum divisible by K.

The task is to determine the left view of a binary tree, which consists of nodes visible when viewed from the left side.

• Traverse the binary tree in a level order manner and keep track of the leftmost node at each level.

• Use a queue to perform level order traversal of the binary tree.

• Maintain a count of nodes at each level to identify the leftmost node.

• Return the leftmost nodes at each level as the left view of the binary tree.

Multitasking in Java can be achieved using threads.

• Create multiple threads to execute tasks concurrently.

• Use the Thread class or the Runnable interface to define the tasks.

• Use synchronization mechanisms like locks or semaphores to coordinate access to shared resources.

• Java provides built-in support for multitasking with the Thread class and the Executor framework.

• Example: creating two threads to perform different tasks simultaneously.

The duration of a bond is the time until it reaches maturity. It is used to determine the bond's sensitivity to interest rate changes.

• Duration is measured in years and can range from a few months to several decades

• Longer duration bonds are more sensitive to interest rate changes than shorter duration bonds

• Duration is an important factor to consider when investing in bonds

• For example, a 10-year bond with a duration of 8 years will decrease in value by approximately 8% if inter...read more

ACID properties are a set of properties that guarantee reliability and consistency in database transactions.

• ACID stands for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability.

• Atomicity ensures that a transaction is treated as a single unit of work, either all of its operations are executed or none.

• Consistency ensures that a transaction brings the database from one valid state to another.

• Isolation ensures that concurrent transactions do not interfere with each other.

• Durability ...read more

A transaction is a logical unit of work that consists of multiple database operations that must be executed as a single, indivisible unit.

• A transaction ensures data consistency and integrity.

• It follows the ACID properties: Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability.

• Transactions are used to maintain data integrity in databases.

• Examples of transactions include transferring funds between bank accounts or updating inventory levels.

Design a schema for a restaurant app like Zomato.

• Create tables for restaurants, users, reviews, and orders

• Include columns for restaurant details like name, address, cuisine type

• Include columns for user details like name, email, and password

• Link reviews to restaurants and users

• Link orders to restaurants and users

• Consider additional tables for menu items, categories, and ratings

Find first missing positive integer from an array of non-negative integers.

• Create a hash set to store all positive integers in the array

• Loop through the array and add all positive integers to the hash set

• Loop through positive integers starting from 1 and return the first missing integer not in the hash set

A semaphore is a synchronization object that controls access to a shared resource through the use of a counter.

• Semaphores are used to manage concurrent access to shared resources in multi-threaded or multi-process environments.

• They can be used to limit the number of threads or processes that can access a resource simultaneously.

• Semaphores can have two types: counting semaphores and binary semaphores.

• Counting semaphores allow multiple threads/processes to access a resource at ...read more

SQL databases are relational databases that use structured query language, while NoSQL databases are non-relational databases that use various data models.

• SQL databases are based on a fixed schema, while NoSQL databases are schema-less.

• SQL databases are better suited for complex queries and structured data, while NoSQL databases are better for unstructured and semi-structured data.

• SQL databases ensure ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) properties, while NoSQ...read more

Equity Swap, Black Scholes, Option Pricing, CAPM are all financial concepts related to risk management and investment analysis.

• Equity Swap is a financial contract between two parties to exchange cash flows based on the performance of an underlying asset.

• Black Scholes is a mathematical model used to calculate the theoretical value of European-style options.

• Option Pricing is the process of determining the fair value of an option contract.

• Types of risks include market risk, cred...read more

EV is the total value of a company, including debt and equity, while equity value is the value of a company's equity only.

• Enterprise value (EV) is the total value of a company, including debt and equity. It is calculated by adding the market value of equity, debt, minority interest, and preferred shares, and then subtracting cash and cash equivalents.

• Equity value is the value of a company's equity only. It is calculated by multiplying the number of outstanding shares by the c...read more

Group list of strings into distinct anagrams.

• Create a hash table with sorted string as key and list of anagrams as value.

• Iterate through the list of strings and add each string to its corresponding anagram list in the hash table.

• Return the values of the hash table as a list of lists.

Check if after interleaving strings s1 and s2, we get s3 as one of the answers.

• Create a recursive function to check all possible interleavings of s1 and s2

• Check if the current interleaving matches s3

• Return true if a valid interleaving is found, false otherwise

Nifty is a stock market index of National Stock Exchange (NSE) comprising of 50 actively traded companies.

• Nifty is short for National Stock Exchange Fifty

• It is a benchmark index for Indian equity market

• The companies listed in NSE and BSE are constantly changing

• As of 2021, there are 50 companies listed in Nifty and over 5000 companies listed in BSE

• Some of the companies listed in Nifty are Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Infosys, TCS, etc.

Creating a table in SQL and demonstrating functions on it

• Create a table using CREATE TABLE statement

• Insert data into the table using INSERT INTO statement

• Retrieve data from the table using SELECT statement

• Update data in the table using UPDATE statement

• Delete data from the table using DELETE statement

Virtual destructors in C++ are used to ensure that the correct destructor is called when deleting an object through a base class pointer.

• Virtual destructors are declared with the 'virtual' keyword in the base class to allow proper cleanup of derived class objects.

• When deleting an object through a base class pointer, having a virtual destructor ensures that the destructor of the derived class is called.

• Without a virtual destructor, only the base class destructor would be calle...read more

Minimum weight to reach bottom right corner in matrix starting from top left. You can move only down and right.

• Use dynamic programming to solve the problem efficiently

• Create a 2D array to store the minimum weight to reach each cell

• The minimum weight to reach a cell is the minimum of the weight to reach the cell above and the cell to the left plus the weight of the current cell

• The minimum weight to reach the bottom right corner is the value in the last cell of the 2D array

Topline refers to revenue or sales, while bottom line refers to net income or profit.

• Topline is the first line of the income statement and represents the total revenue or sales generated by a company.

• Bottom line is the last line of the income statement and represents the net income or profit after all expenses have been deducted.

• Topline and bottom line are important metrics for evaluating a company's financial performance.

• For example, a company may have a high topline indicat...read more

Find the lowest common ancestor of a binary tree.

• Traverse the tree recursively from the root node.

• If the current node is null or matches either of the given nodes, return the current node.

• Recursively search for the nodes in the left and right subtrees.

• If both nodes are found in different subtrees, return the current node.

• If both nodes are found in the same subtree, continue the search in that subtree.

Investment banking is a type of financial service that helps companies and governments raise capital by underwriting and selling securities.

• Investment banks provide services such as mergers and acquisitions, securities trading, and asset management.

• Examples of investment banks include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley.

• Investment banking is a highly competitive and lucrative industry, with professionals often working long hours and earning high salaries.

• Investm...read more

Call and put options are financial contracts that give the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a predetermined price within a specified time period.

• Call option: gives the buyer the right to buy an underlying asset at a predetermined price within a specified time period.

• Put option: gives the buyer the right to sell an underlying asset at a predetermined price within a specified time period.

• Example of call option: A stock trader buys a...read more

Qualitative analysis involves subjective evaluation of non-numerical data while quantitative analysis involves objective evaluation of numerical data.

• Qualitative analysis involves analyzing factors such as management quality, brand reputation, and industry trends.

• Quantitative analysis involves analyzing financial statements, ratios, and other numerical data.

• Both types of analysis are important in fundamental analysis as they provide a comprehensive understanding of a company'...read more

After a stock split, the value of options will be adjusted based on the new stock price and the split ratio.

• Value of options will be adjusted based on the new stock price and the split ratio

• Number of options will increase proportionally to the split ratio

• Strike price of options will decrease proportionally to the split ratio

Time complexity of insertion in a hashmap is O(1).

• Insertion in a hashmap has a constant time complexity of O(1) on average.

• This is because hashmaps use a hashing function to determine the index where the key-value pair should be stored.

• Even in the worst-case scenario, where there are collisions, the time complexity is still O(1) due to techniques like chaining or open addressing.

• Example: Inserting a key-value pair into a hashmap takes constant time regardless of the size of t...read more

Find the nearest index of a character in a string for each index.

• Create an array of strings to store the results.

• Loop through each character in the string.

• For each character, loop through the rest of the string to find the nearest index of the same character.

• Store the result in the array.

Revenue is the income generated by a company through its business activities.

• Revenue is the total amount of money earned by a company from the sale of goods or services.

• It can be forecasted by analyzing past sales data, market trends, and economic conditions.

• Revenue forecasting is important for budgeting, resource allocation, and decision-making.

• Factors that can impact revenue include competition, pricing, customer demand, and external factors like government regulations.

• Exam...read more

Covid has severely impacted the global economy and education sector.

• The pandemic has caused a significant decline in economic growth and increased unemployment rates worldwide.

• Many businesses have shut down, and the stock market has been highly volatile.

• The education sector has been forced to shift to online learning, causing disruptions in the learning process and affecting students' mental health.

• Many students have been unable to access online education due to a lack of res...read more

Mandatory checks in client position file

• Client identification information

• Position details including quantity and price

• Trade date and settlement date

• Margin requirements and collateral

• Compliance with regulatory requirements

• Accuracy and completeness of data

Yes, an individual can set up a mutual fund company.

• The individual needs to fulfill the eligibility criteria set by SEBI.

• They need to have a minimum net worth of Rs. 50 lakhs.

• They need to have a team of professionals with relevant experience.

• Examples of individuals who have set up mutual fund companies include Radhakishan Damani (D-Mart founder) and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (investor).

Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, required return is the minimum return an investor expects, methods include CAPM and DDM.

• Beta measures a stock's volatility in relation to the market.

• Required return is the minimum return an investor expects to compensate for the risk of an investment.

• Methods of calculating required return include Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and Dividend Discount Model (DDM).

• CAPM formula: Required Return = Risk-Free Rate + Beta * (Market Return...read more

Cluster indexing physically reorders the data on disk to match the index, while non-cluster indexing does not.

• Cluster indexing physically reorders the data on disk to match the index structure, leading to faster retrieval of data.

• Non-cluster indexing creates a separate data structure that points to the actual data, which may result in slower retrieval times.

• Cluster indexing is typically used in primary keys, while non-cluster indexing is used for secondary indexes.

• Examples of...read more

IF function in Excel is used to test a condition and return one value if the condition is true and another value if the condition is false.

• IF function is a logical function in Excel

• It takes three arguments: logical_test, value_if_true, and value_if_false

• Logical_test is the condition that needs to be tested

• Value_if_true is the value that is returned if the condition is true

• Value_if_false is the value that is returned if the condition is false

• IF function is commonly used in fin...read more

The obligation in options and futures lies with the seller or writer of the contract.

• In options, the seller has the obligation to sell or buy the underlying asset at the agreed price if the buyer decides to exercise the option.

• In futures, the seller has the obligation to deliver the underlying asset at the agreed price and date.

• The buyer of options and futures has the right, but not the obligation, to exercise the contract.

• The obligation can be transferred to another party th...read more

Interview questions for Software Developer Intern

• Maximum meetings in one room can be calculated using greedy approach

• Bottom view of tree can be obtained using level order traversal and a map to store horizontal distance

• Serialization and deserialization of binary tree can be done using preorder traversal

• Virtual destructor in Java is automatically called while in C++ it needs to be explicitly defined

Design an app to bring data from external vendors in different formats

• Create a data ingestion pipeline to collect data from various vendors

• Implement data transformation processes to standardize formats

• Utilize APIs or web scraping techniques to retrieve data from vendors

• Use a database to store and manage the collected data

• Implement data validation and cleansing techniques to ensure data quality

Market capitalisation is the total value of a company's outstanding shares.

• Market capitalisation is calculated by multiplying the current market price of a company's stock by the total number of outstanding shares.

• It is used to determine the size of a company and its relative importance in the market.

• Companies with higher market capitalisation are generally considered to be more stable and less risky investments.

• For example, as of August 2021, Apple Inc. had a market capitali...read more

Multitasking in Java can be achieved through multithreading.

• Create a new thread using the Thread class or Runnable interface

• Use the start() method to start the thread

• Synchronize shared resources to avoid race conditions

• Use wait() and notify() methods for inter-thread communication

• Example: creating a thread to perform a long-running task while the main thread continues executing other tasks

Bond prices and interest rates have an inverse relationship.

• When interest rates rise, bond prices fall.

• When interest rates fall, bond prices rise.

• This is because existing bonds with lower interest rates become less attractive compared to new bonds with higher rates.

• Investors demand a discount on existing bonds to match the higher rates available on new bonds.

Bonus issue is free shares given to existing shareholders while stock split is dividing existing shares into multiple shares.

• Bonus issue increases the number of shares outstanding while stock split does not

• Bonus issue is usually done to reward shareholders while stock split is done to make shares more affordable

• Bonus issue does not affect the market capitalization while stock split does

• Example of bonus issue: Infosys gave 1:1 bonus issue in 2018

• Example of stock split: Apple d...read more

Acid test ratio measures a company's ability to pay off its current liabilities with quick assets. Ideal ratio is 1:1.

• Acid test ratio is also known as quick ratio.

• It excludes inventory from current assets as it may not be easily convertible to cash.

• An ideal acid test ratio is considered to be 1:1, which means the company has enough quick assets to pay off its current liabilities.

• A ratio below 1:1 indicates that the company may have difficulty paying off its current liabilitie...read more

Design a schema for a restaurant app like Zomato.

• Create tables for restaurants, menus, reviews, and users.

• Include columns for restaurant name, location, cuisine, and ratings.

• Add columns for menu items, prices, and descriptions.

• Include user information such as name, email, and password.

• Create relationships between tables using foreign keys.

• Implement search and filter functionality for restaurants and menus.

• Allow users to leave reviews and ratings for restaurants.

• Include featur...read more

Preferential shares have priority over equity shares in terms of dividend payment and liquidation proceeds.

• Preferential shares have a fixed dividend rate, while equity shares do not.

• Preferential shareholders have priority over equity shareholders in receiving dividend payments.

• In case of liquidation, preferential shareholders have priority over equity shareholders in receiving proceeds.

• Preferential shares are less risky than equity shares.

• Examples of preferential shares inclu...read more

Mandatory fields to check bond income in Bloomberg

• To check bond income in Bloomberg, mandatory fields to be checked are bond identifier, coupon rate, maturity date, and price.

• The bond identifier can be ISIN, CUSIP, or Bloomberg ticker.

• Coupon rate is the interest rate paid by the bond issuer to the bondholder.

• Maturity date is the date when the bond will be redeemed.

• Price is the current market price of the bond.

• Other optional fields to check are yield, credit rating, and durati...read more

Depreciation is the decrease in value of an asset over time, while amortization is the process of spreading out the cost of an intangible asset over its useful life.

• Depreciation is used for tangible assets like buildings, machinery, and vehicles.

• Amortization is used for intangible assets like patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

• Both are non-cash expenses that reduce the value of an asset on the balance sheet.

• Depreciation and amortization are important for calculating a compan...read more

Wealth and asset management involves managing and growing an individual's or organization's financial assets.

• Wealth management focuses on managing high net worth individuals' assets and investments.

• Asset management involves managing a portfolio of assets, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate, to maximize returns.

• Both wealth and asset management involve developing investment strategies, monitoring performance, and making adjustments as needed.

• Examples of wealth and asset man...read more

Capital is money used to start or grow a business. Primary market is where new securities are issued. Secondary market is where existing securities are traded.

• Capital is the money used to start or grow a business.

• Primary market is where new securities are issued for the first time, such as initial public offerings (IPOs).

• Secondary market is where existing securities are traded, such as stocks and bonds.

• Investors buy securities in the primary market and sell them in the second...read more

Cash expenses are payments made in cash, while non-cash expenses are expenses that do not involve cash payments.

• Cash expenses are payments made in physical currency

• Non-cash expenses are expenses that do not involve physical currency

• Examples of cash expenses include rent paid in cash, cash purchases of supplies, etc.

• Examples of non-cash expenses include depreciation, amortization, etc.

Three important statements in annual report are income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.

• Income statement shows the company's revenue and expenses over a period of time.

• Balance sheet shows the company's assets, liabilities, and equity at a specific point in time.

• Cash flow statement shows the company's inflow and outflow of cash over a period of time.

• These statements provide important financial information for investors and stakeholders.

• For example, the income ...read more

SQL is a relational database while NoSQL is a non-relational database.

• SQL databases use structured query language while NoSQL databases use unstructured query language.

• SQL databases are vertically scalable while NoSQL databases are horizontally scalable.

• SQL databases are good for complex queries while NoSQL databases are good for large amounts of unstructured data.

• Examples of SQL databases include MySQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL while examples of NoSQL databases include MongoDB...read more

Mergers and acquisitions refer to the consolidation of companies through various financial transactions.

• Mergers involve two companies joining together to form a new entity

• Acquisitions involve one company purchasing another company

• Mergers and acquisitions are often used as a growth strategy for companies

• Examples include Disney's acquisition of Marvel, and the merger of Exxon and Mobil

XPath is a language used to navigate XML documents and identify elements.

• XPath is a query language for selecting nodes from an XML document.

• It uses path expressions to navigate through elements and attributes.

• XPath can be used to locate elements based on their attributes, text content, or position in the document.

• It is commonly used in software testing to locate specific elements for verification or manipulation.

• Example: //div[@class='container'] selects all div elements with...read more

Accounting concepts and conventions are the basic principles and guidelines followed in the preparation of financial statements.

• Accounting concepts are the fundamental ideas and assumptions that underlie the preparation of financial statements.

• Accounting conventions are the practices and procedures that are generally accepted in the accounting profession.

• Examples of accounting concepts include the going concern concept, the accruals concept, and the consistency concept.

• Exampl...read more

Futures and forward contracts are financial agreements to buy or sell an asset at a specified price on a future date.

• Futures contracts are standardized and traded on exchanges, while forward contracts are customized and traded over-the-counter.

• Both contracts involve an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price on a future date.

• Futures contracts require daily settlement of gains and losses, while forward contracts settle at the end of the contract period.

• Examp...read more

Stack memory is used for static memory allocation and follows a Last In First Out (LIFO) structure, while heap memory is used for dynamic memory allocation and has a more flexible structure.

• Stack memory is limited in size and is typically faster to access compared to heap memory.

• Variables stored in stack memory have a fixed size determined at compile time, while variables in heap memory can have a size determined at runtime.

• Stack memory is automatically managed by the system,...read more

Custom contracts in futures and forwards are agreements between two parties that are tailored to meet specific needs or requirements.

• Custom contracts allow parties to negotiate terms such as quantity, price, delivery date, and other specifications.

• These contracts are not standardized like exchange-traded futures and forwards, making them flexible and customizable.

• Examples of custom contracts include over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and bespoke structured products.

To find nth node from last in a linked list in one traversal

• Use two pointers, one at the head and the other at nth node from head

• Move both pointers simultaneously until the second pointer reaches the end

• The first pointer will be at the nth node from last

Black Scholes Pricing of Derivatives is a mathematical model used to calculate the theoretical price of European-style options.

• Developed by Fischer Black, Myron Scholes, and Robert Merton in 1973.

• Factors in the current stock price, strike price, time to expiration, volatility, risk-free interest rate, and dividends.

• Assumes the option can only be exercised at expiration (European-style).

• Used to determine the fair market value of options and other derivatives.

• Helps investors an...read more

Intrinsic value is the true value of an asset based on its fundamental characteristics.

• Intrinsic value is not influenced by market fluctuations or emotions.

• It is calculated by analyzing the asset's financial and operational data.

• For example, the intrinsic value of a stock can be calculated by analyzing its earnings, assets, and liabilities.

• Investors use intrinsic value to determine whether an asset is undervalued or overvalued.

• Intrinsic value is subjective and can vary depend...read more

A conglomerate is a company that owns multiple subsidiaries operating in different industries.

• Conglomerates are formed through mergers and acquisitions.

• They have diversified business interests and operate in multiple sectors.

• Examples include Berkshire Hathaway, Tata Group, and Samsung.

• Conglomerates can provide economies of scale and risk diversification, but can also be difficult to manage.

• They may face challenges in integrating different businesses and maintaining focus.

A stable sort is a sorting algorithm that preserves the relative order of equal elements in the sorted output.

• Stable sorts are useful when the original order of equal elements needs to be maintained.

• Examples of stable sorting algorithms include Merge Sort, Bubble Sort, and Insertion Sort.

• In a stable sort, if two elements have the same key value, their relative order in the original array is preserved in the sorted array.

Design a parking lot

• Consider the size and capacity of the parking lot

• Decide on the layout and organization of parking spaces

• Implement a system to manage parking availability and reservations

• Include features like ticketing, payment, and security

• Consider scalability and future expansion

IPO process involves several steps from selecting underwriters to listing on stock exchange.

• Selecting underwriters

• Preparing registration statement

• Roadshow and investor presentations

• Pricing the IPO

• Listing on stock exchange

• Post-IPO activities such as reporting and compliance

Shares are units of ownership in a company. Different types of shares include common shares, preferred shares, and dual-class shares.

• Common shares give shareholders voting rights and a share in the company's profits.

• Preferred shares give shareholders priority in receiving dividends and assets in case of bankruptcy.

• Dual-class shares give certain shareholders more voting power than others.

• Other types of shares include redeemable shares, voting shares, and non-voting shares.

• Comp...read more

A financial contract between two parties based on an underlying asset or security.

• Derivatives are used to hedge against risk or speculate on future market movements.

• Examples include options, futures, swaps, and forwards.

• Derivatives can be traded on exchanges or over-the-counter.

• They are complex financial instruments that require expertise to understand and use effectively.

Alpha and Beta are measures of investment performance compared to a benchmark.

• Alpha measures the excess return of an investment compared to its benchmark.

• Beta measures the volatility of an investment compared to its benchmark.

• Alpha and Beta are commonly used in finance to evaluate the performance of investment portfolios.

• A positive alpha indicates that the investment outperformed its benchmark, while a negative alpha indicates underperformance.

• A beta of 1 indicates that the i...read more

Find the missing number in an array of integers from 1 to n.

• Create a hash set to store the numbers in the array

• Loop through the numbers from 1 to n and check if they are in the hash set

• Return the number that is not in the hash set

Semaphores are a synchronization tool used to control access to a shared resource.

• Semaphores can be used to prevent race conditions in multi-threaded programs.

• They can be used to limit the number of concurrent accesses to a resource.

• Semaphores can be binary (0 or 1) or counting (0 to n).

• Examples of semaphore functions include wait(), signal(), and init().

Yield on a bond can be calculated by dividing the annual interest payment by the current market price of the bond.

• Yield on a bond is calculated by dividing the annual interest payment by the current market price of the bond.

• The formula for calculating yield on a bond is: Yield = (Annual Interest Payment / Current Market Price) * 100%

• For example, if a bond pays $50 in annual interest and is currently priced at $1,000, the yield would be (50 / 1000) * 100% = 5%

NAV stands for Net Asset Value and is the value of a fund's assets minus its liabilities.

• NAV is used to determine the price of a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF).

• It is calculated by dividing the total value of the fund's assets by the number of outstanding shares.

• NAV is updated at the end of each trading day.

• Investors can use NAV to track the performance of their investments and to buy or sell shares of the fund.

• For example, if a mutual fund has assets worth $100 mil...read more

A transaction is a unit of work that is performed on a database.

• A transaction is a sequence of database operations that are treated as a single unit of work.

• It ensures that all the operations are completed successfully or none of them are performed.

• Transactions are used to maintain data consistency and integrity in a database.

• Examples of transactions include transferring money between bank accounts or updating inventory levels in a retail system.

Implementing system design scenarios for monitoring and alarming

• Utilize monitoring tools like Prometheus, Grafana, or Nagios to collect and visualize data

• Set up alerts based on predefined thresholds for key metrics

• Implement a centralized logging system like ELK stack to track system behavior

• Utilize distributed tracing tools like Jaeger or Zipkin to monitor request flows

• Implement health checks for services to ensure they are running properly

Working capital is the amount of money a company has available for its day-to-day operations.

• Working capital is calculated by subtracting current liabilities from current assets.

• It is important for a company to have enough working capital to pay for expenses such as salaries, rent, and inventory.

• A positive working capital indicates that a company has enough assets to cover its short-term liabilities.

• Examples of current assets include cash, accounts receivable, and inventory.

• E...read more

Topological Sort is a linear ordering of vertices in a directed acyclic graph.

• It is used to find a linear ordering of elements that have dependencies.

• It is based on the concept of DFS (Depth First Search).

• It can be implemented using both DFS and BFS (Breadth First Search).

• It is commonly used in scheduling jobs, resolving dependencies, and compiling code.

• Example: Topological sorting of courses to take in a college based on prerequisites.

A pivot table is a data summarization tool used in spreadsheet programs like Excel.

• It allows users to quickly summarize and analyze large amounts of data.

• Users can easily rearrange the table to view data from different perspectives.

• Pivot tables can perform calculations such as sums, averages, and counts.

• They are commonly used in financial analysis and business reporting.

• Example: A pivot table can be used to summarize sales data by product, region, and time period.

DCF stands for Discounted Cash Flow, a valuation method used to estimate the value of an investment based on its future cash flows.

• DCF takes into account the time value of money, meaning that a dollar received in the future is worth less than a dollar received today.

• It involves projecting future cash flows of an investment and discounting them back to their present value using a discount rate.

• The resulting present value represents the estimated intrinsic value of the investme...read more

A stock split does not have any impact on the P&L of a company.

• Stock split increases the number of outstanding shares and reduces the share price proportionally.

• The total value of the shares remains the same before and after the split.

• The earnings per share (EPS) and the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio change after the split, but not the total earnings or revenue.

• Investors may perceive a stock split as a positive signal and the stock price may increase.

• Companies may split their...read more

IRR stands for Internal Rate of Return, a financial metric used to calculate the profitability of an investment.

• IRR is a discount rate that makes the net present value (NPV) of all cash flows from an investment equal to zero.

• It is used to compare the profitability of different investments.

• A higher IRR indicates a more profitable investment.

• IRR can be calculated using Excel or financial calculators.

• For example, if an investment has an initial cost of $10,000 and generates cash...read more

Hashing is a process of converting data into a fixed-size output. Collision occurs when two different inputs produce the same output.

• Hashing is used for indexing and retrieving data quickly

• Hash functions should be deterministic and produce the same output for the same input

• Collisions can be resolved using techniques like chaining or open addressing

• Examples of hashing algorithms include MD5, SHA-1, and SHA-256

A 2 player chess game with standard rules and GUI

• Implement standard chess rules and moves

• Create a GUI for players to interact with the game

• Allow players to make moves and track game progress

• Incorporate checkmate and stalemate conditions

• Implement a timer for each player's turn