10+ ConsultAdd Interview Questions and Answers

Find the 2nd largest element in an array with the least time complexity.

• Sort the array in descending order and return the element at index 1.

• Initialize two variables to keep track of the largest and second largest elements.

• Iterate through the array and update the variables accordingly.

• Return the second largest element.

Use Floyd's cycle detection algorithm to find if a Singly Linked List is cyclic or not.

• Use two pointers, slow and fast, where slow moves one step at a time and fast moves two steps at a time.

• If there is a cycle, the two pointers will eventually meet at some point.

• If the fast pointer reaches the end of the list (null), then there is no cycle.

Bubble sorting has a time complexity of O(n^2) for a sorted list.

• Bubble sorting has a worst-case time complexity of O(n^2) for a sorted list.

• The time complexity does not change even if the list is already sorted.

• Example: If we have a sorted list of size n, bubble sorting will still take O(n^2) time.

QuickSort is one of the best sorting algorithms with an average time complexity of O(n log n).

• QuickSort is a divide and conquer algorithm that works by selecting a 'pivot' element and partitioning the array around the pivot.

• It has an average time complexity of O(n log n) and a worst-case time complexity of O(n^2).

• Example: ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'date', 'fig'] can be sorted using QuickSort.

• Example: ['3', '1', '4', '1', '5', '9', '2', '6', '5'] can be sorted using QuickS...read more

An abstract class is a class that cannot be instantiated and may contain abstract methods that must be implemented by its subclasses.

• Cannot be instantiated directly

• May contain abstract methods

• Used as a blueprint for other classes

Find the longest subsequence in a string

• Iterate through the string and keep track of the longest subsequence found so far

• Use a hashmap to store the last index of each character seen

• Update the longest subsequence length when a character is repeated

Abstraction is the process of hiding complex details and showing only the essential features of an object or system.

• Abstraction allows us to focus on what an object does, rather than how it does it

• It helps in simplifying complex systems by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable parts

• Examples of abstraction include using a car without needing to understand its internal combustion engine, or using a smartphone without knowing its hardware components

To implement a queue using a stack, use two stacks and simulate the queue operations.

• Use two stacks, one for enqueue operation and one for dequeue operation.

• For enqueue operation, simply push elements onto the stack used for enqueueing.

• For dequeue operation, if the dequeue stack is empty, pop all elements from enqueue stack and push onto dequeue stack.

• Then pop from the dequeue stack to simulate dequeue operation.

Calculate sum of all elements in a given array of strings

• Iterate through the array and convert each element to integer before adding to sum

• Handle edge cases like empty array or non-numeric elements

• Return the final sum after iterating through all elements

A requirement is a specific need or expectation that must be met in order to achieve a desired outcome.

• A requirement is a statement of what a product or service must do or how it must perform.

• Requirements can be functional (what the product must do) or non-functional (how well it must do it).

• Requirements should be clear, concise, and measurable.

• Examples of requirements include: the ability to save and retrieve data, a response time of less than 2 seconds, and compatibility wi...read more

Use a sorting algorithm to move the nose to the front of the LinkedIn list.

• Implement a sorting algorithm that moves the nose to the front of the list.

• Identify the nose in the list and swap it with the first element.

• Update the LinkedIn list with the nose at the front.

Reverse array of strings

• Iterate through the array and swap elements from start to end

• Use two pointers, one at the beginning and one at the end, and swap elements until they meet

Reverse a given string

• Use built-in functions like reverse() or loop through the string in reverse order

• Create a new string and append characters from the original string in reverse order

• Convert the string to an array of characters, reverse the array, and then join it back into a string