IBM Consulting Software Developer Interview Questions and Answers

I am a passionate application developer with experience in developing web and mobile applications.

• Experienced in programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, and Swift

• Skilled in developing responsive and user-friendly interfaces

• Familiar with Agile development methodologies

• Have worked on projects involving database management and API integration

Developed a mobile application for tracking daily water intake

• Designed user-friendly interface for inputting water consumption

• Implemented notifications to remind users to drink water throughout the day

• Integrated a database to store and track user's daily water intake

• Utilized charts and graphs to visualize water intake trends

I come from a close-knit family of four, including my parents and younger sister.

• My parents have always been supportive of my career choices.

• I have a younger sister who is currently studying in college.

• We enjoy spending quality time together on weekends, going for family outings or watching movies.

Mphasis offers a diverse range of projects and opportunities for growth in the field of application development.

• Mphasis has a strong reputation in the IT industry for delivering innovative solutions.

• The company provides a collaborative work environment that fosters creativity and learning.

• Mphasis offers opportunities to work on cutting-edge technologies and projects, allowing for professional growth and development.

Function overloading is when multiple functions have the same name but different parameters. Polymorphism is the ability of an object to take on many forms.

• Function overloading allows multiple functions with the same name but different parameters to be defined.

• Polymorphism allows objects of different classes to be treated as objects of a common superclass.

• Function overloading is resolved at compile-time, while polymorp...read more

A simple C program to accept and print a name.

• Use scanf() function to accept the name from the user.

• Use printf() function to print the name on the screen.

Algorithm to find 2 numbers in an array whose sum is equal to a target integer

• Use a hash table to store the difference between target and each element in the array

• Iterate through the array and check if the current element exists in the hash table

• Return the pair of elements that sum up to the target integer

Hashtable is faster for finding an item than a sorted list.

• Hashtable has constant time complexity O(1) for finding an item.

• Sorted list has logarithmic time complexity O(log n) for finding an item.

• Hashtable uses hashing to directly access the item's location.

• Sorted list requires binary search to find the item's location.

• Hashtable is ideal for large datasets with frequent lookups.

• Sorted list is ideal for datasets that re...read more

JSON and XML are the most popular data interchange formats when using APIs.

• JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight format that is easy to read and write. It is widely used in web APIs.

• XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a more complex format that is also widely used in web APIs.

• Other formats include CSV (Comma Separated Values), YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language), and Protocol Buffers.

Popular APIs for Social Commerce services

• Facebook Graph API for social media integration

• Instagram API for photo sharing and tagging

• Twitter API for real-time updates and customer engagement

• Pinterest API for product discovery and sharing

• Google Maps API for location-based services

• PayPal API for secure payment processing

Use a script to iterate through each HTML page, locate phone numbers, and update their format.

• Write a script using a programming language like Python or JavaScript to iterate through each HTML page

• Use regular expressions to locate phone numbers in the pages

• Update the format of the phone numbers as needed (e.g. adding country code, changing separators)

• Save the updated HTML pages with the new phone number format

Designing Google Suggest system

• I would start by analyzing user search patterns and frequently searched keywords

• Then, I would create a database of these keywords and their associated search results

• I would use indexing services to quickly retrieve relevant results for each keyword

• I would also implement machine learning algorithms to improve the accuracy of suggestions over time

Check if a number is a power of 2 and odd.

• To check if a number is a power of 2, use bitwise AND operator with the number and its predecessor. If the result is 0, it is a power of 2.

• To check if a number is odd, use modulus operator with 2. If the result is 1, it is odd.

• Example code in Python:

• def is_power_of_two(num):

• return num & (num - 1) == 0

• def is_odd(num):

• return num % 2 == 1

By introducing new menu items, optimizing pricing strategy, and improving the overall dining experience.

• Conduct a survey to understand the preferences of employees

• Introduce healthy and affordable meal options

• Offer discounts for bulk orders or loyalty programs

• Partner with local vendors to source fresh ingredients

• Improve the ambiance and seating arrangements

• Implement online ordering and delivery services

Reviewing 30 million ads from 42 languages in Google AdWords and rejecting non-compliant ads requires a systematic approach.

• Create a set of specific rules and guidelines for ad compliance

• Use automated tools to filter out ads that violate the rules

• Assign a team of reviewers to manually check the remaining ads

• Ensure that the reviewers are fluent in the languages of the ads they are reviewing

• Regularly update the rules and...read more

Find the intersection of two square images represented as trees based on color rules.

• A white node (W) intersects with another white node (W) results in W.

• A black node (B) intersects with another black node (B) results in B.

• A white node (W) intersects with a black node (B) results in W.

• A mixed node (M) will have 4 children representing the intersection of its quadrants.

Determine the order of alien alphabets using a sorted dictionary of words.

• Create a graph where each node is an alien character.

• Add directed edges based on the order of characters in the given words.

• Perform topological sorting on the graph to determine the order.

• Example: For words ['abc', 'ab'], 'c' comes after 'b'.

• Handle cases with multiple characters differing at the same position.

Multiple data structures are used to print nodes in a specific order. One data structure cannot be used alone.

• The given order suggests a depth-first search traversal of a tree-like structure.

• A stack can be used to keep track of the nodes to be visited.

• A queue can be used to store the children of a node in the order they are visited.

• An array can be used to store the nodes in the required order.

• A linked list can be used ...read more

Check if one string is a subsequence of another by verifying character order.

• A subsequence maintains the order of characters but not necessarily consecutiveness.

• Example: 'abc' is a subsequence of 'aebdc' (a, b, c appear in order).

• Example: 'abc' is NOT a subsequence of 'acb' (order is violated).

• To check, iterate through both strings and match characters sequentially.

Find largest pen using minimum comparisons with tops.

• Divide pens into two groups and compare largest pen from each group with largest top.

• Repeat the process with the group containing the largest pen until only one pen is left.

• The remaining pen is the largest pen.

• Total number of comparisons required is 2n-3.

Given n dice with 'a' sides and sum b, return no. of ways to obtain b. Optimize time and space complexity.

• Use dynamic programming to reduce time complexity

• Create a 2D array to store the number of ways to obtain each sum for each number of dice

• Use rolling arrays to optimize space complexity

• Example: n=2, a=6, b=7 -> 6 ways to obtain sum 7

• Example: n=3, a=4, b=8 -> 21 ways to obtain sum 8

Sort 128 GB data on 2 machines with 64 GB RAM each. Extend to 1000 machines.

• Use external sorting algorithm like merge sort or quick sort

• Divide data into smaller chunks and sort them individually

• Merge sorted chunks using additional RAM

• For 1000 machines, use distributed sorting algorithms like MapReduce or Hadoop

• Ensure data consistency and fault tolerance in distributed sorting