30+ MAQ Software Software Engineer Interview Questions and Answers

Calculate the Nth Fibonacci number efficiently using dynamic programming.

• Use dynamic programming to store previously calculated Fibonacci numbers to avoid redundant calculations.

• Start with base cases F(1) and F(2) as 1, then iterate to calculate F(N) efficiently.

• Time complexity can be optimized to O(N) using dynamic programming.

• Example: For N = 5, the 5th Fibonacci number is 5.

Generate a series of numbers by subtracting K from N until 0 or negative, then adding K back to reach N without using loops.

• Create a recursive function to generate the series.

• Subtract K from N until N is 0 or negative, then add K back until N is reached.

• Return the series as an array of integers.

Find the unique element in a sorted array where all other elements appear twice.

• Iterate through the array and XOR all elements to find the unique element.

• Use a hash set to keep track of elements and find the unique one.

• Sort the array and check adjacent elements to find the unique one.

Given a string with parentheses and letters, remove minimum invalid parentheses to make it valid and return all possible valid strings.

• Use BFS to explore all possible valid strings by removing parentheses one by one

• Keep track of visited strings to avoid duplicates

• Return all unique valid strings obtained after removing minimum number of parentheses

Return all permutations of a given string in lexicographically increasing order.

• Use backtracking to generate all permutations of the string.

• Sort the permutations in lexicographical order before printing.

• Ensure the string contains unique characters for correct output.

• Handle multiple test cases by iterating over each case.

Rotate a given array to the left by K steps.

• Create a new array to store the rotated elements.

• Use modular arithmetic to handle cases where K is greater than the array size.

• Shift elements to the left by K steps and update the new array.

• Return the rotated array as output.

Remove all occurrences of a specified string from a singly linked list by checking from the end of the list.

• Traverse the linked list from the end to efficiently remove the specified string occurrences.

• Update the pointers accordingly after removing the string to maintain the integrity of the linked list.

• Consider edge cases such as when the entire linked list contains the specified string.

• Use a temporary buffer to keep track of the nodes that need to be removed.

Sort a Singly Linked List using Merge Sort algorithm.

• Implement the Merge Sort algorithm for linked lists.

• Divide the list into two halves, sort each half recursively, and then merge them.

• Make sure to handle the base case of an empty or single-node list.

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

Sort a string with alternate lowercase and uppercase letters in sorted order.

• Create two separate arrays for lowercase and uppercase letters.

• Sort both arrays individually.

• Merge the two arrays alternately to form the final sorted string.

Hash table. No, it is not possible to create a data structure with all operations in O(1) time.

• Hash table uses a hash function to map keys to indices in an array.

• Insertion and deletion can be done in O(1) time on average.

• Search retrieval can also be done in O(1) time on average.

• However, worst-case scenarios can result in O(n) time complexity.

• It is not possible to create a data structure with all operations in O(1) time.

Calculate factorial of a given number N.

• Iterate from 1 to N and multiply each number to get the factorial value.

• Handle edge cases like N=0 or N=1 separately.

• Use recursion or iteration to calculate factorial efficiently.

Find the second largest element in an array of integers.

• Iterate through the array to find the largest and second largest elements.

• Handle cases where all elements are identical.

• Return -1 if a second largest element does not exist.

To find the Kth row of Pascal's Triangle given a non-negative integer K.

• Create an array to store the values of the Kth row of Pascal's Triangle

• Use the formula C(n, k) = C(n-1, k-1) + C(n-1, k) to calculate the values

• Return the array as the output

Given an array of 0s and 1s, find the maximum count of 1s by flipping a sub-array at most once.

• Iterate through the array and keep track of the maximum count of 1s obtained by flipping a sub-array.

• Consider flipping a sub-array from index i to j and calculate the count of 1s in the resulting array.

• Return the maximum count of 1s obtained by flipping a sub-array at most once.

Count the number of islands in a 2D matrix of 1s and 0s.

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

• Mark visited cells to avoid redundant traversal.

• Increment island count whenever a new island is encountered.

Optimized approach to find third largest element from array using half traversal.

• Sort the array in descending order and return the element at index 2.

• Use a max heap to keep track of the top 3 elements while traversing the array.

• Use two variables to keep track of the second and third largest elements while traversing the array.

• Divide the array into two halves and find the maximum and second maximum in each half, then compare them to find the third largest element.

Indexes are used to improve query performance. Multiple clustered and non-clustered indexes can be created on a table.

• Indexes are used to quickly locate data without scanning the entire table.

• Clustered index determines the physical order of data in a table.

• Non-clustered index is a separate structure that contains a copy of the indexed columns and a pointer to the actual data.

• A table can have only one clustered index, but multiple non-clustered indexes.

• Indexes should be create...read more

ACID properties ensure database transactions are reliable. Two transactions can occur simultaneously using locking and isolation.

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

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

• 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.

• Dur...read more

Answering how to print first character of words in a string using one stack and an array.

• For using one stack, push each character onto the stack and pop when a space is encountered. Print the popped character.

• For using an array, split the string into words and print the first character of each word.

• In both cases, handle edge cases like empty string and string with only one word.

Given an array and a number, find if the number can be generated using sum of array members and output those numbers.

• Iterate through the array and check if the number can be generated using the sum of array members

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

• If the difference is found in the hash table, output the corresponding array elements

• If no such combination is found, output 'Not possible'

Query to find the Nth highest salary with employee name

• Use a subquery to rank the salaries in descending order

• Select the distinct salary from the subquery with LIMIT N-1, 1 to get the Nth highest salary

• Join the main table with the subquery on the salary column to get the employee name

Time complexity of data structure operations

• Arrays: O(1) for access, O(n) for search/insert/delete

• Linked Lists: O(n) for access/search, O(1) for insert/delete

• Stacks/Queues: O(1) for access/insert/delete

• Hash Tables: O(1) for access/insert/delete (average case)

• Trees: O(log n) for access/search/insert/delete (balanced)

• Heaps: O(log n) for access/insert/delete

• Graphs: Varies depending on algorithm used

Span is an inline element used for styling small portions of text, while div is a block-level element used for grouping and styling larger sections of content.

• Span is an inline element, div is a block-level element

• Span is used for styling small portions of text, div is used for grouping larger sections of content

• Span does not create a new line, div creates a new block-level element

Generate all permutations of a given string using recursion and backtracking.

• Use recursion to generate all possible permutations of the string.

• Use backtracking to backtrack and explore all possible combinations.

• Store each permutation in an array of strings.

Reversing k nodes in a linked list

• Iterate through the linked list in groups of k nodes

• Reverse each group of k nodes

• Update the pointers accordingly to maintain the reversed order

Joins in SQL are used to combine rows from two or more tables based on a related column between them.

• Joins are used to retrieve data from multiple tables based on a related column

• Common types of joins include INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN, RIGHT JOIN, and FULL JOIN

• Example: SELECT * FROM table1 INNER JOIN table2 ON table1.column = table2.column

Normalization is the process of organizing data in a database to reduce redundancy and improve data integrity.

• Normalization is used to eliminate data redundancy by breaking up tables into smaller, related tables.

• There are different normal forms such as 1NF, 2NF, 3NF, BCNF, and 4NF, each with specific rules to follow.

• Normalization helps in reducing data anomalies and ensures data integrity.

• Example: Breaking up a customer table into separate tables for customer details and orde...read more

Circular linked list is a data structure where the last node points back to the first node.

• In a circular linked list, each node has a pointer to the next node and the last node points back to the first node.

• Traversal in a circular linked list can start from any node and continue until the starting node is reached again.

• Insertion and deletion operations in a circular linked list are similar to those in a regular linked list, but special care must be taken to update the pointer...read more

Indexes in SQL are used to improve the performance of queries by allowing the database to quickly retrieve data.

• Indexes are created on columns in a table to speed up data retrieval.

• They work similar to an index in a book, allowing the database to quickly find the relevant data.

• Primary keys automatically have an index created on them.

• Indexes can be unique, meaning that each value in the indexed column must be unique.

• Examples: CREATE INDEX idx_name ON table_name(column_name);