Microsoft Corporation Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Round duration - 90 minutes
Round difficulty - null
Online test consisted of two questions which we had to solve in 90 minutes. It was conducted on Codility.

Q1. Reverse the order of words in a given sentence(an array of characters)
Ans. 
To reverse the order of words in a given sentence, we need to split the sentence into words and then reverse the order of the resulting array.
• Split the sentence into words using a delimiter like space or comma

• Reverse the resulting array of words

• Join the reversed array of words using a delimiter to form the reversed sentence
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Q2. Given N people of an M*M grid, find the point that requires the least total distance by all people to meet at that point.
Ans. 
Given N people on an M*M grid, find the point with the least total distance for all to meet.
• Calculate the Manhattan distance for each point on the grid

• Find the point with the minimum total distance

• Use dynamic programming to optimize the solution

• Consider edge cases such as when N=1 or M=1
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Round duration - 50 minute
Round difficulty - null
This was also a coding round. The interviewer gave me two questions that I had to code.

Q1. Number of islands problem
Ans. 
The number of islands problem involves counting the number of connected islands in a grid.
• An island is a group of connected 1s in a grid of 0s and 1s.

• Use depth-first search or breadth-first search to traverse the grid and count the islands.

• Keep track of visited cells to avoid counting the same island multiple times.
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Q2. Scope resolution program
Ans. 
Scope resolution program is used to determine the scope of a variable in a program.
• It helps in identifying the location of a variable in a program

• It helps in avoiding naming conflicts between variables

• It can be done using the dot operator or the arrow operator in object-oriented programming

• It can also be done using the scope resolution operator (::) in C++
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This was a theoretical round. The Interviewer asked me questions about my college and discipline.

Q1. Explain your final year project.
Ans. 
Developed a mobile app for tracking and managing personal finances.
• Used React Native for cross-platform development

• Implemented features such as budget tracking, expense categorization, and bill reminders

• Integrated with third-party APIs for real-time stock market data

• Conducted user testing and implemented feedback for improved user experience
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Q2. What type of difficulties you faced while creating the project?
Ans. 
I faced difficulties in managing the project timeline and coordinating with team members.
• Coordinating with team members who were working remotely

• Managing the project timeline and ensuring timely delivery

• Dealing with unexpected technical issues and bugs

• Ensuring the project met the client's requirements and expectations
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Q3. A binary tree type question
Ans. 
A binary tree is a data structure in which each node has at most two children.
• Binary trees are used in computer science for efficient searching and sorting algorithms.

• Examples of binary trees include binary search trees, AVL trees, and red-black trees.

• Traversal methods for binary trees include in-order, pre-order, and post-order traversal.

• Binary trees can also be used to represent hierarchical data, such as file system
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Round duration - 90 minutes
Round difficulty - Hard

Q1. 
Stock Buying and Selling Problem Statement
Given an array of stock prices where each element represents the stock price for a given day, determine the maximum profit you can achieve from buying and sellin...read more
Ans. 
Determine maximum profit from buying and selling stocks on different days.
• Iterate through the array of stock prices and calculate the profit for each pair of days.

• Keep track of the maximum profit obtained by selling and buying stocks on different days.

• Return the maximum profit achieved.
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Round duration - 40 Minutes
Round difficulty - Medium

Q1. 
Time to Burn Tree Problem
You are given a binary tree consisting of 'N' unique nodes and a start node where the burning will commence. The task is to calculate the time in minutes required to completely b...read more
Ans. 
Calculate the time in minutes required to completely burn a binary tree starting from a given node.
• Perform a depth-first search (DFS) to calculate the time taken to burn the entire tree.

• Track the time taken for each node to catch fire and burn the tree accordingly.

• Consider the adjacency of nodes to determine the spread of fire.

• Handle cases where the start node is at different levels in the tree.

• Optimize the solution to
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Round duration - 40 minutes
Round difficulty - Easy

Q1. 
Flatten Binary Tree Problem Statement
Given a binary tree consisting of integer values, your task is to convert the binary tree into a linked list where the nodes of the linked list follow the same order ...read more
Ans. 
Convert a binary tree into a linked list following pre-order traversal order.
• Perform pre-order traversal of the binary tree and convert it into a linked list.

• Use the right pointer of the binary tree as the 'next' pointer for the linked list.

• Set the left pointer to NULL for each node in the linked list.

• Example: Input - 1 2 3 4 -1 5 6 -1 7 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1, Output - 1 2 4 7 3 5 6
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Round duration - 25 Minutes
Round difficulty - Hard

Q1. Can you provide a code example that demonstrates communication between two processes?
Ans. 
Demonstrate communication between two processes using inter-process communication (IPC) methods.
• Use sockets for communication between two processes running on the same or different machines.

• Implement message passing using shared memory or message queues.

• Utilize pipes for communication between parent and child processes.
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Q2. 
Gray Code Problem Statement
You are given a number grayNumber. Your task is to find and return the Gray code sequence.
Explanation
The Gray code sequence should satisfy the following conditions:
1. Inc...read more
Ans. 
Find and return the Gray code sequence for a given number.
• Generate Gray code sequence by following the conditions provided in the problem statement.

• Ensure that consecutive numbers in the sequence differ by exactly 1 bit.

• Start the sequence with 0 and include numbers up to 2^grayNumber - 1.

• Return the sequence in decimal form as a list/vector.

• If multiple valid sequences exist, return any of them.
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Q1. Self introduction and experience
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Q1. Linked list circular or not
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Q2. Doubly linkedlist
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