Qualcomm Staff Engineer Interview Questions and Answers

Need more context. What needs to be done with the large rectangle?

• What are the dimensions of the rectangle?

• Is it a 2D or 3D object?

• What is the context of the problem?

• Are there any constraints or limitations?

• What tools or programming languages can be used?

Derive a formula to determine how many smaller rectangles fit into a bigger rectangle given their dimensions.

• Calculate the number of times the smaller rectangle can fit into the bigger rectangle horizontally and vertically

• Divide the width of the bigger rectangle by the width of the smaller rectangle to get the horizontal count

• Divide the height of the bigger rectangle by the height of the smaller rectangle to get the ve...read more

At least 4 points are required to draw a rectangle.

• A rectangle has 4 sides and 4 corners, so at least 4 points are needed to define those corners.

• The points must be arranged in a specific order to form a closed shape with 4 sides.

• Additional points can be used to add details or modify the shape of the rectangle.

• The number of points required may vary depending on the software or tool used to draw the rectangle.

Answering how to calculate new coordinates of a scaled rectangle and providing a program for it.

• To calculate new coordinates, multiply the original coordinates by the scaling factor

• Scaling factor can be calculated by dividing the new length/breadth by the original length/breadth

• Program can take input of original coordinates, scaling factor, and output new coordinates

• Example: Original coordinates: (0,0), (0,5), (5,5), (...read more

Locate sum of 2 numbers in a linear array (unsorted and sorted) and their complexities

• For unsorted array, use nested loops to compare each element with every other element until the sum is found

• For sorted array, use two pointers approach starting from the beginning and end of the array and move them towards each other until the sum is found

• Complexity for unsorted array is O(n^2) and for sorted array is O(n)

Pointers are used to manipulate memory addresses and values in C++. Increment/decrement, address of and value at operators are commonly used.

• Incrementing a pointer moves it to the next memory location of the same data type

• Decrementing a pointer moves it to the previous memory location of the same data type

• The address of operator (&) returns the memory address of a variable

• The value at operator (*) returns the value sto

To determine if a point is inside or outside a rectangle, we check if the point's coordinates fall within the rectangle's boundaries.

• Check if the point's x-coordinate is greater than the left edge of the rectangle

• Check if the point's x-coordinate is less than the right edge of the rectangle

• Check if the point's y-coordinate is greater than the top edge of the rectangle

• Check if the point's y-coordinate is less than the b...read more

To find line that divides rectangle into 2 equal halves through a point inside it.

• Find the center of the rectangle

• Draw a line from the center to the given point

• Extend the line to the opposite side of the rectangle

• The extended line will divide the rectangle into 2 equal halves

There are multiple combinations of 8-bit and 16-bit signed numbers. How many such combinations are possible?

• There are 2^8 (256) possible combinations of 8-bit signed numbers.

• There are 2^16 (65,536) possible combinations of 16-bit signed numbers.

• To find the total number of combinations, we can add the number of combinations of 8-bit and 16-bit signed numbers.

• Therefore, the total number of possible combinations is 256 +

Find duplicates in an array of elements in 0(n) time and 0(1) space.

• Use the property of inputs to your advantage

• Iterate through the array and mark elements as negative

• If an element is already negative, it is a duplicate

• Return all the negative elements as duplicates

malloc is a function in C that dynamically allocates memory on the heap. It is used to allocate memory for variables or data structures.

• malloc is used in C programming language.

• It is used to allocate memory on the heap.

• malloc is different from 'new' in C++ as it does not call constructors for objects.

C++ is a general-purpose programming language while Objective C is a superset of C used for iOS and macOS development.

• C++ is widely used for developing applications, games, and system software.

• Objective C is mainly used for iOS and macOS development.

• C++ supports both procedural and object-oriented programming paradigms.

• Objective C is an object-oriented language with dynamic runtime features.

• C++ has a larger community a...read more

Class container is a class that holds objects of other classes, while class composition is a way to combine multiple classes to create a new class.

• Class container holds objects of other classes, acting as a collection or container.

• Class composition combines multiple classes to create a new class with its own behavior and attributes.

• In class container, the objects are typically stored in a data structure like an array o...read more

Divide the horses into groups of 5 and race them. Take the top 2 from each race and race them again. Finally, race the top 2 horses to determine the top 3.

• Divide the horses into 3 groups of 5 and race them.

• Take the top 2 horses from each race and race them again.

• Finally, race the top 2 horses to determine the top 3.

Developing a real-time data processing system for a high-traffic e-commerce website

• Implemented a distributed system architecture to handle large volumes of data

• Optimized algorithms for efficient data processing and storage

• Utilized caching mechanisms to improve system performance

• Worked closely with cross-functional teams to troubleshoot and resolve issues

• Example: Successfully reduced data processing time by 50% by imple

Seeking new challenges and opportunities for growth.

• Looking for a more challenging role to further develop my skills

• Interested in exploring new technologies and industries

• Seeking better career advancement opportunities

• Want to work in a more collaborative team environment

The width of a tree is the maximum number of nodes at any level in the tree.

• To calculate the width of a tree, we can perform a level order traversal and keep track of the maximum number of nodes at any level.

• We can use a queue data structure to perform the level order traversal.

• At each level, we count the number of nodes in the queue and update the maximum width if necessary.

Phases of compiler include lexical analysis, syntax analysis, semantic analysis, code generation, and optimization.

• Lexical analysis: breaking down input into tokens

• Syntax analysis: checking if tokens form valid syntax

• Semantic analysis: checking if syntax is semantically correct

• Code generation: generating machine code from input

• Optimization: improving generated code performance

C is preferred over C++ for certain applications due to its simplicity and efficiency.

• C is a simpler language compared to C++ and has a smaller runtime footprint.

• C is often used for low-level programming, embedded systems, and operating systems.

• C allows for more control over memory management and can be faster in certain scenarios.

• C++ introduces additional features like object-oriented programming and templates, which

Classes are blueprints for creating objects, while structures are similar but with different default access levels.

• Classes and structures are used to define the structure and behavior of objects in object-oriented programming.

• Classes are reference types and are allocated on the heap, while structures are value types and are allocated on the stack.

• Memory allocation for classes is managed by garbage collection, while mem...read more