100+ Software Analyst Interview Questions and Answers

Answers to questions related to SQL concepts like functions, stored procedures, triggers, joins, and constraints.

• Functions return a value while stored procedures do not.

• Triggers are special types of stored procedures that are automatically executed in response to certain events.

• Cross join is used to combine each row from one table with every row from another table.

• Joins are used to combine data from two or more tables based on a related column.

• HAVING is used to filter data ba...read more

DFS traversal problem on an undirected and disconnected graph to find connected components.

• Use Depth First Search (DFS) algorithm to traverse the graph and find connected components.

• Maintain a visited array to keep track of visited vertices.

• For each unvisited vertex, perform DFS to explore all connected vertices and form a connected component.

• Repeat the process until all vertices are visited and print the connected components.

• Handle disconnected components by starting DFS fro...read more

Merge overlapping intervals and return sorted list of merged intervals by start time.

• Iterate through intervals and merge overlapping ones

• Sort merged intervals by start time

• Return the sorted list of merged intervals

A, B cross first (2 mins), A returns (1 min), C, D cross (10 mins), B returns (2 mins), A, B cross again (2 mins)

• A, B cross first (2 mins)

• A returns (1 min)

• C, D cross (10 mins)

• B returns (2 mins)

• A, B cross again (2 mins)

BFS traversal in a disconnected graph starting from vertex 0.

• Implement BFS algorithm to traverse the graph starting from vertex 0.

• Explore neighbor nodes first before moving to the next level neighbors.

• Consider undirected and disconnected graph where not all pairs of vertices have paths connecting them.

• Output the BFS traversal sequence for each test case in a separate line.

• Ensure the BFS path starts from vertex 0 and print connected nodes in numerical sort order.

The problem involves executing range sum and point update queries on an array using Fenwick Tree data structure.

• Use Fenwick Tree to efficiently handle range sum and point update queries.

• For range sum queries, calculate prefix sums and use them to compute the sum in the given range.

• For point update queries, update the Fenwick Tree accordingly to reflect the changes in the array.

• Ensure to handle the queries efficiently to meet the time constraints.

• Example: Given array [3, 2, 1,...read more

The task is to find all possible paths for a rat to navigate through a maze from start to finish.

• Create a recursive function to explore all possible paths from the starting position to the destination.

• Keep track of the current path and update it as the rat moves through the maze.

• Explore all possible directions (up, down, left, right) at each step, making sure to avoid blocked cells.

• When reaching the destination, add the current path to the list of valid paths.

• Sort the list of...read more

The task is to determine a player's leaderboard rank for each game score based on given leaderboard and game scores.

• Iterate through each game score and compare it with leaderboard scores to determine the rank.

• Use a hashmap to store the leaderboard scores and their corresponding ranks.

• Handle cases where multiple players have the same score and share the same rank.

• Return an array of ranks for each game score.

Design a HashSet data structure with add, contains, and remove functions.

• Implement a HashSet using an array and handling collisions using chaining or open addressing.

• Use a hash function to map values to indices in the array.

• For add function, insert the value at the hashed index.

• For contains function, check if the value exists at the hashed index.

• For remove function, delete the value at the hashed index and return it, or return -1 if not found.

The task is to flatten a multi-level linked list into a singly linked list and return the head of the modified linked list.

• Traverse the linked list and keep track of nodes with child pointers

• Flatten the child linked list and merge it with the main linked list

• Update the 'next' pointers to create a singly linked list

• Return the head of the modified linked list

Given a binary tree, determine and return its bottom view when viewed from left to right.

• Traverse the binary tree level by level and keep track of the horizontal distance and depth of each node

• For each horizontal distance, keep track of the node with the maximum depth

• Return the nodes in the bottom view from left to right

The program finds the number that appears most frequently in an array of integers.

• Iterate through the array and keep track of the frequency of each number using a hashmap.

• Find the number with the maximum frequency and return it.

• If multiple numbers have the same maximum frequency, return the one that appears first in the array.

Given a binary tree, a target node, and an integer K, find all nodes at distance K from the target node.

• Traverse the binary tree to find the target node.

• Use BFS to traverse the tree from the target node to nodes at distance K.

• Keep track of the distance while traversing the tree.

• Return the values of nodes at distance K in any order.

The task is to determine the total number of ways to make change for a specified value using given denominations.

• Create a dynamic programming table to store the number of ways to make change for each value up to the specified value.

• Iterate through each denomination and update the table accordingly.

• The final answer will be the value in the table at the specified value.

• Consider edge cases such as when the specified value is 0 or when there are no denominations provided.

Find pairs in a sorted doubly-linked list whose sum equals a given integer 'X'.

• Traverse the list from both ends to find pairs with sum equal to 'X'.

• Use two pointers approach to efficiently find the pairs.

• Handle cases where the sum is less than, equal to, or greater than 'X'.

The problem involves dividing an array into K subsets with equal sum.

• Use backtracking to try all possible combinations of dividing the array into K subsets.

• Keep track of the sum of elements in each subset and check if they are equal to the target sum.

• Optimize the backtracking algorithm by pruning branches that cannot lead to a valid solution.

• Consider edge cases such as empty array, negative numbers, and unequal division of elements.

• Ensure that the sum of all elements in the a...read more

They will meet again after the starting point at a distance of LCM(x, y).

• The distance at which they will meet again is the least common multiple (LCM) of their speeds.

• For example, if A is running at a speed of 4 m/s and B is running at a speed of 6 m/s, they will meet again after 12 meters.

• Another example, if A is running at a speed of 3 km/hr and B is running at a speed of 5 km/hr, they will meet again after 15 km.

Cut the cake in half horizontally, then stack the halves and cut vertically twice.

• Cut the cake horizontally to get 2 equal halves.

• Stack the halves on top of each other and cut vertically to get 4 equal quarters.

• Finally, stack the quarters and cut vertically again to get 8 equal parts.

The task is to find the number of trailing zeros in the factorial of a given number.

• Iterate through each test case and calculate the factorial of the given number.

• Count the number of trailing zeros by dividing the factorial by 10 until the remainder is not zero.

• Return the count of trailing zeros for each test case.

Find the sum of the subarray with the maximum sum among all subarrays in an array of integers.

• Iterate through the array and keep track of the maximum sum subarray seen so far.

• At each index, decide whether to include the current element in the subarray or start a new subarray.

• Update the maximum sum subarray if a new maximum is found.

• Consider edge cases like all negative numbers in the array.

• Example: For input N=5, arr=[-2, 1, -3, 4, -1], the output is 4.

Implement a function to find square root of a number with given decimal precision.

• Implement a function that takes two integers N and D as input and returns the square root of N with precision up to D decimal places

• Ensure the discrepancy between the computed result and the correct value is less than 10^(-D)

• Handle multiple test cases efficiently within the given constraints

• Use mathematical algorithms like Newton's method for square root calculation

• Example: For N = 10 and D = 3,...read more

Determine the maximum number of roads that can be removed while ensuring a path exists for every pair of cities for two-wheeler and four-wheeler vehicles.

• Identify the type of road (two-wheeler, four-wheeler, or both) and its impact on the connectivity between cities.

• Consider the constraints provided in the input to optimize the solution.

• Remove roads strategically to maximize the number of roads removed while maintaining connectivity.

• If not all cities can be reached, return -1...read more

The goal is to minimize the difference between the maximum and minimum elements of an array by adjusting each element by a given value.

• Iterate through each test case and calculate the minimum possible difference between the maximum and minimum elements after modifications.

• For each element in the array, consider increasing or decreasing it by the given value K to minimize the overall difference.

• Return the calculated minimum difference for each test case.

Convert a given binary search tree (BST) that is also a complete binary tree into a Min Heap.

• Traverse the BST in level order and store the values in an array.

• Convert the array into a Min Heap by rearranging the elements.

• Reconstruct the Min Heap as a binary tree and return the root node.

The minimum number of platforms needed at a railway station to avoid train waiting times is determined based on arrival and departure times.

• Sort the arrival and departure times in ascending order.

• Iterate through the times and keep track of the number of platforms needed at any given time.

• Update the minimum number of platforms needed as you iterate through the times.

• Return the minimum number of platforms needed.

The task is to find the smallest number greater than the given number, using the same set of digits.

• Iterate from right to left to find the first digit that can be swapped with a smaller digit on its right.

• Swap this digit with the smallest digit on its right that is greater than it.

• Sort the digits to the right of the swapped digit in ascending order to get the smallest number.

• If no such digit is found, return -1.

• Example: For '56789', swap '8' with '9' to get '56798'.

Calculate the Nth Fibonacci number efficiently using recursion or dynamic programming.

• Use recursion with memoization to avoid redundant calculations.

• Implement dynamic programming to store and reuse previously calculated Fibonacci numbers.

• Optimize space complexity by only storing the last two Fibonacci numbers instead of the entire sequence.