100+ Software Engineer2 Interview Questions and Answers

Answering technical questions for Software Engineer 2 position

• To determine if a point is inside or outside a 2-manifold, use the ray casting algorithm

• To merge closeby points, use clustering algorithms like k-means or DBSCAN

• To determine if the normals of two triangles are wrongly oriented, use the cross product of their edges

• Favorite research paper and why

Design an Order and Cart Page in iOS with limit of 1 item per order.

• Create classes for Order, Cart, Item

• Implement network requests to fetch item details

• Use APIs to add item to cart and place order

• Design information flow from selecting item to placing order

Separate high rank (1-8) and low rank officers in O(n) time and O(1) space.

• Use two pointers: one for high rank and one for low rank.

• Iterate through the array, placing high rank officers at the start.

• Example: For array [3, 1, 5, 2, 9, 3, 4], result could be [3, 1, 5, 2, 4, 9, 3].

• Low rank officers can be identified by checking if the number is greater than 8.

• Maintain the order of high rank officers while moving low rank officers to the end.

To process large amount of data, use tools like Apache Hadoop, Apache Spark, or Google BigQuery.

• Utilize distributed computing frameworks like Apache Hadoop or Apache Spark for parallel processing of data

• Consider using cloud-based solutions like Google BigQuery for scalability and cost-effectiveness

• Optimize data processing pipelines by using tools like Apache Kafka for real-time data streaming

• Implement data compression techniques to reduce storage and processing overhead

Find pair of elements in array whose sum is equal to target k.

• Use a hashmap to store the difference between target k and each element in the array.

• Iterate through the array and check if the current element's complement exists in the hashmap.

• Return the indices of the pair that sums up to target k.

Live migration in a production database with 100% uptime

• Use database replication to create a secondary database that mirrors the primary one

• Gradually switch traffic from the primary to the secondary database

• Once traffic is fully switched, perform the migration on the primary database

• Switch traffic back to the primary database once migration is complete

• Monitor for any issues during the migration process

To find duplicates in an array of strings in linear time

• Create a hash table to store the frequency of each string

• Iterate through the array and check if the frequency of any string is greater than 1

• If yes, then it is a duplicate

• Return true if duplicates are found, else false

TDD stands for Test-Driven Development and BDD stands for Behavior-Driven Development. TDD focuses on writing tests before writing code, while BDD focuses on the behavior of the system.

• TDD involves writing a failing test, writing code to make the test pass, and then refactoring the code.

• BDD focuses on defining the behavior of the system through examples written in a specific format like Given-When-Then.

• TDD is more developer-centric, while BDD involves collaboration between de...read more

Hybrid tree plus queue combines tree structure for hierarchy and queue for order, enabling efficient insertions, deletions, and updates.

• Insertion: Add new nodes to the tree; if a node exceeds capacity, split and enqueue excess to maintain balance.

• Deletion: Remove nodes from the tree; if a node is deleted, re-balance by promoting a child or merging with a sibling.

• Updating: Locate the node in the tree, modify its value, and ensure the tree properties are preserved.

• Example: Inse...read more

Explore frameworks for efficient communication between control and data planes in software systems.

• Use RESTful APIs for stateless communication between control and data planes.

• Implement gRPC for high-performance, bi-directional streaming communication.

• Utilize message queues (e.g., RabbitMQ, Kafka) for asynchronous communication.

• Adopt a publish-subscribe model to decouple control and data planes, enhancing scalability.

• Consider using WebSockets for real-time communication needs...read more

I would assess the impact of the upgrade, plan the process, communicate with the customer, and ensure a smooth transition.

• Assess the current version of MySQL and the customer's requirements for the upgrade

• Plan the upgrade process including backups, testing, and rollback procedures

• Communicate with the customer about the timeline, potential downtime, and any impact on their system

• Ensure a smooth transition by monitoring the upgrade process and addressing any issues promptly

I have extensive experience in designing and implementing frameworks for various software projects.

• Designed and implemented a custom testing framework for automated testing of web applications.

• Utilized Spring framework for developing enterprise applications, including dependency injection and aspect-oriented programming.

• Contributed to the design and implementation of a microservices architecture using Netflix OSS frameworks like Eureka and Zuul.

Handling website errors involves identifying, logging, and resolving issues to ensure a smooth user experience.

• Implement error logging to capture details of the error (e.g., stack traces, user actions).

• Use user-friendly error pages (e.g., 404 pages) that guide users back to functional areas.

• Monitor application performance and errors using tools like Sentry or New Relic.

• Implement retry mechanisms for transient errors (e.g., network issues).

• Conduct regular code reviews and test...read more

Creating custom hook, explaining virtual DOM, sorting an array in React

• To create a custom hook in React, you can define a function that starts with 'use' and can be reused across components.

• React's virtual DOM is a lightweight copy of the actual DOM, which allows React to efficiently update the real DOM.

• To sort an array in JavaScript, you can use the built-in 'sort' method or write a custom sorting function.

The task is to find the frequency of subsequent characters in a given input string.

• Iterate through the input string while keeping track of the current character and its frequency.

• If the current character is the same as the previous character, increment the frequency count.

• If the current character is different, append the previous character and its frequency to the output string.

• Repeat until the end of the input string is reached.

Concatenate 3 columns and handle null values in SQL query

• Use CONCAT_WS function to concatenate columns and handle null values

• Provide a separator as the first argument in CONCAT_WS function

• Use IFNULL function to replace null values with a specified value

Generate string permutations with first letter as vowel and atleast 3 letters

• Create a list of vowels and a list of consonants

• Generate all possible permutations of length 3 or more using itertools.permutations

• Filter out permutations that do not start with a vowel

• Join the remaining permutations into strings

React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces, while Angular is a full-fledged framework for building web applications.

• React is a library, while Angular is a framework

• React uses a virtual DOM for performance optimization, while Angular uses two-way data binding

• React components are simpler and more flexible, while Angular components are more opinionated and structured

• Angular has a built-in dependency injection system, while React relies on external libraries for s...read more

Process large amount of logs by using log aggregation tools like ELK stack or Splunk.

• Utilize log aggregation tools like ELK stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) or Splunk to collect, index, search, and visualize logs.

• Implement proper log rotation and retention policies to manage the volume of logs efficiently.

• Leverage distributed systems and parallel processing to handle large volumes of logs effectively.

• Use filtering and parsing techniques to extract relevant information ...read more

Actuator in Spring Boot provides production-ready features like monitoring and metrics.

• Actuator is a set of tools provided by Spring Boot to monitor and manage your application.

• Actuator endpoints are URLs that provide information about your application, such as health, metrics, info, etc.

• Examples of actuator endpoints include /actuator/health, /actuator/metrics, /actuator/info, etc.

Design a system to read large log files and send updates to clients in near real-time without loading the entire file into memory.

• Use a file streaming approach to read logs line by line.

• Implement a buffer to store recent log entries before sending to the client.

• Utilize a message queue (e.g., Kafka, RabbitMQ) for real-time log distribution.

• Consider using a tailing mechanism to monitor new log entries as they are written.

• Ensure proper error handling and reconnection strategies ...read more

I follow a systematic approach to identify, analyze, and resolve issues or implement features effectively.

• 1. Identify the issue: Reproduce the bug or understand the feature requirements clearly.

• 2. Analyze the problem: Use debugging tools or logs to pinpoint the root cause.

• 3. Research solutions: Look for similar issues in documentation or online resources.

• 4. Implement the fix or feature: Write code, ensuring to follow best practices and coding standards.

• 5. Test thoroughly: Run...read more

I am interested in technologies related to artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud computing.

• Artificial Intelligence

• Machine Learning

• Cloud Computing

Find unique pairs in an array that sum to a target value using efficient algorithms like binary search.

• Use a Hash Set: Store elements in a set while iterating through the array to check for complements. Example: For array [1, 2, 3, 4] and target 5, pairs are (1,4) and (2,3).

• Sort and Use Two Pointers: Sort the array and use two pointers to find pairs. Example: For sorted array [1, 2, 3, 4] and target 5, start with pointers at both ends.

• Binary Search: After sorting, for each el...read more

Methods for enabling communication between microservices

• RESTful APIs

• Message queues (e.g. RabbitMQ, Kafka)

• gRPC (Google Remote Procedure Call)

• Service mesh (e.g. Istio, Linkerd)

• Event-driven architecture (e.g. using Apache Kafka)

Program to check if sum of digits of a number is prime

• Convert the number to a string to iterate through each digit

• Calculate the sum of digits

• Check if the sum is a prime number

Program to find frequency of words in a sentence

• Split the sentence into words using space as delimiter

• Create a map to store word frequencies

• Iterate through the words and update the map accordingly

• Handle case sensitivity and punctuation if needed