InterviewSolution
This section includes InterviewSolutions, each offering curated multiple-choice questions to sharpen your knowledge and support exam preparation. Choose a topic below to get started.
| 1. |
What do you understand about the DFS (Depth First Search) algorithm. |
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Answer» Depth First Search or DFS is a technique for traversing or exploring DATA structures such as trees and graphs. The algorithm starts at the root node (in the case of a graph, any random node can be USED as the root node) and EXAMINES each branch as far as feasible before retracing. So the basic idea is to start at the root or any arbitrary node and mark it, then advance to the next unmarked node and repeat until there are no more unmarked nodes. After that, go back and check for any more unmarked nodes to cross. Finally, print the path's nodes. The DFS algorithm is given below: |
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| 2. |
What do you understand about the BFS (Breadth First Search) algorithm. |
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Answer» BFS or Breadth-First Search is a graph traversal technique. It begins by traversing the graph from the ROOT node and explores all of the nodes in the immediate vicinity. It chooses the closest node and then visits all of the nodes that have yet to be visited. Until it reaches the objective node, the algorithm repeats the same METHOD for each of the closest nodes. The BFS Algorithm is given below:
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| 3. |
Write down a string reversal algorithm. If the given string is "kitiR," for example, the output should be "Ritik". |
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Answer» An algorithm for string reversal is as follows:
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| 4. |
What do you understand about the Dynamic Programming (DP) Algorithmic Paradigm? List a few problems which can be solved using the same. |
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Answer» Dynamic Programming is primarily a RECURSION optimization. We can use Dynamic Programming to optimise any recursive solution that involves repeated calls for the same inputs. The goal is to simply save the results of subproblems so that we do not have to recalculate them later. The time complexity of this simple optimization is reduced from exponential to polynomial. For example, if we create a simple recursive solution for Fibonacci Numbers, the time complexity is exponential, but if we optimise it by storing subproblem answers using Dynamic Programming, the time complexity is linear. The following codes illustrate the same: With Recursion (no DP): The time complexity of the given code will be exponential. /*Sample C++ code for finding nth fibonacci number without DP*/int nFibonacci(int n){ if(n == 0 || n == 1) return n; else return nFibonacci(n - 1) + nFibonacci(n - 2);}With DP: The time complexity of the given code will be linear because of Dynamic Programming. /*Sample C++ code for finding nth fibonacci number with DP*/int nFibonacci(int n){ vector<int> fib(n + 1); fib[0] = 0; fib[1] = 1; for(int i = 2;i <= n;i ++){ fib[i] = fib[i - 1] + fib[i - 2]; } return fib[n]; }A few problems which can be solved using the Dynamic Programming (DP) Algorithmic Paradigm are as follows: |
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| 5. |
Write an algorithm for counting the number of leaf nodes in a binary tree. |
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Answer» An algorithm for counting the number of leaf nodes in a binary tree is given below:
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| 6. |
Write down an algorithm for adding a node to a linked list sorted in ascending order(maintaining the sorting property). |
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Answer» An algorithm for adding a node to a link list sorted in ASCENDING order (maintaining the sorting property) is given below:
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| 7. |
Describe the Binary Search Algorithm. |
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Answer» To APPLY binary search on a list of elements, the PREREQUISITE is that the list of elements should be sorted. It is based on the Divide and Conquers Algorithmic paradigm. In the Binary Search Algorithm, we divide the search interval in half periodically to search the sorted list. We begin by creating an interval that spans the entire list. If the search key's value is less than the item in the interval's midpoint, the interval should be narrowed to the lower half. Otherwise, we limit it to the upper half of the page. We check for the value until it is discovered or the interval is empty. Given below is an algorithm describing Binary Search: (Let us assume that the element to be searched is x and the array of elements is sorted in ascending order)
The time complexity of the Binary Search Algorithm is O(log(n)) where n is the size of the list of elements and its space complexity is constant, that is, O(1). |
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| 8. |
Describe the Linear Search Algorithm. |
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Answer» To find an element in a group of ELEMENTS, the linear search can be used. It works by traversing the list of elements from the beginning to the end and inspecting the properties of all the elements encountered along the way. Let us consider the case of an array containing some integer elements. We want to find out and print all of the elements' positions that match a particular value (also known as the "key" for the linear search). The linear search works in a flow here, matching each element with the number from the beginning to the end of the list, and then printing the element's location if the element at that position is equal to the key. Given below is an algorithm describing Linear Search:
The time complexity of the Linear Search Algorithm is O(N) where n is the size of the list of elements and its space complexity is constant, that is, O(1). |
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| 9. |
What do you understand by a searching algorithm? List a few types of searching algorithms. |
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Answer» Searching Algorithms are used to look for an element or get it from a data STRUCTURE (usually a list of elements). These algorithms are divided into two categories based on the type of search operation:
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| 10. |
What do you understand about greedy algorithms? List a few examples of greedy algorithms. |
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Answer» A greedy algorithm is an algorithmic method that aims to CHOOSE the best OPTIMAL decision at each sub-step, eventually leading to a globally optimal solution. This means that the algorithm chooses the best answer available at the time, regardless of the consequences. In other WORDS, when looking for an answer, an algorithm always selects the best immediate, or local, option. Greedy algorithms may identify less than perfect answers for some cases of other problems while finding the OVERALL, ideal solution for some idealistic problems. The Greedy algorithm is used in the FOLLOWING algorithms to find their solutions:
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| 11. |
Explain the Divide and Conquer Algorithmic Paradigm. Also list a few algorithms which use this paradigm. |
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Answer» Divide and CONQUER is an algorithm paradigm, not an algorithm itself. It is set up in such a way that it can handle a large amount of data, split it down into SMALLER chunks, and determine the SOLUTION to the problem for each of the smaller chunks. It combines all of the piecewise solutions of the smaller chunks to form a single global solution. This is known as the divide and conquer technique. The Divide and Conquer algorithmic paradigm employ the steps given below:
Some of the ALGORITHMS which use the Divide and Conquer Algorithmic paradigm are as follows:
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| 12. |
Write an algorithm to swap two given numbers in Java without using a temporary variable. |
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Answer» It is a trick question that is frequently asked in the interviews of various companies. This PROBLEM can be solved in a variety of ways. However, while solving the problem, we must solve it without using a temporary variable, which is an essential condition. For this problem, if we can consider the possibility of integer overflow in our solution while coming up with an approach to solving it, we can make a great impression on interviewers. Let us say that we have two integers a and b, with a's value equal to 5 and a's value equal to 6, and we want to swap them without needing a third variable. We will need to use Java programming constructs to solve this problem. Mathematical procedures such as addition, SUBTRACTION, multiplication, and division can be used to swap numbers. However, it is POSSIBLE that it will cause an integer overflow problem. Let us take a look at two approaches to solve this problem: Using Addition and subtraction: a = a + b;b = a - b; // this will act like (a+b) - b, and now b equals a.a = a - b; // this will act like (a+b) - a, and now an equals b.It is a clever trick. However, if the addition exceeds the MAXIMUM value of the int primitive type as defined by Integer.MAX_VALUE in Java, or if the subtraction is less than the minimum value of the int primitive type as defined by Integer.MIN_VALUE in Java, there will be an integer overflow. Using the XOR method: Another way to swap two integers without needing a third variable (temporary variable) is using the XOR method. This is often regarded as the best approach because it works in languages that do not handle integer overflows, such as Java, C, and C++. Java has a number of bitwise operators. XOR (denoted by ^) is one of them. x = x ^ y; y = x ^ y; x = x ^ y; |
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| 13. |
What do you understand by the Asymptotic Notations? |
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Answer» Asymptotic analysis is a TECHNIQUE that is used for determining the efficiency of an algorithm that does not rely on machine-specific constants and avoids the algorithm from comparing itself to the TIME-consuming approach. For asymptotic analysis, asymptotic notation is a mathematical technique that is used to indicate the TEMPORAL complexity of algorithms. The following are the three most common asymptotic notations.
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| 14. |
What do you understand by the best case, worst case and average case scenario of an algorithm? |
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Answer» The mathematical foundation/framing of an algorithm's run time performance is defined by asymptotic analysis. We can easily determine the best case, average case, and worst-case scenarios of an algorithm using asymptotic analysis.
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| 15. |
How can we compare between two algorithms written for the same problem? |
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Answer» The complexity of an algorithm is a technique that is used to categorise how efficient it is in comparison to other algorithms. It focuses on how the size of the data set to be processed affects execution time. In computing, the algorithm's computational complexity is CRITICAL. It is a good idea to categorise algorithms according to how much time or space they take up and to DESCRIBE how much time or space they take up as a function of input size.
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