Symboitic Consulting interview questions

Preview Questions

1. What is the difference between Call by Value and Call by Reference?

   In Call by Value, a copy of the actual value is passed to the function. Changes made inside the function do not affect the original variable. In Call by Reference, the memory address (reference) of the variable is...

2. Dutch National Flag Problem: Sort an array containing only 0s, 1s, and 2s without using any library sort function.

   This is solved using the Dutch National Flag algorithm with three pointers. Approach: - Initialize: low = 0, mid = 0, high = arr.length - 1 - Traverse while mid <= high: - If arr[mid] == 0: swap arr[low] and arr[mid],...

3. How do you cyclically rotate an array clockwise by one position?

   To rotate an array clockwise by one: 1. Store the last element in a temporary variable. 2. Shift all elements one position to the right (from index n-2 down to 0). 3. Place the stored element at index 0. Example: Input:...

4. Find the index of the first peak element in an array — an element greater than or equal to its neighbors.

   A peak element is one that is >= both its neighbors. For the first and last elements, only one neighbor exists. Approach (Linear Scan): For each index i from 0 to n-1: - If i == 0: check arr[0] >= arr[1] - If i == n-1:...

5. How do you move all negative elements of an array to one side?

   Use a two-pointer (partition) approach: 1. Initialize left = 0. 2. Iterate right from 0 to n-1: - If arr[right] < 0: swap arr[left] and arr[right], then increment left. 3. After the loop, all negatives are at the left...

6. How do you check if a given year is a leap year?

   A year is a leap year if: - It is divisible by 400, OR - It is divisible by 4 BUT NOT divisible by 100. Logic: if (year % 400 == 0) → leap year else if (year % 100 == 0) → NOT a leap year else if (year % 4 == 0) → leap...