Challenging Google Onsite Interview for Fresh Graduates: My Journey as a Code Farmer

Software Engineering
, ,
1

google | Software Engineer | Interview Experience

Interview Date: Not specified
Result: Fail
Difficulty: Hard

Interview Process

The interview consisted of an onsite coding round where the candidate was tasked with designing a rule engine to map an input signal to a specific configuration value. The process involved a configuration phase where a list of key-value pairs was provided. The candidate had to implement a match(input) function that finds the longest pattern matching the input from a list of patterns.

Technical Questions

  1. Design a Rule Engine
    • Description: Create a system that maps binary string inputs to specific configuration values based on a pattern list.
    • Input: A list of patterns (strings consisting of ‘0’, ‘1’, ‘*’) and a binary string input.
    • Output: The value associated with the longest matching pattern.
    • Example Patterns:
      • “10*1” → Value A
      • “0*” → Value B
      • “*11” → Value C
    • Sample Queries:
      • Input “10001” returns Value A.
      • Input “01110” returns Value B.
      • Input “111” returns Value C.

Tips & Insights

  • Familiarize yourself with string matching algorithms, especially KMP and wildcard matching concepts.
  • Practice similar problems to improve problem-solving speed and accuracy.