Improving basics
Hey folks
I was interviewed yesterday for a programming/web-development profile.
I cleared 3 rounds but was rejected in the last round(the programming round).
The question I was asked was a basic one:implement get_max function in a stack. Though I did it,the time complexity was not good,O(n). I understood how to do it later but I wanted to know how I can improve upon my basics.
I have solved a lot of problems on Codechef/SPOJ but never encountered such a problem where my basics were questioned(Correct me if I'm wrong).
Codechef/SPOJ was more of implementing the STL libraries/puzzle solving/number theory. I hardly remember when I last implemented a stack/queue/priority queue/tree from scratch without using libraries.
How do I get my basics in place??
I would appreciate frank opinions and also resources/ opinions where people faced the same problem and how they tackled it.
Thanks a lot
This is the approach I am taking: Listen to the great algorithm classes provided by Berkley and MIT and Stanford. On YouTube and itunes.
- gvp March 04, 2013My favorite is "ShewChuck" a geeks geek!
Search for ShewChuck 61 and the data struct you want.
Example:
shewchuk 61b priority queue
I need to do this because in my CS classes 25+ years ago we didn't do dynamic programming and Map Reduce. And there was no Internet! Wow!
Just to whine and commiserate: I feel your pain. I produce j2me and Android apps e-commerce burned on phones and used to buy ringtones and wallpapers and apps. My apps are used by millions and I hear about it if they break because that means someone has paid for something they didn't get! Been programing for 25 years.
The few times I need to sort its been n <100 items and of course "I just Google it". That didn't work as an answer for Google. So I am going back to the drawing board (literally!) ;)
* Now someone tell me what to do about trick questions?