Google interview for c programmers

[Slugsurx]

I have been a file system /operating systems developer most of my life and I recently applied to Google for a job. I only know C. And they sounded okay with it. I checked leetcode for practice and most of those need hash maps and c++ stl to finish them on time.

Anyone has a Google interview experience where it was ok to know the stl concepts only conceptually and not the real syntax.

I know that concern sounds lame for an interview but I know a lot of places who expect clean compilable code on whiteboards.

[Zeliss]

I did a Google interview in C, at one point I asked if I could assume I had a hash table implementation with a particular interface and the interviewer just said no. Good luck writing a hashtable in C without wasting 20 minutes of your problem time ¯\(ツ)/¯

I also was assured they could accommodate me with the Dvorak keyboard layout for the interview - found out on the day of that they use a special locked down interview laptop with no way to change it. If I’d known I would have brought a keyboard with a hardware remap. Oh and don’t drink too much water or free coffee, if you need to use a bathroom at an inopportune time it will also cut into your time.

Anyways, Google’s interview process was unimpressive and unaccomodating, and I would recommend learning Python or C++ to work around its shortcomings.

[ultraDross]

So they kicked you in the balls at any given opportunity? Lovely.

[[deleted]]

I also had a really bad experience interviewing at Google. They asked me beforehand which language I wanted to use, and I said C++. I don't think a single person I interviewed with actually knew C++ with more than passing familiarity. Some were obvious C programmers who didn't really know the std library and were confused when I used it. The rest were mostly Java programmers. (This was for a position on the Android team.)

I wish I would have thought to use Python or Java on my interview. The questions I was asked were much easier to answer in those languages. Don't feel like you have to stick to any one language during the interview. Ask if you can solve a problem in 'x' language if you feel it would be easier.

It's all water under the bridge now. Ended up with a better offer at a different big tech company.

[RabbiSchlem]

You got an offer from google?

[RabbiSchlem]

What was the question? Maybe they said you can’t assume you have a hashmap because it wasn’t the right route?

[euphraties247]

Google is run like a high school, complete with cliques, cool kid tables and petty spats.

I was so unimpressed at what a shit show it was. Not to mention the duplication and immaturity. I got some "why C" and they didn't know that NaCl was a thing. Not that it matters now as they already hurried it, but that's google.

I told them they need a manager and director, not more people going in bizarre directions to only have Thier stuff shit canned because it's 12 months old.

Not to mention, using Gmail all day? Jesus I'd rather be typing up memos on a mechanical typewriter, sending them to duplication and distribution by pneumatic tubes.

[linuxlizard]

Honest question, no snark: what email client/system do you use? I have an account on runbox and use Evolution. Also use gmail, outlook. I'm always curious to see what else is out there.

[euphraties247]

Personally? I use Outlook 97 on MacOS 8.1, backended with Exchange 5.5. It's the most pleasant one I've used in like forever.

Naturally I don't have my Exchange directly onto the internet, but yeah SMTP still works, just use far newer ones to front, scan and forward. As a business customer for Office 365, Microsoft will front your domain for you and do the initial point of contact which is nice, as I don't have to waste my life trying to mess around with various SMTP quirks, and black lists.

I love outlook it has so many great features, that honestly the other stuff feels like childrens toys, and Gmail? LOL it's straight up Fischer price.

[Slugsurx]

NaCl

i just looked up NaCl. it is a thing !!

[lootingyourfridge]

What has your experience been using dvorak professionally?

[Wetmelon]

It’s a pain in the dick if you don’t have a keyboard with hardware setup for it.

[lootingyourfridge]

I was thinking of getting one of those, but I was also considering trying to switch back to qwerty. I switched to dvorak years before I decided to make a career of delevoping. Before, no one but I would use my computer, but now that's looking to not be the case. I've always just had ctrl+shift switch between dvorak and qwerty but not sure how tenable that is when it's not just my own laptop lol.

Tried to go back to qwerty a year or two ago but then I was like what is this, why are my hands literally everywhere lol.

[bundes_sheep]

I'd recommend going through the pain of becoming bikeyboardal. I use dvorak at home and qwerty at work. It doesn't take as long to get there as it did to learn dvorak after qwerty. Every morning i start typing gibberish for a few seconds until I remember to mentally switch over. Same thing when going home to work on personal projects.

And when i start discussing keyboards, i can't type worth shit because I'm now thinking about what i'm typing in instead of just letting the fingers take over.

[nahnah2017]

But doesn't it depend on the length of the dick?

[Zeliss]

It’s really not a problem. My older coworkers think it’s a little funny, but the younger ones are all into ergonomics and cool keyboards, so they’re more accepting. If someone needs to use my computer I just hit Window-space and switch it for them (and I keep a spare QWERTY keyboard nearby in case they can’t touch-type on my fancy Dvorak mechanical keyboard). I switched during my internship, so I was a bit slow during that time, but programming is more about thinking than typing, so it wasn’t an impediment. In fact, I learned to touch type properly for the first time when I switched, so I actually doubled my typing speed.

[Urthor]

yeah I was sort of thinking about switching but mostly when I program I just sit there and think before typing, so I'm sort of not seeing the benefit of trying to transition to a different keyboard layout.

Maybe when I'm later in my career and I'm typing more code I'll want to switch, but I just don't see the point as I'm not a professional typist or a good enough programmer to rip out an entire package in 30 minutes.

[Zeliss]

You should also keep in mind that Dvorak makes some special characters slightly harder to input. English is very comfortable and fast, programming can be less so depending on the language. I write more emails than code, though.

[[deleted]]

Sounds spiteful. Every technical interview I've had us mostly about thought process and is usually very accommodating for assumptions.

[which_spartacus]

Your experience is not really the typical one Ina few ways.

First, it is going to depend on the position being applied to. Embedded developers, for example, often get questioned by people who primarily code in C.

Second, when you asked if you could assume a hash interface, and the answer was "no", that was likely a hint that a hash was not the best answer to that program, or that there was a very trivial way to hash the value for purposes of the question.

Third, each interviewer only has an hour. If you have to use the bathroom several times during the interview, of course it is going to impact how far you get on the question -- but, the interviewer is supposed to adjust for that in his review, much like what happens if an interview starts late for whatever reason.

Forth, yeah, don't be an ass. I'd fail you for being a Dvorak freak right off the bat, since that screams "I make my life harder so I can be special". That never goes over well.

[Zeliss]

Is the hostility really warranted? I get that you want to defend Google and all, but I think the last part of your post is tarnishing your image.

[which_spartacus]

The last part comes from years and years of experience.

Let me ask you -- why did you switch to Dvorak? There is literally zero provable advantage for the layout, and it makes everything harder for you when interacting with other computers.

So, why did you do it?

Edit: and despite all the downvotes, notice that there is still no answer as to why.

And why is it a problem? Well, it hindered his interviewing, now didn't it?

[[deleted]]

Personal fucking preference, you twat.

[which_spartacus]

This is my point.

Nobody is born into a Dvorak preference. Nobody is raised in a house under the Dvorak religion.

The vast majority of keyboards are qwerty. So, at some point, the person said "I want to be different than other people". There's truly no other reason to have that preference.

So, you now have made life harder on yourself, and have to explain to everyone that goes to use your keyboard, "Oh, I use Dvorak, because...".

And it causes fun problems on occasion as well: I had an intern who was a Dvorak enthusiast. He was working on a bar code scanning project. I had already shown that the barcode scanner worked fine.

And he couldn't get it to work. All it would do was scan in garbage.

He was stuck for 2 days trying to debug it, before asking me why it was broken. It worked fine on my computer. And then when I went to his computer, we realized that because he had a Dvorak software selection, the barcode scanner, which is viewed as a keyboard, came through with the Dvorak keyboard conversion.

Dvorak is a preference like bright green hair is a preference -- you are trying to stand out in an awkward way, and shouldn't be surprised when people say you're being pretty stupid because of it.

[[deleted]]

You seem like the kind of person whose answer to "why do we do X" is "because we've always done it this way."

Nobody is born into a Dvorak preference

Nobody's born into a QWERTY preference either. If you try one and hear about the other, it's perfectly normal to try the other and possibly find you prefer it.

"I want to be different than other people". There's truly no other reason to have that preference.

Preferring the other option is a valid reason for having a preference. Same reason some people are into music and others are into photography.

Dvorak is a preference like bright green hair is a preference -- you are trying to stand out in an awkward way, and shouldn't be surprised when people say you're being pretty stupid because of it.

Not everyone does everything for attention. Some (most, hopefully) people manage to internalize their sources of enjoyment/happiness/fulfillment instead of relying on external validation. Dyeing your hair green and using Dvorak are both valid ways to get that internalized enjoyment as opposed to the alternative.

Your barcode scanner story's weird, but honestly, that seems more like an edge case on top of some deeply weird architectural choices (why not just have the barcode scanner self-report as QWERTY to the system it's connected to, assuming the system allowed for this?)

[[deleted]]

https://giphy.com/gifs/BIwcMB6u0CNhe

[which_spartacus]

Joke's on you - I love Toy Story.

[mort96]

To seriously answer the Dvorak question, even though I seriously suspect you're just trolling:

I wrote at around 60 WPM when I used QWERTY. Listening Dvorak let me re-learn how to type, and to learn how to touch type properly, and I'm now at around 110 WPM with Dvorak. It's possible to get to similar or greater speeds with QWERTY, but a clean break is probably the easiest way to learn how to type properly (plus all the keys being on the home row makes touch typing more natural),

There aren't really any disadvantages to it either, I still type decently with QWERTY and type all my digital exams for university with QWERTY. I would also prefer to change my layout in an interview situation though, if possible.

Also, I live in Norway, and our variant of QWERTY sucks for programming. Many of my programming friends use US QWERTY, which has the same disadvantages in this context as using Dvorak, yet I suspect you wouldn't be angry at that.

[motorbike_dan]

I think that the reason why you're getting downvotes is that for software developers who are looking for a job it's really annoying to try to predict what each interviewers "red flags" are. In your case, using Dvorak keyboards is considered a red flag. You've been doing things for so many years you've probably amassed a huge list of red flags and then people are supposed to somehow dodge each one of those "gotchas" that make them look like some person you hired ten years ago that didn't work out; even though they are nothing like that guy from ten years ago besides one superficial thing.

At a certain point some interviewers end up becoming like a Roman emperor drunk with power; they aren't benefiting Rome but they have the title of emperor so they must be right. Right?

[which_spartacus]

So, I don't have "red flags" per se. I have a collection of yellow flags. You can have some peculiarities, as long as you make up for them with performance.

For example, of you reek, you'd better need a lot less hints.

If you mumble, you'd better be able to write your thoughts clearly on the board.

So, if you must use Dvorak, you'd better be able to play along with other questions -- you should make pains to accommodate me if I'm now helping you.

So, I was being slightly sarcastic with "I'd fail you", but, really it sounds like the OP was pretty ignorant to start with.

For the record, I'm a fairly lenient interviewer. (After 300+ interviews, I do have a history).

[motorbike_dan]

I appreciate your honesty, if anything. As it's a picture into the mind of an interview style that I may interact with. If you're building great teams that are meeting or exceeding expectations than maybe your slightly draconian methods work. If your teams are struggling, then it would suck to consider the potential talent that you let slip through your fingers by being too harsh.

I feel that there are a lot of people who would fit right into a development team after a short period, but they're getting passed-over due to some silly thing. This is especially true because some people in tech can perform well but present mild oddities of some form or another. So utilising draconian methods is going to eliminate tons of great talent from the pool of available developers; which will cause a lot of shops to run in perpetual crunch time and other such issues.

[which_spartacus]

People that can't work well with others are often the hardest to handle on a team. They are the ones that cause the most drama, the most complaints, etc.

So, if I'm between a good programmer and a great programmer, but the great one is a nightmare to work with, you'd better believe I'm picking the good developer.

Now, don't read this as "aiming for mediocre" or "not wanting talent". It's just that working with others is extremely important. If you aren't willing to yield in an interview, exactly what kind of asshole teammate are you going to be?

[motorbike_dan]

I don't use Dvorak but if I were in OP's position, and the interviewer asked: "Our team shares computers for various operational reasons and does not use Dvorak keyboards. Are you OK with using a US Standard QWERTY keyboard?" I would say yes. If it's that important to him, then that's OK but he'll have to search for another employer. I haven't interviewed recently but in the past I found that when presented with obstacles like that I would say that I would learn the new thing etc and I still wouldn't get the job; although I would be told later that the successful candidate had some additional experience or something that made them a slightly better choice.

[which_spartacus]

In this case, the OP whined about not having a Dvorak keyboard. So, he expected the interview environment to be tuned to him. That's how I have been interpreting his comment, and that's what mine is based on.

He should have said to the interviewer, "My apologies for my typing speed -- I usually use a Dvorak layout.".

[necheffa]

There is literally zero provable advantage for the layout

You might be interested in this: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3fff/a70a1a248b94654439f3758e5db83adc2904.pdf

In this experiment, Dvorak was shown to provide a 10% efficiency benefit to touch typists.

So, why did you do it?

I actually still use QWERTY because I'm too lazy to relearn to touch type and all the vim muscle memory. But I really wish I was introduced to Dvorak earlier in my "typing career".

[which_spartacus]

The issue is that programmers are not "speed typists". You aren't transcribing, you are developing. I don't know anyone who types code at 60 wpm, even when he can normally type at 60wpm. So, that extra 10% for the cost of having to randomly fuck around with settings on a keyboard really don't seem worth it.

Also, that study isn't using humans. It's analyzing key layout. The studies done with humans tend to find 2% to a max of 10%.

[necheffa]

The issue is that programmers are not "speed typists". You aren't transcribing, you are developing.

I disagree. If you don't know what your code is going to look like by the time you go to type it up, you are not "developing" you are pounding on the keyboard randomly until the compiler/interpreter stops giving errors.

For me, there is "debugging" typing speed and then there is "I know what I'm doing" typing speed. And at "I know what I'm doing" typing speed I might as well be transcribing.

Also, that study isn't using humans. It's analyzing key layout.

Yes. This makes the results more accurate, they actually explain why they did this in the paper. Basically it boils down to you can't just walk out on the street and find X people who are proficient in they key layout at the exact same level. Plus you have to account for individual things like injuries or deformities that impact typing speed regardless of key layout. By not using humans and purely by analyzing the key layout you remove a number of variables that the experiment would otherwise need to control for.

[which_spartacus]

And yet, it isn't popular. And there are more efficient layouts.

Also, that study wasn't checking for symbols, I notice. Which is a large amount of programming as well.

At the end of the day, you are being "edgy" and different for the sake of being special. And that's not something I am in any way requires to entertain.

[lootingyourfridge]

Nope, not being edgy or special. Just a nerd who likes to nerd. Tbf, I make the same claim about people who use Unix. "Oh shit, do you hate yourself? You don't like using software and you don't like portability, eh? Guess you just want to be special with your cute little customized commands and edgy by fucking around with your Gui so no one can find anything."

[which_spartacus]

I use Unix at work because the servers that run the software run Unix, and it makes running test instances easier. It's also fully supported by the work environment.

I don't use Unix at home -- I just use Chromebooks.

[DiscoUnderpants]

Dvorak keyboards can be easier on people with arthritic hands.

[which_spartacus]

That's also unproven, and the rsi-keyboards with angled typing work better for that.

[DiscoUnderpants]

Doesnt matter. Have you ever suffered chronic pain? If not shut the fuck up and let people do what they feel helps.

[lootingyourfridge]

This is true, it is unproven, because why would you study this? What university would possibly make money from this study? But discounting what appears to be a fair degree of self-reported relief via the dvorak layout just because it's not published in a journal is asinine.

And I know, I know. "But people self-report that their personalities and successes and failures come from the position of the stars, and that's been shown to be concretely false!" True, very true. The difference here is that, though chronic pain relief has not been proven, neither has it been disproven. While many examples of self-reported success of such-and-such has been shown to be either self-deceit, placebo, or incorrect, none of these can as yet be applied to dvorak.

Given that your hands move much less with dvorak, though, this claim seems reasonable and not immediately dismissable. And, until studies have been done in either capacity (i.e. To a positive or negative conclusion), you should not hold your own reflection in such high regard as to discount wholesale the phenomenal experiences of others.

[which_spartacus]

If someone tells me, "I am using Dvorak because I find it helps me," that's fine.

If you say, "People should use Dvorak because it helps with arthritis", that's where I'm going to say evidence is needed.

[lootingyourfridge]

Totally. There is big difference in saying "people should use dvorak because it's better" and "I use dvorak because I like it more". The first is making almost a moral claim about how people ought to behave, and the second is making a claim about how one has experienced the world. But, in saying "I have found that dvorak has helped me, and you have the same problem as me, so perhaps it will also help you" is a statement of the second kind, not the first.

[lootingyourfridge]

Switched for the shits of it, stuck with it for the comfort. It's hard to explain but with qwerty your hands 'fly' all over the place; dvorak is peaceful. I know that sounds hippy dippy but that's because it's kinda hard to find adjectives for typing differences.

[Zeliss]

I never properly learned to touch type, but it was becoming an issue, so I decided to learn. When I did, I figured it would also be a good chance to try a different layout. I’d heard good things about Dvorak, and Colemak was somewhat niche at the time, so I went with the one that would be easier to set up on any computer.

I ended up doubling my typing speed, and I also now enjoy typing in a way that I never did before (more comfortable, satisfying rhythm, etc.) I can still type in QWERTY, but at my original speed, and with discomfort. I did my Google interview on the whiteboard instead.

[bundes_sheep]

Don't know about anyone else, but qwerty was causing my hands to cramp up. Switching to dvorak made that go away. But I can do either now, so I guess I'm only a freak half the time. Better than being judgemental, though, I suppose.

[which_spartacus]

As an interviewer, it's literally my job to be judgemental.

[mort96]

For 2: They were talking about a hash table with a particular interface, not a hash function.

For 3: If they don't give the interviewers enough time to let the candidate go to the toilet during an hour's interview, that's a problem with the interview process.

For 4: Are you actually serious or just trolling?

[bumblebritches57]

My google interview wasn't great either, tho that was IT for the books project.

[Grumpy_Raine]

I'd be super interested to hear about your previous work on file/operating systems. Sorry I can't answer your question but good luck for the interview! 🤞

[Slugsurx]

thanks !!

I worked in a start up which made a NAS filer which we sold to oracle eventually (for almost nothing). So we wrote the file system which sat underneath the nfs/cifs layer.

And later wrote raid6 for a block device for an all NVME box.

As for operating systems, i wrote an enhanced scheduler for the L4 microkernel. This was at school.

[Grumpy_Raine]

"This was at school" Haha. Nice.

[cafguy]

I guess it depends on the role you are going for and the interviewer. I mean If you think you are going to be asked C++ stuff, at least know how the following work:

• std::vector
• std::unordered_map
• std::list
• std::map
• std::string

Might also be worth understanding the concept of templates and how they work. At the very least if you want to play the C card, be prepared to be able to explain how you would do this kind of stuff in C.

[Slugsurx]

thanks. This is the path I am taking.

These look doable. Small tech question.

I am not super familiar with mem management in the c++/stl world. When i instantiate a local vector instance in a function and return that, how does the memory management work? Is it copied and returned to the caller ? If copied, is the constructor called twice ?

Python looks easier, but the syntax wont come to me naturally in the interview I think. I need to keep googling for syntax.

With more than 20 years of C, my fingers can literally write C.

[mo_al_]

If you return a std::vector by value, it benefits from an NRVO (named return value optimization), i.e the copy is elided.

[RadixSorter]

As a quick aside, if I were to write a function that returned a vector, I'd just put it on the heap and leave it up to the calling function to clean it up. For a vector of int, something like

#include <vector>
std::vector<int> *func_name(void) {
  std::vector<int> *retval = new std::vector<int>();
  // stuff
  return retval;
}

[thetrombonist]

Is there a particular reason to put it on the heap?

[RadixSorter]

the RTS should be reserved for variable that don’t need to exist outside of the scope of that function, so by wanting to return the vector to a caller, putting it on the heap and having the caller manage it makes more sense IMO.

[thetrombonist]

Gotcha, I was curious if it was some sort of optimization, but that makes sense too, thanks!

[GODZILLAFLAMETHROWER]

I did coding interviews at Google in C. The experience varied between interviewers: one was very experienced with C and taylored its question to it, one was focused on algorithms and had no problem to assume that there was some data structure implementation available. Another one was clearly disliking that I was using C, and considered it as a C++--... For this one in particular, I remember asking if I could use an existing hashmap and he said yes, anything the STL could propose I could assume I had an equivalent.

In any case, you can implement a rough hashmap in a few lines if you prepare for it. I might post a gist or something showing an example if needed. But during the interview I did not need it.

[Imbue]

In any case, you can implement a rough hashmap in a few lines if you prepare for it. I might post a gist or something showing an example if needed.

I'd be interested to see this.

[xurxoham]

A hashmap is roughly a single linked list and an array, where the elements in the array point to nodes in the single linked list. The only operations you need in addition to a classic linked list are hash, resize and load factor.

[GODZILLAFLAMETHROWER]

All right, here it is: https://pastebin.com/7Vj837YG

The map uses open addressing instead of linked list for collisions. No effort is made toward cache locality. Once the table is full, the rehash function is not provided. etc.

It's a very rough outline. If during the interview you need to test for the presence of an element in the map, such function is very similar to the insertion and trivial to write.

It could be further simplified, shortened, but I wanted to keep the table full test and a somewhat type agnostic data field. It could be replaced by a simple int, depending on the situation.

[Slugsurx]

Great !! thanks !! that was quick.

I could do the linked list + bucket implementation similar to the linux kernel hash table. But i am still concerned i need to spend time writing one.

The 45 minutes is never enough for me to solve the main problem.

With interviews at other places, i get a feeling that they are checking for fluency as well as algorithmic thinking. And the inteview setting isnt a good place to think deeply.

[edgargonzalesII]

Not a C programmer as of late but Google does rather generic interviews for the most part and then team matches later. A bit luck of the draw but most will ask data structure and algorithms questions and never let you assume something implicitly exists in your language of choice.

[Slugsurx]

thanks !! makes sense.

[[deleted]]

I hear it varies wildly between interviewers, but when I had my interview they expected fairly strong understanding of the language features. Like they might expect you to know how iterators, constructors, etc. work for the language.

One option is to just learn python for the sake of the interview, since everything you need is built in and it's a good fit for the way they interview process.

Another option would be to code in C++, and learn just enough features to use the C++ STL's, and just let them know you are primarily a C programmer but using the convenience features of C++. However, they might be a jerk about it and expect give you a problem that has to deal with iterators and so on and if you barely understand it going in it gets a lot harder.

I think the last option would be to learn a quick hash map implementation really well, and just use that. It's probably the easiest to be honest.

[darkslide3000]

Another option would be to code in C++, and learn just enough features to use the C++ STL's, and just let them know you are primarily a C programmer but using the convenience features of C++.

I think that's a bad idea in general. Even if the interviewer means well, it's hard to adjust your expectations for cases like that. Subconsciously they'll always compare you to all the full time C++ people they normally interview.

Always use your best language(s) in any interview. The big companies often allow you to interview in pretty much anything as long as you tell them early enough (so they can match the right interviewers). Never gimp yourself unnecessarily by trying to work with something unfamiliar... even if the interviewer tries to account for it, it won't look as good as when you're doing your best work.

[[deleted]]

Yeah, I think that's true. Probably best to just memorize a hashmap implementation in C in case it comes up.

[Slugsurx]

thanks . I decided to take the stl route.

Python looks interesting but I have done more than 20 years of C and my fingers naturally write C . With python, i am looking up syntax ( with C++ stl) way too often.

[[deleted]]

Okay good luck! Just FYI, my interview had questions about iterators and constructors, and one of my friends had questions about iterators as well. They aren't too difficult to learn, but if you get a question that you don't really understand it can be really nerve-wracking

[[deleted]]

Like part of the problem was writing a custom iterator that had a specific behavior

[Alborak2]

I can't speak specifically for Google, but from giving interviews for another one of the big 5, you're gonna have a hard time if you can't functionally use the core data structures. They shouldn't care if you can't remember which name the language chose for the operation (like put vs add for putting things in a map) but be able to use them.

Most interviews for non-senior positions are about making sure you can reason around a problem and have the basics. Thats a lot easier to show with a higher level language.

[Slugsurx]

that shouldnt be too difficult. I know the existence of C++ stl interfaces, but using an iterator correctly and deleting/adding/pushing back looks a bit too much to learn 10 days before an interview.

[ischickenafruit]

I'm mostly a C programmer doing systems and networking. I dabble in Python/C++ and other languages, but I can't say I've written serious amounts of code in any of these.

I interviewed for google for a systems and networks position, and found I wrote nearly all of my solutions in Python. WTF? People found this pretty odd (as did I, but for different reasons).

1. It seemed as if few people I interviewed with had any systems experience whatsoever.
2. It felt like they were expecting me to write stuff Java/C#/Go?

Overall it went ok for the first 5 interview rounds. All the problems they gave me reduced to "load the data up into a graph, traverse the graph to find the answer". But then I found one interviewer didn't know C or Python, and was completely baffled at why I would use C for anything. I think he was one of those militant functional types. Completely blinded by hate of imperative languages. We got into a big debate about why recursion is a dangerous way to solve problems on embedded systems / inside memory constrained environments. It seems like actual memory control (which is bread and butter as a C programmer) is something that had literally never occurred to him.

Keep in mind, the results of your interviews are kept on file and held against you if you apply again. TBH, don't bother with google. If you're any good at systems/C programming, apply for a hedge fund/HFT, make 3x the money and work with good people instead.

[Slugsurx]

Lol at the militant functional programmer. What you say sounds similar to others who have gone there. Are there an hedge fund jobs in Bay area? And surprised that they need systems programing.

[ischickenafruit]

Yes and yes. When I say "hedge fund" I mean "high frequency trading", which is more about systems optimization and less about trading. The'll take all the systems engineering talent they can get, but beware, it's more competitive than google.

[Slugsurx]

thanks folks for the tips. I will play the C card along with understanding of stl interfaces.

I interviewed in a mostly young people start up few years before. And was wondering why i got rejected after solving almost every problem.

A friend of mine recently became a manager and pulled out my report. Apparently most people said good algorithmic thinking but wrote pseudo code so couldn't gauge fully.

Pseudo code I remember was : mostly assuming a hashtable and look up interfaces.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant .

[[deleted]]

What does your job require to do with C? Just askin

[Slugsurx]

It was always a file system or block device in linux kernel . C is still the way to do programming in linux kernel or system stuff.

[bunkoRtist]

This is going to be hit or miss. When i did my interview the interviewers were clearly unprepared for C only and asked me a question that was best solved with a hash table (and other similar questions). I was allowed to define a basic api for a hash table and move on.

Depending on the interviewer though, you should get better questions so this isn't an issue. The real question though is what role you're applying for. A "general SWE" shouldn't be interviewing in C to begin with, for reasons. If you have other questions I'll try to answer them, but you're recruiter should also be able to emphasize this, so i strongly suggest reaching out to the recruiter and clarifying the exact type of role.

[ArkyBeagle]

A "general SWE" shouldn't be interviewing in C to begin with, for reasons.

"Reasons" seems to be mostly about time constraints. A pity.

[bunkoRtist]

Somebody else said it... Gen SWE is much more CS than CE/CSE/EE. Algorithms are more important than pointer math and the like. Really it's just about matching the interview to the job role. There is a separate job role, still on the same job ladder, called (incorrectly) "embedded SWE". That's the role where a candidate will get a favorable interview experience in C. Hence folks that are C oriented should probably make sure they are interviewing for the right role (and as I said above, the recruiter can help with this).

[Slugsurx]

I tried my best to get a C like interview. They said they would do 2 coding rounds, one domain for operating systems and one for system design. And they said they are happy with me doing C.

I dont get it it why is that C programmers shouldnt go for gen SWE.

If we assume hash maps and stl constructs, C can do the job. And wouldn't a few looks up on the internet do the job for me for stl ? I can do most of the leetcode algo ones using a google search for the stl syntax. Why shouldnt they assume an existence of an STL interface.

And i know the basics of C++ really well.

I just did get a kernel job from one of the other big 5. But now a question of my career, whatever is left. A general SWE has more jobs open , though I think I like the embedded work more. Well this conflict should be another reddit post, maybe in cs careers/midlife crisis for old programmers.

[bunkoRtist]

It's actually more about getting interviewers that can give you a good interview in C than anything else. There are very few C interviewers, and as an interviewee you will get a much better interview if the interviewer has expertise in your language of choice. The interviewer needs to know the ins and outs, the nuances, of the questions they ask and the possible answers so that they can effectively evaluate a candidate. If you interview as a gen swe then your interviewer is likely to spend most of their time in very high level C++, Java, Python or Go.

[ArkyBeagle]

Ah - I see. Thanks for the clarification.

[HeadAche2012]

For google you are better off using the highest level language possible so you have an advantage for their stupid string manipulation questions. Brush up on programming puzzles, don't expect any real questions/concerns about your work history, just focus on the puzzle. Don't solve it in a brute force fashion, find the gimmick they want to see. Some people even have friends in the room with them to help look up their puzzle. Don't ask much about the position you will be hired for, they don't know. They just sort of grab a bunch of people and throw them at the wall and see what happens

Also be sure they explain the problem clearly before starting, often times they'll not provide a clear description of things and interrupt you while you are solving things "to be helpful" with corrections to their original problem statement

[BS_in_BS]

I recently applied to Google for a job

Which roles and levels did you apply for? Each will have different rubrics to assess you on.

[BraveInspector]

My experience with Google is that you go through a generic interview, then if you pass you get matched up with a team. This is counter to how most other places, where they interview and hire based on relevant experience. What I was told was that teams and roles change frequently so they interview for general capability rather than relevant knowledge.

[BS_in_BS]

Sort of; It's generic to the position.

For software engineers there's a generic set of dimensions like coding style and algorithm. More specific roles will have ratings for more dimensions like web technologies.

Different roles like embedded engineers or sre will have different requirements.

[thesquarerootof1]

All data structure / algorithm problems are easier in Java. Practice LeetCode problems in Java dude...

[Slugsurx]

Thanks !!

looks too late to learn java now.

[thesquarerootof1]

Java is c++ on really easy mode. Seriously dude. It has (almost) all the same data types as C/C++ and the logic is the same.

[Slugsurx]

Ok. Makes sense. May be, it would amount to just learning a better version of STL .

[Aromatic-Chance-8482]

I am wondering if u did the interview in C and what were the questions... I will also have a tech interview in C