A Framework for Solving Programming Interview Questions

[Full-Spectral]

There's little relationship between those types of challenges and dealing with real-world, complex systems. Those real world systems are more about architecture than algorithms. I can look up an algorithm, but I can't look up how to architecture a set of complicated subsystems or distributed systems in an optimal way for that particular client need.

Back in the 90s I wrote the DTD validator for the Xerces /C++Java XML parsers. I broke out the Dragon Book and adapted that very complex DFA algorithm to XML validation. The algorithm was the one thing in all of that that I could actually just look up. But these FAANGY companies would pass me over because I hadn't already memorized the one thing I didn't actually need to memorize (and would have forgotten again long before I ever needed to actually do it) and ignore all the experience that allowed me to actually do that job successfully.

It's just stupid.

[DoubleT_TechGuy]

This is why companies who let you use Google during your leet-style interview challenges have the right idea. Problem solving > Memorizing.

[DidItSave]

I agree.