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SDE - 1

Cisco
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4 rounds | 7 Coding problems

Interview preparation journey

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Preparation
Duration: 4 Months
Topics: Data Structures and Algorithms, Object Oriented Programming Concepts, Operating Systems, Database Management Systems, Computer Communication Networks
Tip
Tip

Tip 1 : Focus on mastering the concept and then you'll be able to solve problems
Tip 2 : Do not get demotivated,it's common to get rejected by MNCs.Once you are well prepared,you will end up with the right offer

Application process
Where: Campus
Eligibility: 7 CGPA, No backlog history, Only students of particular branches could apply
Resume Tip
Resume tip

Tip 1 : Be thorough with every single word mentioned in your resume.
Tip 2 : Don't mention projects unless you have a complete understanding of the technologies used in the project.

Interview rounds

01
Round
Easy
Online Coding Interview
Duration60 Minutes
Interview date26 Jul 2020
Coding problem1

This was the initial round consisting of some aptitude questions,technical multiple choice questions and one coding question.
The Multiple Choice Questions were pretty straight forward.

1. Snake and Ladder

Moderate
30m average time
60% success
0/80
Asked in companies
CiscoRed HatJP Morgan

You have been given a Snake and Ladder Board with 'N' rows and 'N' columns with the numbers written from 1 to (N*N) starting from the bottom left of the board, and alternating direction each row.

For example

For a (6 x 6) board, the numbers are written as follows:

6*6 Board

You start from square 1 of the board (which is always in the last row and first column). On each square say 'X', you can throw a dice which can have six outcomes and you have total control over the outcome of dice throw and you want to find out the minimum number of throws required to reach the last cell.
Some of the squares contain Snakes and Ladders, and these are possibilities of a throw at square 'X':
You choose a destination square 'S' with number 'X+1', 'X+2', 'X+3', 'X+4', 'X+5', or 'X+6', provided this number is <= N*N.
If 'S' has a snake or ladder, you move to the destination of that snake or ladder.  Otherwise, you move to S.
A board square on row 'i' and column 'j' has a "Snake or Ladder" if board[i][j] != -1. The destination of that snake or ladder is board[i][j].
Note :
You can only take a snake or ladder at most once per move: if the destination to a snake or ladder is the start of another snake or ladder, you do not continue moving - you have to ignore the snake or ladder present on that square.

For example, if the board is:
-1 1 -1
-1 -1 9
-1 4 -1
Let's say on the first move your destination square is 2  [at row 2, column 1], then you finish your first move at 4 [at row 1, column 2] because you do not continue moving to 9 [at row 0, column 0] by taking the ladder from 4.

A square can also have a Snake or Ladder which will end at the same cell.
For example, if the board is:
-1 3 -1
-1 5 -1
-1 -1 9
Here we can see Snake/Ladder on square 5 [at row 1, column 1] will end on the same square 5.
Problem approach

The idea is to consider the given snake and ladder board as a directed graph with number of vertices equal to the number of cells in the board. The problem reduces to finding the shortest path in a graph. Every vertex of the graph has an edge to next six vertices if next 6 vertices do not have a snake or ladder. If any of the next six vertices has a snake or ladder, then the edge from current vertex goes to the top of the ladder or tail of the snake. Since all edges are of equal weight, we can efficiently find shortest path using Breadth First Search of the graph. 
Following is the implementation of the above idea. The input is represented by two things, first is ‘N’ which is number of cells in the given board, second is an array ‘move[0…N-1]’ of size N. An entry move[i] is -1 if there is no snake and no ladder from i, otherwise move[i] contains index of destination cell for the snake or the ladder at i.

Try solving now
02
Round
Medium
Video Call
Duration45 Minutes
Interview date5 Aug 2020
Coding problem4

I had two interviewers in this round.Some Problem solving questions were asked in this round.

1. Puzzle

our enemy challenges you to play Russian Roulette with a 6-cylinder pistol (meaning it has room for 6 bullets). He puts 2 bullets into the gun in consecutive slots, and leaves the next four slots blank. He spins the barrel and hands you the gun. You point the gun at yourself and pull the trigger. It doesn't go off. Your enemy tells you that you need to pull the trigger one more time, and that you can choose to either spin the barrel at random, or not, before pulling the trigger again. Spinning the barrel will position the barrel in a random position.

Assuming you'd like to live, should you spin the barrel or not before pulling the trigger again?

Problem approach

You are better off shooting again without spinning the barrel.

Given that the gun didn't fire the first time, it was pointing to one of the four empty slots. Because your enemy spun the cylinder randomly, it would have been pointing to any of these empty slots with equal probability. Three of these slots would not fire again after an additional trigger-pull, and one of them would. Thus, by not spinning the barrel, there is a 1/4 chance that pulling the trigger again would fire the gun.

Alternatively, if you spin the barrel, it will point to each of the 6 slots with equal probability. Because 2 of these 6 slots have bullets in them, there would be a 2/6 = 1/3 chance that the gun would fire after spinning the barrel.

Thus, you are better off not spinning the barrel.

2. Anagram Pairs

Moderate
30m average time
60% success
0/80
Asked in companies
JP MorganNearbuyTata Consultancy Services (TCS)

You are given two strings 'str1' and 'str1'.


You have to tell whether these strings form an anagram pair or not.


The strings form an anagram pair if the letters of one string can be rearranged to form another string.

Pre-requisites:

Anagrams are defined as words or names that can be formed by rearranging the letters of another word. Such as "spar" can be formed by rearranging letters of "rasp". Hence, "spar" and "rasp" are anagrams. 

Other examples include:

'triangle' and 'integral'
'listen' and 'silent'
Note:
Since it is a binary problem, there is no partial marking. Marks will only be awarded if you get all the test cases correct. 
Try solving now

3. OOPS Question

Explain all the main Object Oriented programming Concepts

Problem approach

Start off by taking an example.Then explain all the concepts one by one along with the example.

4. Technical Question

I was asked to explain about any of my projects

Problem approach

It's better to include projects which relate to the Job description.This way it'll be easier for us to answer and showcase our skillset.

03
Round
Easy
Video Call
Duration45 Minutes
Interview date5 Aug 2020
Coding problem2

Number Of Interviewers : 2
I was asked two problem solving questions and I was asked to explain my projects.

1. Puzzle

Given two hourglass of 4 minutes and 7 minutes, the task is to measure 9 minutes.

Problem approach

At 0 minutes: Start both hourglasses at the same time.
At 4 minutes: 4 minutes hourglass runs out and flip it. 7 minutes hourglass is left with 3 minutes.
At 7 minutes: 4 minutes hourglass is left with 1 minute. 7 minutes hourglass runs out and flip it.
At 8 minutes: 4 minutes hourglass runs out and 7 is filled with 6 minutes and 1 minute on the other side. Flip it as the sand is left with 1 minute.
At 9 minutes: 7 minutes hourglass becomes empty from above side.
Hence we measured 9 minutes.

2. Puzzle

he game of Tic-Tac-Toe is being played between two players and it is in below state after six moves.

X | O |
X | |
O | O | X

Who will win the game, O or X?

Problem approach

O will win the game.
The 7th mark must be placed in square 5 which is the win situation for both X and O. Hence, the 6th mark must be placed in a line already containing two of the opponents marks. There are two such possibilities – the 6th mark would have been either O in square 7 or X in square 9.

As we know both the players are intelligent enough, the 6th mark could not be O in square 7. Instead, he would have placed O in square 5 and would have won.

Hence, the sixth mark must be X placed in square 9. And the seventh mark will be O. Thus O will win the game.

04
Round
Easy
HR Round
Duration15 Minutes
Interview date5 Aug 2020
Coding problem0

Some basic HR questions were asked.I had one interviewer.

The questions were simple,but their nature was to understand our intent. We must seem interested in the Job else we will not be given the offer. Always make it a point to ask questions about the company to the interviewer(it shows our interest in the company). Questions asked:- 1)Did I know what package the company was offering . 2)Why I am not pursuing Masters or any other higher studies. 3)If I wanted to know anything about the company. 4)Why Cisco?

Here's your problem of the day

Solving this problem will increase your chance to get selected in this company

Skill covered: Programming

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