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Software Engineer

ConsultAdd Inc

1 rounds | 1 Coding problems

Abhishek Srivastava

Experienced | Mar 2025

Rejected

Interview preparation journey

Journey

My preparation was strong in coding and problem-solving, but I realized I had very little idea about core CS fundamentals. Since these topics are often asked in interviews, I’ve started focusing on revising the basics like Operating Systems, DBMS, Computer Networks, and OOPs concepts alongside my regular practice.

Preparation

Topics: Operating Systems, DBMS, DSA, OOPs

Application process

Where: Coding Ninjas Placement Cell

Eligibility: B.Tech CS/IT (Grad Year-2025 & 2024)

Interview rounds

Round

Easy

Online Coding Interview

Duration

Interview date12 Mar 2025

Coding problem1

1. Transform String with L and R Moves

You are given two strings, start and target, both of length n.
Each string consists only of the characters 'L', 'R', and '_', where:

'L' → A piece that can move left only, but only if there is a blank space ('_') directly to its left.
'R' → A piece that can move right only, but only if there is a blank space ('_') directly to its right.
'_' → A blank space that can be occupied by 'L' or 'R'.

Task:
Return true if it is possible to obtain the string target by moving the pieces of the string start any number of times. Otherwise, return false.

Constraints:

1 <= n <= 10^5
Both strings contain only 'L', 'R', and '_'.

Problem approach

Check Character Order
1. Remove all _ characters from both start and target strings.
2. Compare the remaining sequences of 'L' and 'R'.
3. If they are not identical, return false, since the relative order of pieces must remain the same (pieces cannot cross each other).
Validate Movement Rules
1. Traverse both start and target while keeping track of the positions of 'L' and 'R'.
2. For each 'L' in start, its index must be greater than or equal to its corresponding index in target (because 'L' can only move left).
3. For each 'R' in start, its index must be less than or equal to its corresponding index in target (because 'R' can only move right).
4. If any condition is violated, return false.