Google Interview Experience (On-Campus)

Hey w3wiki community! ?

I recently had an onsite interview with Google, and I wanted to share my experience tackling the “Maximum Subarray Sum” question. This problem is a classic algorithmic challenge that tests your ability to find the most efficient solution for a common computational problem.

Question Description:

Company:Google

Stage:Online

Question Name:Maximum Subarray Sum

Problem Statement:

Given an array of integers, find the contiguous subarray with the largest sum. The array can contain both positive and negative integers.

Example:

Input: [-2, 1, -3, 4, -1, 2, 1, -5, 4]

Output: 6 (Explanation: The subarray [4, -1, 2, 1] has the largest sum.)

Code:

“`python

def maxSubArray(nums):

max_sum = float(‘-inf’)

current_sum = 0

for num in nums:

current_sum = max(num, current_sum + num)

max_sum = max(max_sum, current_sum)

return max_sum

“`

The Main Discussion:

During the interview, I explained my thought process before diving into the code. I chose the Kadane’s algorithm, which efficiently finds the maximum subarray sum in a single pass through the array. This approach has a time complexity of O(n), making it optimal for this problem.

I encourage others who’ve encountered this question to share their experiences, alternative solutions, or any additional insights. Let’s create a valuable resource for everyone preparing for Google interviews. Remember to use three backticks (“`) for code readability, and include as many examples as possible!

Best of luck to everyone in their interview preparations, and happy coding! ?✨ [#MaximumSubarraySum]

Regards,

Vignesh (Scifivy)