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ADP Coding Questions

Overview

Practice ADP coding questions in the style students report for online assessments and technical interviews. Focus areas: Coding, OOPs, SQL, aptitude. Languages commonly allowed: Java, Python, SQL.

ADP coding pattern

Item Typical expectation
Problems 1-3 coding tasks depending on drive
Skills Coding, OOPs, SQL, aptitude
Languages Java, Python, SQL (use what the assessment email lists)
What matters Correctness first, then speed and clear code

Practice problems

Question 1: check prime

Coding Q1: Check prime

Problem: Write a function that returns true if n is prime and false otherwise. Handle n < 2 correctly.

Approach: Return false for n < 2. Trial-divide from 2 to floor(sqrt(n)). If any divisor divides n evenly, it is composite; otherwise prime.

Complexity: O(√n) time

ADP tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.

Question 2: valid parentheses

Coding Q2: Valid parentheses

Problem: Given a string containing only ‘()[]’, decide whether the brackets are balanced and correctly nested.

Approach: Scan left to right with a stack. Push opening brackets. On a closing bracket, the stack top must be the matching opener. At the end the stack must be empty.

Complexity: O(n) time, O(n) space

ADP tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.

Question 3: two sum

Coding Q3: Two Sum

Problem: Given an array of integers and a target, return indices of two numbers that add up to the target. Assume exactly one solution and you may not use the same element twice.

Approach: Walk the array once. For each value x, check whether target − x was seen earlier in a hash map of value → index. If yes, return both indices; else store x.

Complexity: O(n) time, O(n) space

ADP tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.

Question 4: longest substring without repeating characters

Coding Q4: Longest substring without repeating characters

Problem: Given a string s, find the length of the longest substring without repeating characters. Example: ‘abcabcbb’ → 3 (‘abc’).

Approach: Sliding window with a map (or last-seen index) of characters. Expand the right pointer; when a duplicate appears inside the window, move the left pointer past the previous occurrence.

Complexity: O(n) time

ADP tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.

Question 5: merge overlapping intervals

Coding Q5: Merge overlapping intervals

Problem: Given a list of intervals [start, end], merge all overlapping intervals and return the non-overlapping set that covers the same ranges.

Approach: Sort by start time. Walk once, merging into the last interval in the result when the next start is ≤ current end; otherwise append a new interval.

Complexity: O(n log n) time from the sort

ADP tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.

Question 6: top k frequent elements

Coding Q6: Top K frequent elements

Problem: Given an integer array and an integer k, return the k most frequent elements. Order among equals can be arbitrary unless the problem says otherwise.

Approach: Count frequencies with a hash map, then use a heap of size k (or bucket sort by frequency) to extract the top k keys.

Complexity: O(n log k) with a heap

ADP tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.

Question 7: linked list cycle

Coding Q7: Linked list cycle

Problem: Given the head of a linked list, return true if there is a cycle and false otherwise.

Approach: Floyd’s tortoise and hare: move one pointer one step and another two steps. If they meet, a cycle exists. If the fast pointer hits null, there is no cycle.

Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) space

ADP tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.

Question 8: binary tree level order

Coding Q8: Binary tree level order

Problem: Given the root of a binary tree, return the level-order traversal (breadth-first) as a list of levels.

Approach: Use a queue. For each level, drain the current queue size, collect values, and enqueue children for the next level.

Complexity: O(n) time, O(n) space

ADP tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.

Question 9: coin change

Coding Q9: Coin change (min coins)

Problem: Given coin denominations and an amount, return the fewest coins needed to make that amount, or -1 if it is impossible.

Approach: Unbounded knapsack DP: let dp[x] be the minimum coins for amount x. For each coin, update dp[c..amount]. Initialize dp[0] = 0 and the rest to a large sentinel.

Complexity: O(amount × coins)

ADP tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.

Coding Q10: Binary search

Problem: Given a sorted array of distinct integers and a target, return the index of target or -1 if missing.

Approach: Maintain lo/hi. Compare mid with target and shrink the half that cannot contain it. Careful with overflow-free mid and empty arrays.

Complexity: O(log n) time

ADP tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.

Pattern drill plan (2 weeks)

Day Drill
Mon Arrays + hashing (2 problems)
Tue Two pointers / sliding window
Wed Stacks / strings
Thu Trees or graphs basics
Fri Timed mock (1-2 problems)
Sat Re-solve misses cold
Sun Explain your project out loud + rest

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