Coding questions
HCL Online Assessment
Overview
Detailed public write-ups on the HCL online test are still hard to find.
What public reports and campus notices usually say (still verify officially):
| Item | Working note |
|---|---|
| Online test name | HCL Online Assessment |
| Focus areas (metadata) | DSA, aptitude |
| Languages (metadata) | C, C++, Java, Python. |
| Reported round names | Online Assessment → Technical Interview → HR. |
Practice drills
Coding Q1: 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
HCL 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 Q2: 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
HCL 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 Q3: 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
HCL 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 Q4: 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
HCL 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.
What to do next
- Open the official careers page or your college placement email for HCL
- Search GeeksforGeeks + Reddit for
HCL interview experience - Use Faceprep / PrepInsta only if they match your placement email