Linked List Problems

Linked list questions come up at VMware at almost every level, from campus screens to SMTS loops. The lists are short. So is the code, which means the interviewer mostly watches how you move the pointers. A first answer that walks the list twice is usually accepted, and then you're asked to do it in one pass.

Most one-pass answers use two pointers, at different speeds or a fixed gap apart. One problem is different. It needs a dummy head and careful stitching where one block meets the next.

Before you write a loop, draw three nodes. Mark where each pointer starts and where it ends up. Off-by-one bugs sit at the head and the tail, and a quick sketch on the shared screen finds them before the interviewer does. Then say out loud what your code does with an empty list and with a single node.

VMwarePremium lesson · Coding round

The 4 VMware problems are below.

1. 1A Premium questionCoding · Medium · Signature problem
2. 2A Premium questionCoding · Easy · Frequently asked
3. 3A Premium questionCoding · Medium · Frequently asked

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