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> Yet this is apparently "standard required knowledge" for interviewing at google, amazon and co. What makes you think that? My experience is that Google at le
by nolemurs 9y ago
> Yet this is apparently "standard required knowledge" for interviewing at google, amazon and co.
What makes you think that? My experience is that Google at least would never ask a question about red-black trees. I doubt Amazon would either. These big companies stick to questions that don't require a lot of specific knowledge because they know that a question about red-black trees mostly tests how recently you've studied red-black trees. I've done a bunch of whiteboard interviewing, and I would be shocked to be asked a question about red-black trees at a competently run company.
"Cracking the Coding Interview" explicitly mentions red-black trees as a topic that you're unlikely to see in an interview (for obvious reasons).
I think the places you see these sorts of questions asked are smaller companies that are imitating the big players without really understanding how to do it right.
- ricw 9y agoFirst hand experience. I applied for a job at google and this was given as an example of knowledge that I should revise for the interview.
- nolemurs 9y agoWas that a long time ago? I've heard stories about things like that a bunch of years ago, but my impression was that things have changed.
- NTDF9 9y ago>> Was that a long time ago? I've heard stories about things like that a bunch of years ago, but my impression was that things have changed. By then you have wasted a good candidate's time, who doesn't want to interview at your company anymore. Go hire the folks who memorized RB tree.
- watwut 9y agoWas it before or during interview? If during, like "you should have studied it", then it is wrong way yo do it. If it was before, then I think it is fine. It basically test whether you are able to learn something like red-black trees when needed. I would consider such question a good one.
- camtarn 9y agoCan confirm that red-black trees didn't come up once in my Amazon interviewing career.