Software Engineer (Systems)

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Let's talk about strings. Suppose you're given two strings, text and pattern. Your task is to implement a function that efficiently determines if the pattern is a subsequence of the text. A subsequence is a sequence that can be derived from another sequence by deleting some or no elements without changing the order of the remaining elements. For example, ace is a subsequence of abcde, but aec is not. Your function should return true if the pattern is a subsequence of the text, and false otherwise. Example 1: text = abcde pattern = ace Output: true Example 2: text = abcde pattern = aec Output: false Example 3: text = abcde pattern = Output: true (An empty string is always a subsequence) Example 4: text = pattern = abc Output: false (A non-empty string cannot be a subsequence of an empty string) Consider edge cases such as empty strings and differing lengths. Discuss the time and space complexity of your solution. Aim for an optimal solution.

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Let's delve into the realm of networking. Imagine you are tasked with designing a network for a growing company with three distinct departments: Engineering, Marketing, and Sales. Each department has unique needs and security requirements. The Engineering department requires high bandwidth for data transfer and code compilation, the Marketing department needs access to various social media platforms and marketing tools, and the Sales department needs secure access to customer data and CRM systems. Furthermore, the company wants to implement a guest network for visitors. The network should be designed with scalability, security, and performance in mind. Considering these requirements, address the following: Describe the network topology you would choose and why. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of your chosen topology in this scenario. Outline the IP addressing scheme you would implement. Include subnetting details and justification for your choices. Discuss the security measures you would implement to protect each department's data and ensure network security. Elaborate on firewall rules, access control lists (ACLs), and intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS). Explain how you would segment the network to isolate the guest network from the internal network. What specific technologies or configurations would you use to achieve this? Describe how you would ensure high availability and redundancy in the network design. What measures would you take to prevent single points of failure? Outline the routing protocols you would use and why. How would you configure them to optimize network performance and ensure efficient data delivery? Discuss how you would monitor and manage the network to ensure optimal performance and security. What tools and techniques would you employ for network monitoring and troubleshooting?

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Could you describe a situation where you faced a significant memory leak issue in a C++ application and how you diagnosed and resolved it? Please walk me through the tools and techniques you used, the challenges you encountered, and the ultimate solution you implemented. For example, imagine you're working on a large-scale C++ application for processing high-volume financial transactions. The application is experiencing performance degradation over time, eventually leading to crashes. After initial investigation, you suspect a memory leak. Describe your approach to identifying the source of the leak. Consider discussing the specific tools you might employ, such as memory profilers (e.g., Valgrind, AddressSanitizer), debugging techniques (e.g., heap analysis), and code review strategies. What were some of the initial hypotheses you formed, and how did you validate or refute them? What were the key code areas you focused on based on your initial findings? Furthermore, explain any specific coding practices or patterns that contributed to the leak (e.g., improper use of smart pointers, forgetting to release dynamically allocated memory). How did you correct these issues, and what steps did you take to prevent similar leaks from occurring in the future? Did you implement any automated testing or monitoring to detect memory leaks early on? Finally, reflect on any lessons learned from this experience and how it has shaped your approach to memory management in C++.