Yes, you can ask about the input size. In fact, it's expected. Any good interviewer would want to avoid someone who over-engineers.

There's a caveat though. It could be that input size is small enough that an O(n^2) will do, but that doesn't mean it's a good enough answer. A faster, simpler, more maintainable O(n) solution could still exist.

These interviews are trying to simulate working conditions, where answers are not known beforehand. Some interviewers want to see whether you can figure out if something better doesn't exist, or we can improve runtime by sacrificing space or any improvement will necessarily lead to harder-to-maintain code.

Senior Software Engineer [ICT4] at Apple

Arsalan Jumani

I'm very surprised at this answer too. I'd be very interesting if you could share your experience a bit more.

From what I've read \[1\], research shows reading text is the most effective \[2\] learning style for technical material.

\[1\] My source: Hidden Potential by Adam Grant\
\[2\] Not necessarily the most enjoyable for the learner

This can easily backfire too. E.g. Staff+ promotions at Apple require delivering impact beyond one's Org. If all the people who benefited from one's work are in the same Org, even getting an above expectations rating would be a challenge.

Being in Infra solves this as most of the time the users sit in other, usually product, teams.

How has your work-life balance been under each of these roles, and what would you've done differently in hindsight (if at all)?

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Resources on how to become or be a Staff Engineer