Facebook Software Engineer Mock Interview

Practice 26 Facebook Software Engineer interview questions covering algorithms, system design, and coding challenges.

Question 14 of 26

What are the differences between an array and a stack?

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William Swansen has worked in the employment assistance realm since 2007. He is an author, job search strategist, and career advisor who helps individuals worldwide and in various professions to find their ideal careers.

This technical question is asking you to compare two concepts used in the role of a Facebook software engineer. When comparing two concepts, you should first define each of them and then discuss how they differ. It may be helpful if you provide examples of how the concepts are used and the work you do to demonstrate your understanding of the subject matter.

William Swansen

"A stack is a data structure that utilizes the last in, first out principle for presenting data to the application. On the other hand, an array doesn't have a fixed structure for how data is added or retrieved by the application. A stack may be used in an application that requires the most recent data to be presented first. An array can be used to retrieve any of the data, regardless of when it was added to the application."

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26Facebook Interview Questions & Answers

Technical

1.What are some of the programming languages you are familiar with, and which ones do you prefer?

Operational

2.If hired by Facebook, can you estimate what portion of your day will involve coding and other activities you will perform when not coding?

Behavioral

3.Facebook is very proud of our products and the people who develop them. In your opinion, what distinguishes a great software engineer from an average one?

Technical

4.What do you look for or check when reviewing another team member's code?

Technical Engineer

5.What do you feel are the critical principles of good software engineering?

Operational

6.Walk me through your process for designing scalable applications.

Operational

7.Describe the process you use to create a program, from requirements definition to delivery.

Operational

8.How do you go about addressing errors in your code?

Technical

9.Can you describe Facebook's software development life cycle, as you understand it?

Technical

10.Here at Facebook, we have embraced Agile methodology. How experienced are you with the Agile software development process?

Technical

11.Please describe responsive design and the difference between fixed and fluid layouts.

Operational

12.What process do you use to test and find bugs in an application you've developed?

Technical

13.Please describe a stack and the two operations it performs.

Technical

14.What are the differences between an array and a stack?

Operational

15.How would you implement Dijkstra's Shortest Path using a programming language with which you are familiar?

Operational

16.Many Facebook Software Engineers prefer to program in Java. Can you describe how you would implement linear search in JavaScript?

Technical

17.What are the differences between blocking and non-blocking calls in the context of Node.js?

Technical

18.Facebook web developers are incorporating HTML5 in their most recent websites. Can you describe the functions of web workers in HTML5?

Operational

19.How do you go about organizing CSS files, and why do you prefer this approach?

Operational

20.Walk me through the steps to build a single page application with multiple sections using the programming framework in which you typically work.

Technical

21.Can you define black box testing and white box testing and discuss the differences between them?

Situational

22.How would you accelerate the response time of a website you created for us here at Facebook?

Operational

23.Which do you prefer - a micro-service approach or a monolithic app?

Situational

24.Can you describe a tough software development problem you encountered in your last job and discuss how you solved it?

Behavioral

25.Here at Facebook, we value work life balance and initiative. What personal software development projects have you worked on outside of work?

Technical Engineer

Facebook Software Engineer Mock Interview

What are the differences between an array and a stack?

26Facebook Interview Questions & Answers

1.What are some of the programming languages you are familiar with, and which ones do you prefer?

2.If hired by Facebook, can you estimate what portion of your day will involve coding and other activities you will perform when not coding?

3.Facebook is very proud of our products and the people who develop them. In your opinion, what distinguishes a great software engineer from an average one?

4.What do you look for or check when reviewing another team member's code?

5.What do you feel are the critical principles of good software engineering?

6.Walk me through your process for designing scalable applications.

7.Describe the process you use to create a program, from requirements definition to delivery.

8.How do you go about addressing errors in your code?

9.Can you describe Facebook's software development life cycle, as you understand it?

10.Here at Facebook, we have embraced Agile methodology. How experienced are you with the Agile software development process?

11.Please describe responsive design and the difference between fixed and fluid layouts.

12.What process do you use to test and find bugs in an application you've developed?

13.Please describe a stack and the two operations it performs.

14.What are the differences between an array and a stack?

15.How would you implement Dijkstra's Shortest Path using a programming language with which you are familiar?

16.Many Facebook Software Engineers prefer to program in Java. Can you describe how you would implement linear search in JavaScript?

17.What are the differences between blocking and non-blocking calls in the context of Node.js?

18.Facebook web developers are incorporating HTML5 in their most recent websites. Can you describe the functions of web workers in HTML5?

19.How do you go about organizing CSS files, and why do you prefer this approach?

20.Walk me through the steps to build a single page application with multiple sections using the programming framework in which you typically work.

21.Can you define black box testing and white box testing and discuss the differences between them?

22.How would you accelerate the response time of a website you created for us here at Facebook?

23.Which do you prefer - a micro-service approach or a monolithic app?

24.Can you describe a tough software development problem you encountered in your last job and discuss how you solved it?

25.Here at Facebook, we value work life balance and initiative. What personal software development projects have you worked on outside of work?

26.How would you go about explaining Facebook's cloud computing environment to someone who doesn't have a technical background?