Microsoft Software Developer Mock Interview

Practice 30 Microsoft Software Developer interview questions covering algorithms, system design, and coding assessments.

Question 29 of 30

Iâ€™ve heard applications referred to as both software and programs. Which terminology do you use, and how do these differ?

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William Swansen

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.

During a software developer interview with Microsoft, you will be asked to discuss terms, processes, and other aspects of your job. An interviewer will ask these questions to explore your knowledge, skills, experience, and qualifications for this job. When presented with two similar but different terms, you should be prepared to compare and contrast them. Start by defining each term and then discussing their differences.

William Swansen

"It is common for people to confuse these terms. While they are similar, there are subtle differences between them. My definition of these terms is that a computer program is a set of code that executes specific tasks. This typically takes the form of an application. Computer software is any code that performs a function on a computing device. These can include the operating system, drivers, system software, APIs, applications, and other code. Computer software includes computer programs, but computer programs don't always include all the software. Computer Software is more machine-centric, while computer programs are more user-centric. Is this how you use these terms here at Microsoft?"

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30Microsoft Interview Questions & Answers

Competency

1.What method do you use to find the missing number in an integer array of 1 to 100?

Competency

2.Here at Microsoft, our developers work with Java quite a bit. Tell me how you find duplicate numbers in an array in Java containing multiple duplicates?

Competency

3.How do you find the starting node of a cycle if a link contains a cycle?

Competency

4.Based on your experience, what's the best way to find a node that begins with two single link lists?

Competency

5.How do you approach implementing an LRU Cache in your favorite programming language?

Competency

6.What is your experience with implementing a Binary Search Algorithm without recursion?

Competency

7.Can you walk me through the meaning behind a Depth First Search Algorithm for a binary tree?

Behavioral

8.Describe how do you implement an insertion sort algorithm, and what's the easiest way to do it?

Competency

9.Microsoft software developers use a variety of different sorting algorithms. Tell me the difference between a Comparison and Non-Comparison Sorting Algorithm?

Competency

10.Can you list for me the important categories of software development?

Competency

11.Describe at a high level what the software development life cycle process is.

Competency

12.What are verification and validation, and why are they important?

Competency

13.If hired by Microsoft, one of your tasks will be to debug your and other developer's code. As a software developer, explain the meaning of debugging and why it's used?

Behavioral

14.Do you have a preferred language that you like to write programming algorithms?

Competency

15.What is software scope, and what does the process involve?

Behavioral

16.How would you define software configuration management?

Compatibility

17.Prior to starting any software development project here at Microsoft, we perform a feasibility study. What is your opinion on a feasibility study, and when should it be done?

Competency

18.Explain how duplicates are removed from an array without using a library.

Experience

19.As part of software development, were you involved with working on functional and non-functional requirements?

Competency

20.Talk about the differences between structured English and Pseudo Code.

Competency

21.Making a comparison, how would you differentiate between Quality Assurance and Quality Control, as you believe it is implemented here at Microsoft?

Accomplishment

22.Can you describe a challenging software development project you recently completed and the results?

Experience

23.Are you familiar with Agile and Waterfall? Which of these software development methodologies do you prefer?

Experience

24.What are some of the QA processes you are familiar with and have worked with in the past?

Behavioral

25.What are some of the testing and debugging processes you use in your software development?

Competency

26.How much do you know about object-oriented programming?

Behavioral

27.What are some of the software design patterns that you use, and in what situations do you use them?

Experience

28.What are some of the types of development projects you have worked on in your past positions that may be similar to those here at Microsoft?

Competency

29.Iâ€™ve heard applications referred to as both software and programs. Which terminology do you use, and how do these differ?

Behavioral

Microsoft Software Developer Mock Interview

Iâ€™ve heard applications referred to as both software and programs. Which terminology do you use, and how do these differ?

30Microsoft Interview Questions & Answers

1.What method do you use to find the missing number in an integer array of 1 to 100?

2.Here at Microsoft, our developers work with Java quite a bit. Tell me how you find duplicate numbers in an array in Java containing multiple duplicates?

3.How do you find the starting node of a cycle if a link contains a cycle?

4.Based on your experience, what's the best way to find a node that begins with two single link lists?

5.How do you approach implementing an LRU Cache in your favorite programming language?

6.What is your experience with implementing a Binary Search Algorithm without recursion?

7.Can you walk me through the meaning behind a Depth First Search Algorithm for a binary tree?

8.Describe how do you implement an insertion sort algorithm, and what's the easiest way to do it?

9.Microsoft software developers use a variety of different sorting algorithms. Tell me the difference between a Comparison and Non-Comparison Sorting Algorithm?

10.Can you list for me the important categories of software development?

11.Describe at a high level what the software development life cycle process is.

12.What are verification and validation, and why are they important?

13.If hired by Microsoft, one of your tasks will be to debug your and other developer's code. As a software developer, explain the meaning of debugging and why it's used?

14.Do you have a preferred language that you like to write programming algorithms?

15.What is software scope, and what does the process involve?

16.How would you define software configuration management?

17.Prior to starting any software development project here at Microsoft, we perform a feasibility study. What is your opinion on a feasibility study, and when should it be done?

18.Explain how duplicates are removed from an array without using a library.

19.As part of software development, were you involved with working on functional and non-functional requirements?

20.Talk about the differences between structured English and Pseudo Code.

21.Making a comparison, how would you differentiate between Quality Assurance and Quality Control, as you believe it is implemented here at Microsoft?

22.Can you describe a challenging software development project you recently completed and the results?

23.Are you familiar with Agile and Waterfall? Which of these software development methodologies do you prefer?

24.What are some of the QA processes you are familiar with and have worked with in the past?

25.What are some of the testing and debugging processes you use in your software development?

26.How much do you know about object-oriented programming?

27.What are some of the software design patterns that you use, and in what situations do you use them?

28.What are some of the types of development projects you have worked on in your past positions that may be similar to those here at Microsoft?

29.Iâ€™ve heard applications referred to as both software and programs. Which terminology do you use, and how do these differ?

30.What software development process do you prefer to use?