Palo Alto Networks Senior Staff Engineer Mock Interview
Master 30 Senior Staff Engineer interview questions covering distributed systems, security architecture, and technical leadership at Palo Alto Networks.
Question 12 of 30
Can you discuss the differences between functional and object-oriented programming and which type you prefer?
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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.
There are two different types of software development paradigms. These include functional and object-oriented programming. As a senior staff engineer, you should be able to describe each of these, discuss their benefits, and comment on which one you prefer or have the most background in. A Palo Alto Networks interviewer will ask you this question to test your knowledge and understand your programming style. They're interested to see if it aligns with that of Palo Alto Networks.
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.
"Functional and object-oriented programming are both valid methodologies used for developing software. Functional is the most straightforward and operates with the concept that inputs are used during computations, resulting in the outputs of the software. Object-oriented programming is more complex and uses classes. The variables in each class can be acted on by different methods. It also involves the concept of inheriting or extending the classes. While functional programming is more straightforward, object-oriented programming is more efficient and allows the reuse of classes and objects within the classes. I prefer to program using object-oriented methodology use. Languages I'm comfortable using include Java, C, and C."
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