Code 401: Class 0 - Prework Notes

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Read: Solving Problems

• Solving code problems in an interview
  • Spend time up front planning how to approach the problem
  • Build a simple solution first then add complexity
  • Suggested steps
    1. Read the problem twice
    2. Solve manually with 3 sets of sample data
    3. Optimize the manual steps
    4. Write the manual steps as comets or pseudo-code
    5. Replace the comments or pseudo-code with real code
    6. Optimize the real code
  • Know how to do the following in any language that you may be tested on
    1. Create a list
    2. Sort a list or array
    3. Create a map or dictionary
    4. Loop through a list or dictionary
    5. Parse strings
    6. Convert from string to int, int to string
  • If a code challenge has many complex parts “divide and conquer”

Read: Act like you make $1000/hr

• The premise of this article is that by valuing one’s time at $1,000 per hour one will focus on doing things that are actually important. The author suggests that many “busy” people are busy by choice and to their detriment. A number of successful professionals are quoted as saying something to the effect of refusing 90+% of opportunities that are presented to them. The major take-away is to learn to say “No” more often.

Read: How to think like a programmer

• This article presents a systematic approach to problem solving
  • Understand determining exactly what the problem is
  • Plan don’t start writing code without first thinking through the steps in the solution, possibly comment the solution first
  • Divide & Conquer
  • When stuck, go line by line and figure out exactly what you told the computer to do not what you wanted it to do
  • Practice in all forms

Read: The 5 Whys

• 5 Whys developed by Sakichi Toyoda (founder of Toyota)
• Best suited to simple or moderately complex problems
• Steps
  • Gather a team that is familiar with the problem
  • Define the problem
  • Ask the first “Why”
  • Ask four successive “why’s” each relating to the answer to the previous question
  • Stop asking “why” when there are no additional useful responses
  • Address the root cause
  • Monitor the solutions to confirm they are working

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