Compare heap, stack, Protobuf, gRPC, SQL, CI/CD
Company: Booking.com
Role: Software Engineer
Category: System Design
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Technical Screen
##### Question
What is the difference between heap and stack memory? Compare Protobuf and JSON for data serialization. Compare gRPC and traditional RPC mechanisms. When is event streaming (e.g., Kafka) appropriate? When should you use a table join in SQL? What does SQL stand for? What does CI/CD stand for?
Quick Answer: This question evaluates a candidate's breadth of core systems and data concepts, including memory allocation, data serialization formats, remote procedure mechanisms, event-driven streaming, relational operations, and software delivery pipelines.