Design card deck with shuffle and order
Company: Apple
Role: Software Engineer
Category: Coding & Algorithms
Difficulty: Medium
Interview Round: Onsite
Design a playing-card deck library with two methods: shuffle() to return a uniformly random permutation of a standard 52-card deck, and order() to return cards sorted by rank then suit. Use the example ordering Clubs-3, Diamonds-3, Hearts-3, Spades-3, then continue rank 4 through Ace in the same suit order; explicitly define your suit and rank order and the data structures you will use; explain how you ensure an unbiased shuffle and analyze time and space complexity.
Quick Answer: This question evaluates understanding of data modeling and API design for a deck abstraction, algorithmic handling of randomization and sorting, and the ability to analyze time and space complexity.