Path Resolution with Symbolic Links

Company: Anthropic

Role: Software Engineer

Category: Coding & Algorithms

Difficulty: medium

Interview Round: Onsite

Quick Answer: This question evaluates a candidate's ability to implement filesystem-style path resolution, including handling relative and absolute paths, dot components, and symbolic link indirection. It tests string parsing, iterative state tracking, and cycle detection logic, commonly used in coding interviews to assess correctness on edge cases and simulation-style problems.