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Solve matrix diagonal and sliding-window statistics

Last updated: Mar 29, 2026

Quick Overview

Solve matrix diagonal and sliding-window statistics evaluates algorithm design, data structures, correctness, complexity, edge cases, and implementation details in a realistic interview setting. A strong answer states assumptions, handles edge cases, explains trade-offs, and shows how to validate the result clearly.

  • medium
  • Meta
  • Coding & Algorithms
  • Machine Learning Engineer

Solve matrix diagonal and sliding-window statistics

Company: Meta

Role: Machine Learning Engineer

Category: Coding & Algorithms

Difficulty: medium

Interview Round: Technical Screen

1) Given an m x n integer matrix, determine whether every top-left to bottom-right diagonal has the same value (Toeplitz property). Return true/false, analyze time and space complexity, and describe how to handle a streaming input of rows. 2) Design a data structure that maintains the moving average of the last k numbers in a real-time stream. Support push(x) and query() in amortized O( 1) time and O(k) space. Address numerical precision, overflow, and behavior when the stream has fewer than k elements. 3) Given an array nums and a window size k, output the median of each sliding window across the array. Achieve O(n log k) time or better. Explain the data structures you would use, how you handle duplicates and even k, and discuss memory trade-offs.

Quick Answer: Solve matrix diagonal and sliding-window statistics evaluates algorithm design, data structures, correctness, complexity, edge cases, and implementation details in a realistic interview setting. A strong answer states assumptions, handles edge cases, explains trade-offs, and shows how to validate the result clearly.

Solution

# Solution Alignment The prompt asks for an implementation-level answer. The safest way to present it is to define the state, maintain clear invariants, then walk through complexity and tests. ## Problem Restatement 1) Given an m x n integer matrix, determine whether every top-left to bottom-right diagonal has the same value (Toeplitz property). Return true/false, analyze time and space complexity, and describe how to handle a streaming input of rows. 2) Design a data structure that maintains the moving average of the last k numbers in a real-time stream. Support push(x) and query() in amortized O( 1) time and O(k) space. Address numerical precision, overflow, and behavior when the stream has fewer than k elements. 3) Given an array nums and a window size k, output the median of each sliding window across the array. Achieve O(n log k) time or better. Explain the data structures you would use, how you ha... ## Recommended Approach Represent each cell as a state. Use BFS for minimum-distance propagation, DFS with memoization for longest monotonic paths, and careful boundary checks for simulation. Store obstacles or visited cells in sets when the grid is sparse. ## Correctness The implementation should maintain an invariant after each loop or operation that directly matches the problem statement. At termination, that invariant implies the returned value has considered every valid candidate exactly once, or has preserved the required data-structure state after every API call. ## Complexity A full grid traversal is O(mn) time and O(mn) space in the worst case. Sparse simulation is O(number_of_commands) plus obstacle storage. ## Edge Cases and Tests Empty grid, one row/column, blocked start or target, boundaries, repeated visits, and tie-breaking among equal-distance cells.

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|Home/Coding & Algorithms/Meta

Solve matrix diagonal and sliding-window statistics

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Meta
Jul 31, 2025, 12:00 AM
mediumMachine Learning EngineerTechnical ScreenCoding & Algorithms
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Solve matrix diagonal and sliding-window statistics

  1. Given an m x n integer matrix, determine whether every top-left to bottom-right diagonal has the same value (Toeplitz property). Return true/false, analyze time and space complexity, and describe how to handle a streaming input of rows.
  2. Design a data structure that maintains the moving average of the last k numbers in a real-time stream. Support push(x) and query() in amortized O(
  3. time and O(k) space. Address numerical precision, overflow, and behavior when the stream has fewer than k elements.
  4. Given an array nums and a window size k, output the median of each sliding window across the array. Achieve O(n log k) time or better. Explain the data structures you would use, how you handle duplicates and even k, and discuss memory trade-offs.

Constraints & Assumptions

  • Preserve the scope, facts, inputs, and requested outputs from the prompt above.
  • If the prompt leaves a detail unspecified, state a reasonable assumption before relying on it.
  • Keep the answer interview-ready: concise enough to present, but concrete enough to implement or evaluate.

Clarifying Questions to Ask

  • Clarify input sizes, value ranges, mutability, return format, and tie-breaking.
  • State the target time and space complexity before coding.
  • Call out edge cases such as empty inputs, duplicates, invalid values, overflow, and boundary sizes.

What a Strong Answer Covers

  • A clear algorithm with the right data structures and enough pseudocode or code-level detail to implement it.
  • A correctness argument that explains why the algorithm covers all required cases.
  • Time and space complexity, plus at least one alternative approach when relevant.
  • Focused tests for normal cases, edge cases, and failure modes.

Follow-up Questions

  • How would the approach change if the input were streaming or too large for memory?
  • What invariants would you assert in production code?
  • Which tests would catch off-by-one, duplicate, or tie-breaking bugs?

Submit Your Answer to Earn 20XP

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