Solve power jumps and graph tour
Company: Microsoft
Role: Software Engineer
Category: Coding & Algorithms
Difficulty: hard
Interview Round: Technical Screen
This online assessment contained two coding problems:
1. **Minimum operations using signed powers of two**
Given an integer `n`, you want to make it equal to `0`. In one operation, choose any integer `i >= 0` and either add or subtract `2^i` from the current value. Return the minimum number of operations needed.
2. **Shortest round trip visiting all nodes**
Given a weighted graph and a starting node `s`, find the minimum total distance of a tour that starts at `s`, visits every node exactly once, and returns to `s`. If no such tour exists, return `-1`.
Quick Answer: This pair of problems evaluates algorithmic problem-solving in number representation and combinatorial graph optimization, focusing on competencies in bitwise/number reasoning for minimal operations and graph traversal/route optimization for a Hamiltonian tour.