Trace code and find frequent character
Company: Akuna Capital
Role: Software Engineer
Category: Coding & Algorithms
Difficulty: Medium
Interview Round: Take-home Project
1) Trace a simple algorithm: Given a short loop-and-conditional pseudo-code operating over an integer array, trace the values of key variables (e.g., index, current element, running best, counters) after each iteration for a provided input and state the final result. Also identify the time and space complexity and any off-by-one errors.
2) String frequency: Given a string of letters (case-insensitive), return the character that appears most frequently; if there is a tie, return the lexicographically smallest among them. Provide an O(n) approach and discuss space trade-offs.
Quick Answer: This question evaluates proficiency in algorithm tracing and debugging loop-and-conditional logic (including off-by-one detection), analysis of time and space complexity, and string-processing skills such as frequency counting with case-insensitivity and lexicographic tie-breaking.