Find median in array
Last updated: September 10, 2025
Quick Overview
Given an unsorted array of integers, write a function to find the median value. The median is defined as the middle value when the numbers are sorted; if the array has an even number of elements, return the average of the two middle values. Your solution should efficiently handle large arrays and optimize for time complexity.
Oracle
September 10, 2025102
6
391 solved
Given an unsorted array of integers, write a function to find the median value. The median is defined as the middle value when the numbers are sorted; if the array has an even number of elements, return the average of the two middle values. Your solution should efficiently handle large arrays and optimize for time complexity.
Oracle uses this problem in the Phone Screen to evaluate your algorithmic thinking. They expect you to discuss multiple approaches, analyze trade-offs between them, and implement the optimal solution with clean, readable code.
What the Interviewer Expects
- Quickly identify the optimal approach and its theoretical basis
- Handle complex algorithm design with multiple interacting components
- Write concise, elegant code under time pressure
- Prove correctness of your approach and discuss alternative solutions
- Optimize beyond the obvious: discuss constant factor improvements
- Address follow-up variations and explain how the solution generalizes
Key Topics to Cover
How to Approach This
- Clarify input constraints and edge cases before writing code.
- Walk through your approach verbally and confirm with the interviewer before coding.
- Start with a brute force solution, then optimize. Mention time and space complexity.
- Test your solution with examples, including edge cases like empty input or duplicates.
- Consider common patterns: sliding window, two pointers, hash map, BFS/DFS, dynamic programming.
Possible Follow-up Questions
- Can you optimize the space complexity of your solution?
- How would you test this solution thoroughly?
- How would you parallelize this solution?
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Practice DSA ProblemsSample Answer
Problem Analysis
To find the median of an unsorted array of integers, we can leverage the properties of sorting and the characteristics of the median. The median is the middle value in a sorted array; if the array's l...
Approach
- Determine the Size of the Array: First, we check the size of the array,
n. - Handle Odd and Even Cases: If
nis odd, the median is the element at indexn//2. Ifnis even, the med...
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