Sliding Window on linked list
Last updated: September 2, 2025
Quick Overview
Given a singly linked list, implement a sliding window technique to find the maximum sum of any contiguous sublist of a specified length k. The function should take the head of the linked list and the integer k as inputs, and return the maximum sum as an integer. If k is greater than the length of the list, return -1.
OpenAI
September 2, 202536
7
838 solved
Given a singly linked list, implement a sliding window technique to find the maximum sum of any contiguous sublist of a specified length k. The function should take the head of the linked list and the integer k as inputs, and return the maximum sum as an integer. If k is greater than the length of the list, return -1.
Coding interviews at OpenAI focus on problem-solving approach as much as the final solution. The interviewer wants to see you break down the problem, consider edge cases, and optimize iteratively. Communication throughout the process is key.
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
- How would you modify your solution to handle streaming input?
- How would your solution change if the input was sorted?
- How would you parallelize this solution?
- What is the worst-case input for your solution?
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Practice DSA ProblemsSample Answer
Problem Analysis
In this problem, we are tasked with finding the maximum sum of any contiguous sublist of length k in a singly linked list. The sliding window technique is particularly effective here because it allo...
Approach
- Edge Case Handling: First, check if
kis greater than the length of the linked list. If so, return -1. - Initialize Variables: Create a variable to store the current sum of the first `k...
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