Validate linked list balanced
Last updated: August 23, 2025
Quick Overview
Given a linked list, implement a function to determine if the list is balanced, meaning that the number of nodes in the first half is equal to the number of nodes in the second half, or differs by at most one. The function should return a boolean value indicating whether the linked list is balanced.
Workday
August 23, 202519
11
327 solved
Given a linked list, implement a function to determine if the list is balanced, meaning that the number of nodes in the first half is equal to the number of nodes in the second half, or differs by at most one. The function should return a boolean value indicating whether the linked list is balanced.
This coding problem is frequently asked during Onsite at Workday. The interviewer is testing your ability to translate a problem into clean, working code while discussing time and space complexity. Workday expects candidates to write production-quality code, not just solve the puzzle.
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 your solution change if the input was sorted?
- Can you solve this in a single pass?
- What happens if the input contains duplicates?
- Can you solve this iteratively instead of recursively (or vice versa)?
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Problem Analysis
To determine if a linked list is balanced, we need to assess whether the number of nodes in the first half of the list is equal to the number of nodes in the second half, or differs by at most one. Th...
Approach
- Initialize two pointers: Start with both
slowandfastpointers at the head of the linked list. - Traverse the list: Move the
fastpointer two steps and theslowpointer one step ...
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