Seemed easy at first and I jumped straight to splitting on spaces, but then they pushed on edge cases like multiple spaces between words and leading/trailing whitespace.
Clarify the definition of 'word' and edge cases, then propose an in-place two-step approach: reverse the entire string, then reverse each word individually. Discuss time and space complexity, and consider alternative approaches like using a stack or split/join for comparison.
Pro tip: At Google, interviewers value clean, efficient code and clear communication. Before coding, explicitly state your assumptions (e.g., words separated by single spaces, no leading/trailing spaces) and ask if in-place modification is required, as this shows attention to detail and scalability.
Ask about input format (e.g., string vs. char array), definition of a word, handling of multiple spaces, punctuation, and empty strings. Confirm if in-place reversal is desired and if extra space is allowed.
Explain the two-step in-place method: first reverse the entire string, then reverse each word. Alternatively, mention using split/join or a stack, and discuss trade-offs.
Use a simple example like 'hello world' to demonstrate the steps: reverse whole string to 'dlrow olleh', then reverse each word to 'world hello'.
Write clean code with helper functions for reversing a range. Handle edge cases like empty strings or single words. Use two pointers for in-place reversal.
State time complexity O(n) and space complexity O(1) for in-place. Test with edge cases: empty string, multiple spaces, punctuation, and long words.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.