Walk through the surrounding code to infer the missing function's contract from call sites, data flow, and naming conventions, then implement it with defensive checks and validate against a quick mental or actual test. Emphasize how you handle ambiguity by forming and testing hypotheses about the function's purpose.
Pro tip: Before writing any code, articulate your assumptions about the function's inputs, outputs, and side effects, and note how you would verify them—this shows structured thinking and reduces risk in ambiguous situations.
Find all places where the missing function is called and note the arguments passed, return values used, and any error handling around the calls.
Follow the data from inputs to outputs through the surrounding code to understand what transformations or side effects the function must perform.
Based on naming, comments, and usage patterns, define the function's expected signature, return type, and behavior under edge cases.
Write the function to match the inferred contract, adding assertions or logging for ambiguous cases and handling potential errors gracefully.
Create a minimal test or use existing code paths to verify the implementation, and refine based on any discrepancies or new insights.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.