← Anthropic Interview Insights
The silence from the interviewer made this so much harder than it needed to be.
Start by clarifying requirements and scope (e.g., in-memory vs. persistent, concurrency, permissions), then design a class hierarchy with core entities like File, Directory, and FileSystem. Implement key operations (create, read, write, delete, list) and discuss trade-offs such as using a tree structure, handling paths, and ensuring thread safety.
Pro tip: Demonstrate awareness of real-world constraints by mentioning how you'd handle edge cases like circular symlinks, concurrent access, and efficient directory listing; this shows maturity beyond basic CRUD.
Ask questions to define scope: in-memory or persistent? Single-threaded or concurrent? What operations are needed (create, read, write, delete, move, copy)? Any permissions or metadata?
Define core classes: FileSystem, Directory, File, and possibly Symlink. Use inheritance or composition (e.g., File and Directory inherit from a common Node). Include attributes like name, size, timestamps, and parent references.
Implement methods for creating, reading, writing, deleting, and listing. For directories, use a map for children to allow O(1) lookup. Handle path resolution (absolute vs. relative) and traversal.
Discuss handling of duplicate names, circular references, and permissions. If concurrent, propose locking strategies (e.g., per-node locks or read-write locks) to ensure thread safety.
Compare design choices: tree vs. flat structure, in-memory vs. on-disk, eager vs. lazy loading. Mention potential extensions like journaling, quotas, or caching.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.