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Anchorage·Software Engineer·Technical Phone Screen·Intermediate

Intermediate
May 2026

Summary

Interviewed for a Software Engineer role at Anchorage and got a coding question about implementing a print method for a toy in-memory file system. Pretty self-contained problem but there were a few edge cases worth thinking through carefully.

Questions Asked (1)

Q1

You're given a simple in-memory file system represented as an ordered list of disk blocks, where each block holds zero or more file records. Implement a method that prints the current state of the file system: blocks in order, each wrapped in square brackets, contents comma-separated, and blocks joined by ' -> ' with no trailing arrow.

Algorithms & Data StructuresSystem Design
Author's notes

The core logic isn't hard but I spent a minute overthinking the joining part.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Clarify the data structure and formatting requirements, then implement a straightforward iteration over the blocks, formatting each block's contents and joining them with the specified delimiter. Discuss edge cases and potential optimizations, and consider how the approach would scale in a real system.

Pro tip: Demonstrate attention to detail by explicitly handling empty blocks and empty file systems, and mention that in a real system you'd consider thread safety and efficient string building.

1. Clarify requirements and assumptions

Ask questions to confirm the data structure (e.g., list of lists of strings), the exact output format, and edge cases like empty blocks or an empty file system.

2. Outline the algorithm

Describe a simple iteration over the blocks, formatting each block's contents with commas, wrapping in brackets, and joining with ' -> '.

3. Implement the solution

Write clean code using a StringBuilder or equivalent for efficiency, ensuring correct handling of empty blocks and no trailing delimiter.

4. Test with edge cases

Walk through examples: empty file system, blocks with no files, blocks with multiple files, and verify the output matches the specification.

5. Discuss scalability and extensions

Mention how the approach could be adapted for large-scale systems, such as streaming output or handling concurrent modifications.

Key Points to Mention

  • Time and space complexity: O(n) where n is total number of file records, and O(m) additional space for the output string.
  • Edge cases: empty file system, empty blocks, blocks with multiple files, and ensuring no trailing ' -> '.
  • Use of efficient string concatenation (e.g., StringBuilder in Java) to avoid quadratic performance.
  • Clarification of the data structure: list of lists, where each inner list represents a block's file records.
  • Potential real-world considerations: thread safety, persistence, and scalability if the file system grows large.
  • Clear and concise communication: explaining the approach before coding and walking through the code.

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.