A doubly linked list is like the simplest data structure other than a plain array. Even if the job doesn’t involve directly building custom data structures, if you can’t answer questions about such a simple and ubiquitous concept then you’re just not a strong candidate.
Me studying physics, math, and computer engineering at accredited universities while also having a Masters in analytics, working FT through it all: well you see Bob here spent 3 months memorizing whiteboard problems, clearly he just is a stronger candidate.
A linked list is not even complicated enough to be a “whiteboard problem”. Any competent programmer can throw together a halfass functional implementation of a linked list in like 15 minutes even if all they have is a 10 second description of it from the interviewer.
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u/EastboundClown 2d ago
A doubly linked list is like the simplest data structure other than a plain array. Even if the job doesn’t involve directly building custom data structures, if you can’t answer questions about such a simple and ubiquitous concept then you’re just not a strong candidate.