Basic Golang Interview Questions Part 1

Basic Golang Interview Questions Part 1 #

  1. What are the pros and cons of using Golang?
  • Pros:
    • Efficient Concurrency:
      • Goroutines and channels make it easy to write concurrent programs, leveraging multi-core processors efficiently.
      • Goroutines: Lightweight threads managed by the Go runtime, making concurrent programming easier and more efficient.
      • Channels: Facilitate safe communication between goroutines, promoting clean concurrency patterns.
    • GC:
      • Automatic memory management reduces the risk of memory leaks and manual memory management errors.
    • Cross-Platform:
      • Go programs can be compiled to run on various operating systems without modification.
    • Strong Typing:
      • Type Safety: Statically typed language with strong type checking, preventing many common programming errors.
    • Strong Standard Library:
      • Rich Libraries: Comprehensive standard library supports tasks like web development, file handling, and cryptography.
      • Built-in Testing: Includes a robust testing framework, making unit testing straightforward.
  • cons:
    • GC: Garbage collection, while efficient, can introduce latency, making Go less suitable for real-time systems.
    • Error Handling: Go’s explicit error handling can lead to verbose and repetitive code, compared to exceptions in other languages.
    • Large Binaries: Go binaries can be relatively large due to static linking, which includes all dependencies.
    • Focus on Backend: Go is primarily used for backend services and systems programming, with limited support for frontend or desktop UI development.
  1. Difference between slice and array in Golang?
  • Array:
    • fixed size at compile time, and cannot be resized
    • memory is allocated at the time of declaration
    • stored continously in memory
  • Slice:
    • support dynamic resizing
    • consist of a pointer to the array, length, and capacity
    • Slices are reference types, meaning that multiple slices can refer to the same underlying array.
    • Memory is allocated on demand and can be reallocated when the slice grows.
  1. Why static types are good? Early Error Detection:

Errors and type mismatches are caught at compile-time rather than at runtime, reducing the chances of bugs in production and improving code reliability. Enhanced Code Readability and Maintainability:

Explicit type declarations make the code easier to read and understand, allowing developers to quickly grasp the types of variables and function returns, which simplifies maintenance and collaboration. Optimized Performance:

Compilers can optimize code more effectively when types are known at compile-time, leading to potential performance improvements due to better resource management and allocation.

  1. What are 2 types of string literals in Golang and what are the differences? In Go, there are two types of string literals: interpreted string literals and raw string literals.
  • Interpreted String Literals: Enclosed in double quotes "". Special characters like \n (newline) and \t (tab) are interpreted. Example: “Hello\nWorld” results in a string with a newline between “Hello” and “World”.
  • Raw String Literals: Enclosed in backticks `.
  • Special characters are not interpreted, and the string can span multiple lines.
  • Example: a :=`Hello\nWorld` results in a string with the literal text “Hello\nWorld”, including the backslash and ’n’ as part of the string.
  1. What is the time complexity of merge sort?

Time Complexity:

  • Best Case: O(nlogn)
  • Average Case: O(nlogn)
  • Worst Case: O(nlogn) The time complexity is consistently O(nlogn) because the array is always divided into two halves, and the merging process takes linear time. Space Complexity: Auxiliary Space: O(n) Mergesort requires additional space proportional to the size of the input array to store the subarrays during the merging process.
// Mergesort function sorts the input array using the mergesort algorithm.
func Mergesort(arr []int) []int {
    // Base case: if the array has 1 or 0 elements, it is already sorted.
    if len(arr) <= 1 {
        return arr
    }

    // Find the middle index to divide the array into two halves.
    mid := len(arr) / 2

    // Recursively sort both halves.
    left := Mergesort(arr[:mid])
    right := Mergesort(arr[mid:])

    // Merge the sorted halves.
    return merge(left, right)
}

// Merge function merges two sorted arrays into a single sorted array.
func merge(left, right []int) []int {
    // Create a new array to hold the merged result.
    result := make([]int, 0, len(left)+len(right))

    // Initialize indices for left and right arrays.
    i, j := 0, 0

    // Iterate through both arrays and merge them into the result array.
    for i < len(left) && j < len(right) {
        if left[i] < right[j] {
            result = append(result, left[i])
            i++
        } else {
            result = append(result, right[j])
            j++
        }
    }

    // Append any remaining elements from the left array.
    result = append(result, left[i:]...)

    // Append any remaining elements from the right array.
    result = append(result, right[j:]...)

    return result
}
  1. What basic and composite types do we have in Golang?
  • Basic Types:
    • Boolean: bool
    • Numeric: int, uint, float32, float64, complex64, complex128, etc.
    • Character: rune
    • String: string
  • Composite Types:
    • Array
    • Slice
    • Struct
    • Pointer
    • Function Value
    • Map
    • Channel
    • Interface
  1. What design principles can you use if you were to design an app like What's app?

  • Microservices Architecture: Decompose the application into independent, loosely coupled services. Facilitate easier maintenance, scaling, and deployment.

  • Data Consistency and Synchronization: Implement mechanisms for synchronizing messages across multiple devices. Use eventual consistency models for real-time communication.

  • Security: Encrypt messages end-to-end to protect user privacy. Secure user authentication and data storage.