185: Interview Preparation - Integrated Technical Loop
Assessment
Complete one timed DSA problem, one TypeScript or machine-coding exercise, and one SQL exercise. Take a short break between rounds and record the exact point of uncertainty.
Checkpoint
Review correctness, communication, tests, complexity, schema reasoning, and recovery after a mistake. Choose the next study session from evidence, not preference.
Round protocol
Use a visible timer and take notes between rounds. Do not restart a solution silently after a failure: state the failing assumption, update the approach, and rerun the smallest useful test. Record whether the weakness was knowledge, implementation accuracy, or communication.
Worked rotation
DSA: solve a frequency-map or interval problem by stating the contract, brute force, invariant, and complexity before coding. Machine coding: implement a typed component or cache with one failure path and a focused test. SQL: given users, projects, and tasks, write a query for each user's open-task count using a LEFT JOIN so users with zero tasks remain visible. Then inspect whether filtering in WHERE accidentally turns that join into an inner join.
Test expectations and rubric
Run empty/duplicate/boundary DSA cases, keyboard and stale-request machine-coding cases, and SQL cases with zero matches, nulls, duplicate joins, and ties. Score each round 0-4 for correctness, reasoning, tests, complexity/schema understanding, and communication, for 20 points. Passing means 14+ and no zero in correctness or security/accessibility; categorize misses as knowledge, implementation, or communication before choosing the next drill.