The Encoded Signal
A medium Python mock interview question on DataDriven, with an AI interviewer who asks follow-up questions and a hire or no-hire decision at the end.
- Domain
- Python
- Difficulty
- medium
- Seniority
- L4
Interview Prompt
A device firmware emits letter-frequency telemetry as a compact code with no literal letters in it, and you expand it into counts for the 26 lowercase letters a through z. A single digit from 1 to 9 names one of the first nine letters, two digits followed by `#` name a letter by position (`10#` is j, `26#` is z), and either token may carry a parenthesized repeat count like `1(3)`.
Summary
Letters folded into digits, counts hidden in the punctuation.
How This Interview Works
- Read the vague prompt (just like a real interview)
- Ask clarifying questions to the AI interviewer
- Write and run your Python against test cases
- Answer the interviewer's follow-up questions, then get a hire or no-hire decision