Distributed Mode/Median

CodingAnthropicLast reported July 2026High Frequency

Reported: 12× across candidate reports
First seen: April 2025
Last reported: July 2026
Also asked in: System Design
Reported outcome: mixed

Problem Overview

You are given a cluster of 10 distributed worker nodes, each holding a shard of a large integer dataset. The total dataset is split across workers (each worker reads its own shard via an index-based read API). You are provided with pre-built communication primitives — send(worker_id, data), recv(), and barrier()…

5 candidate-reported follow-ups — the exact probes interviewers asked, with the trigger for each
The rest of the problem statement — full requirements, constraints, and edge cases
Approach and trade-offs — what passing candidates did, and the mistakes that sink people

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Verified Source

Every question is reconstructed from multiple independent candidate reports. Verbatim follow-ups, not invented ones.

Codex Fact-Checked

Technical claims, formulas, and scale numbers are reviewed against primary sources.

Interviewer Follow-ups

The exact follow-ups reported by candidates, with the trigger that prompts each one — plus the mistakes that sink people.