Software Engineering Stack Exchange
Software Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [problem-solving]

Problem solving encompasses a number of techniques known as algorithms, heuristics, root cause analysis, etc.

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Dealing with frustration when things don't work

You ever try to implement something simple but for some strange reason it doesn't work. So you try a possible solution but then something else doesn't work. You keep trying different workarounds but every time something different isn't working.…
JD Isaacks
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What programming language generates fewest hard-to-find bugs?

What language, in your opinion, allows the average programmer to output features with the least amount of hard-to-find bugs? This is of course, a very broad question, and I'm interested in very broad and general answers and wisdoms. Personally I…
Magnus Wolffelt
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How can I improve my problem-solving ability?

Everyone says the same thing: "a real programmer knows how to handle real problems." But they forget how they learned this ability or where: it's not taught in schools. What can I do to improve my ability to tackle complex programming problems? What…
user12278
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Is thinking out loud during an interview really the best strategy?

In another question I asked recently about best practices for whiteboarding, there was general consensus that thinking out loud while coming up with the answer was the best strategy. Indeed, long moments of silence are awkward. However after recent…
Bjorn
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Where do you draw the line for your perfectionism?

Perfectionism may be good and bad when programming. When and where do you draw the line when you are problem solving? When do you decide when a solution is overkill, too general or simply too futuristic? Please comment if the question is unclear.
Amir Rezaei
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Which are the significant algorithms for humankind in past decades?

Which world most important algorithms have contributed most to humankind in past decades? I thought this is a good general knowledge for a developer to know about. Update: If possible, please keep the answer to a specific programming algorithm. I…
Amir Rezaei
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Abstraction: The War between solving the problem and a general solution

As a programmer, I find myself in the dilemma where I want make my program as abstract and as general as possible. Doing so usually would allow me to reuse my code and have a more general solution for a problem that might (or might not) come up…
Bryan Harrington
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Is "White-Board-Coding" inappropriate during interviews?

This is a somewhat subjective quesiton but I'd love to hear feedback/opinions from either interviewers/interviewees on the topic. We split our technical interview into 4 parts. Write Code, Read & Analyse Code, Design Session & Code on the white…
Eoin Campbell
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How to handle conflicts between developers in your team?

This is happening in every team. For some reasons, conflicts arise in the team and they affect the overall motivation and productivity. What is your recommended approach to solve that common problem? Examples: one part of the team wants to…
user2567
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When to prefer a generalized solution over solving specific cases

In programming we're often faced with a choice: cover each conceivable use case individually, or solve the general problem: Its obvious that solving the immediate problem is faster, however creating a generalized solution will save time in the…
AncientSwordRage
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Algorithm for calculating a bullet path to a target with max. 2 ricochets

Sorry for the poor title but I didn't have a better way to phrase it... So there's this amazing game by Nintendo (yes!) on Wii called WiiPlay. There're 9 minigames in it, and my favorite one is called Tanks!. It's about destroying COM enemy tanks…
hello all
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How to avoid jumping to a solution when under pressure?

When under a particularly strict programming deadline (like an hour), if I panic at all, my tendency is to jump into coding without a real plan and hope I figure it out as I go along. Given enough time, this can work, but in an interview it's been…
GlenPeterson
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What programming problems do Monads solve?

I've read a lot of posts that explain what monads are, how unit and bind work, some of them plunging straight into category theory so abstract (for me at least) that makes the eyes bleed, some ignoring that altogether and touching on weird analogies…
Dummy Me
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Best way to break down overwhelming code into manageable chunks?

I'm continually becoming overwhelmed by large projects, once they reach a certain level of complexity. Once I reach a certain point in a project, my progress slows to a crawl and I find myself constantly retracing my steps and sorting out all kinds…
pup
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In an interview, is it better to code a brute-force solution to a tough question, or to spend the interview examining the question carefully?

Sometimes interview questions are hard, whether the interviewer intends them to be, or not. It can come down to a choice of whether to use the limited interview time to code up an ugly, inefficient, brute-force solution, or spend the time…
GlenPeterson
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