Approach

To determine if one string is a permutation of another, we can follow a clear, structured framework that involves several logical steps:

1. Understand the Definition: A permutation means that both strings must contain the same characters in the same frequency but can be arranged in any order.

2. Initial Checks:

• Check if the lengths of both strings are equal. If not, they cannot be permutations of each other.

• Character Counting:

• Count the frequency of each character in both strings.

• Compare the frequency counts to see if they match.

• Implementation:

• Choose an efficient way to count characters (e.g., using a hash table or an array).

• Return the Result:

• Based on the comparison, return true or false.

Key Points

When constructing a response to this question, keep in mind the following essential aspects:

• Clarity: Clearly explain each step of your thought process.

• Efficiency: Discuss the time and space complexity of your solution.

• Edge Cases: Consider empty strings or strings with special characters.

• Code Quality: Ensure the code is clean, readable, and well-commented.

Interviewers are looking for candidates who can not only solve the problem but also articulate their reasoning and demonstrate a clear coding style.

Standard Response

Here is a fully-formed sample answer that demonstrates how to solve the problem effectively:

To determine if one string is a permutation of another, we can implement a method in Python. Below is a step-by-step approach, along with the code:

• Define the Method: We will create a method named are_permutations.

• Check Lengths: Immediately return false if the lengths of the strings differ.

• Count Characters: Use a dictionary to count occurrences of each character in both strings.

• Compare Counts: Finally, compare the two dictionaries. If they are equal, the strings are permutations of each other.

Here is how the code looks:

def are_permutations(str1, str2):
 # Step 1: Check if lengths are equal
 if len(str1) != len(str2):
 return False

 # Step 2: Create character count dictionaries
 char_count1 = {}
 char_count2 = {}

 for char in str1:
 char_count1[char] = char_count1.get(char, 0) + 1

 for char in str2:
 char_count2[char] = char_count2.get(char, 0) + 1

 # Step 3: Compare character counts
 return char_count1 == char_count2

Tips & Variations

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

• Ignoring Case Sensitivity: Ensure to account for case (e.g., 'A' vs. 'a').

• Whitespace Handling: Decide if whitespace should be ignored or treated as a character.

• Using Inefficient Data Structures: Avoid using nested loops for counting characters, as this can lead to O(n^2) complexity.

Alternative Ways to Answer:

• Sorting Method: An alternative approach is to sort both strings and then compare them. This method is easier to understand but has a higher time complexity of O(n log n).

• Using Collections: Utilize Python's collections.Counter for a more concise solution.

Role-Specific Variations:

• Technical Roles: Emphasize the efficiency of your algorithm and discuss edge cases in detail.

• Managerial Roles: Focus on how you would approach team collaboration to solve such problems and discuss the importance of code reviews.

• Creative Roles: Highlight your problem-solving process and how you might visualize the character counting method.

Follow-Up Questions:

• What would you do if the strings contained Unicode characters?

• How does your solution perform with very large strings?

• Can you optimize your solution further?

• What are the implications of using different data structures for this problem?

This comprehensive guide not only provides a clear method to determine if one string is a permutation of another but also prepares job seekers for potential follow-up questions and variations in their responses. By understanding the problem deeply and articulating their thought process, candidates can stand out in interviews focused on problem-solving and coding skills