10 Most Unusual C# Interview Questions

The purpose of such questions – not only to test your technical knowledge, but also to evaluate your creative approach to problem solving, ability to reason logically and find non-standard solutions.

Important: The answers to these questions often do not have a single correct answer. What is more important is the process of thinking and arguing your point of view.

“If you had to explain OOP principles to a cat, how would you do it?”
“What would you do if you found that your code was running faster than expected?”
“How would you implement an infinite loop without using the keyword while?”
“If you were to create a class that represented infinity, what would it look like?”
“How would you implement a function that takes any number as input and returns it in Roman numerals?”
“Imagine you were working on a project where all variables had to have names that started with a vowel. How would you handle this problem?”
“If you were to create a class that represented time that could flow backwards, what would it look like?”
“How would you implement a function that takes a string as input and returns its mirror image without using built-in functions?”
“Imagine you had to design a system to manage the parking of alien ships. What classes and methods would you use?”
“If you had to explain what a delegate is to a child, how would you do it?”

Remember: The purpose of such questions is not to drive you into a dead end, but to evaluate your approach to solving non-standard problems. Be creative, think out loud and don’t be afraid to offer your ideas.

Additional tips:

Don't panic: If you don't know the exact answer, try to think out loud, offer your ideas, and ask clarifying questions.
Be prepared to discuss: Being willing to discuss different approaches to solving a problem will demonstrate your flexibility of thinking.
Show your interest: Show interest in the company and the projects it works on.

Good luck with your interview!

Extra: Create a class to represent time that can flow backwards

public class Time
{
    private int hours;
    private int minutes;
    private int seconds;

    public Time(int hours, int minutes, int seconds)
    {
        this.hours = hours;
        this.minutes = minutes;
        this.seconds = seconds;
    }

    public    void AddSeconds(int secondsToAdd)
    {
        seconds += secondsToAdd;
        Normalize();
    }

    public void SubtractSeconds(int secondsToSubtract)
    {
        seconds -= secondsToSubtract;
        Normalize();
    }

    private void Normalize()
    {
        if (seconds >= 60)
        {
            minutes += seconds / 60;
            seconds %= 60;
        }
        else if (seconds < 0)
        {
            minutes--;
            seconds += 60;
        }

        if (minutes >= 60)
        {
            hours += minutes / 60;
            minutes %= 60;
        }
        else if (minutes < 0)
        {
            hours--;
            minutes += 60;
        }

        // Обработка отрицательных часов (для более сложных сценариев)
        // Можно добавить проверку на минимальное допустимое значение времени
    }

    public override string ToString()
    {
        return $"{hours:D2}:{minutes:D2}:{seconds:D2}";
    }
}

Explanation:

Fields: hours, minutes, seconds to store time values.
Constructor: Initializes an object of the class.
Methods:
- AddSeconds: Increases the number of seconds.
- SubtractSeconds: Decreases the number of seconds.
- Normalize: Normalizes the hours, minutes, and seconds after a change. For example, if the seconds are greater than 59, then a minute is added and the number of seconds is reduced by 60.
- ToString: Converts an object to a string representation in HH:MM:SS format.

Peculiarities:

Time Reversal: Method SubtractSeconds allows you to decrease the number of seconds, effectively simulating the reverse flow of time.
Normalization: Method Normalize ensures that the hours, minutes and seconds values are always within the acceptable range.
Flexibility: The class can be extended to support additional operations, such as addition and subtraction of time intervals.

Additional considerations:

Negative values: The current implementation does not handle negative clock values. For more complex scenarios, a minimum allowed time value check can be added.
Other units of measurement: The class can be extended to support other time units, such as days or weeks.
Additional methods: You can add methods to compare time intervals, calculate the difference between two points in time, etc.

Example of use:

Time time = new Time(10, 30, 20);
Console.WriteLine(time); // Вывод: 10:30:20

time.SubtractSeconds(120); // Отнимаем 2 минуты
Console.WriteLine(time); // Вывод: 10:28:20

This class provides basic functionality for representing time that can flow both forward and backward. It can be adapted and extended to suit the specific requirements of an application.

And finally, answer the questions YOURSELF as an exercise! )))