Top 50+ Software Engineer Technical Interview Questions in 2023

In your first software engineering interview, what should you expect? That is dependent on the position for which you have applied! Jobs in software engineering are into two categories: domain-specific programming and general programming.

Expect inquiries about the exact technology you specialize in, such as AWS or cloud infrastructure, or IoT, if you’re interviewing for a domain-specific role. The focus of these highly technical conversations will be on the technology in question.

The procedure is significantly different for general programming or web development role. Recruiters are likely to offer technical and behavioral questions in these interviews, which evaluate your problem-solving ability and your coding proficiency. This article will concentrate on this type of position in general.

In this article, we’ve prepared a list of the 50+ most popular software technical engineering interview questions and the best ways to respond to them.

Software Engineer Technical Interview Questions

Software Engineer Technical Interview Questions

Here are most common Software Engineer Technical Interview Questions:

#1. What are the most significant software categories?

Application software for the system
Software for embedded devices
Applications for the Web
Scientific software Artificial Intelligence software

#2. What is the primary distinction between a computer program and software?

A computer program refers to a piece of programming code. It completes a specific mission. On the other hand, the software comes with programming code, documentation, and a user guide.

#3. What is software re-engineering, and how does it work?

It is a software development method that aims to make a software system more maintainable.

#4. What SDLC models are there?

Some of the models are the Waterfall Model, Spiral Model, Big-Bag Model, Iterative Model, and V-Model.

#5. Briefly describe the software development process:

The following steps comprise the software development life cycle:

Analyze the requirements
Specification
Documentation for software architecture implementation and testing
Training and assistance
Maintenance

#6. What is the difference between verification and validation?

Verification is a term that refers to a group of procedures that ensure that software performs a given function. While validation is a set of operations that ensures that software is available following clients’ needs.

#7. What does debugging mean in the software development process?

Debugging is the process of removing errors from a program.

#8. What can you do to ensure that your code is both secure and quick?

Security is always first in software development. So, if the program’s execution is slow, I’ll try to figure out why and how to reduce the program’s time complexity.

#9. What are two tools that are used to track software requirements?

There are numerous methods for keeping track of needs. The following are two examples:

To list all of the needs, create a requirements specifications document.
Create an excel sheet with the requirements, types, dependencies, priorities, etc.

#10. How do you tell the difference between a stub and a mock?

A stub is a minimal implementation of an interface that generally returns hardcoded data while a mock usually verifies outputs against expectations.

#11. What programming language do you like to use while writing algorithms?

When it comes to programming language selections, every developer has an opinion. Most time, I use High-level languages because they are dynamic. Like the C and C++ programming languages.

#12. What is the definition of computer software?

A computer software package consists of a software application, its documentation, and a user guide on how to use the software.

#13. Which SDLC model do you think is the best?

There is no such rating because SDLC Models are used according to the requirements of the development process. It may differ from one piece of software to the next.

#14. What is the role of a software project manager? What is his function?

A software project manager is someone who is in charge of overseeing a software development project.

The project manager controls project planning, progress monitoring, and communication. He or she also controls risks and resources to complete the project on time, on budget, and with high quality.

#15. What does “software scope” imply?

The scope of the software is a well-defined boundary. It encompasses all actions involved in developing and delivering a software product.

#16. What is the best way to determine the size of a software product?

Two methods can be used to calculate the size of a software package.

Counting the lines of code that have been sent
Counting the number of function points that have been supplied

#17. What are function points, and how do you use them?

The capabilities given by the software package are referred to as function points. It is regarded as the essential metric for determining the size of the software.

Other Software Engineer Technical Interview Questions include;

#18. What methods are there for estimating software projects?

The following are the most commonly used estimating techniques:

Technique of decomposition
Empirical methodology

#19. What is Software Configuration Management?

The technique of tracking and regulating software changes is known as software configuration management.

Change control is a function that guarantees that all software system modifications are consistent and created following organizational norms and regulations.

#20. How can you assess the success of a project?

Activity Monitoring, Status Reports, and Milestone Checklists are available to track project progress.

#21. Describe some project management tools for me.

Many different management tools can be employed depending on the needs of a software project. Pert Charts, Gantt Charts, Resource Histograms, and Status Reports are examples.

#22. What software needs are there?

A functional description of a software system means software requirements. It’s assumed to be the target system’s description.

#23. What is the definition of a feasibility study?

It’s a metric for determining how useful and valuable software project development will be to the company. The software analyst researches to determine the project’s economic, technical, and operational viability.

#24. What is the difference between functional and non-functional requirements?

Users expect certain functional aspects from the proposed software product, which are known as functional requirements.

Security, performance, and the look and feel of the user interface are all non-functional needs.

#25. What is the definition of a software metric?

Software Metrics provides metrics for a variety of areas of the software development process, which are split into:

Metrics for requirements: length and completeness
A number of coding lines, object-oriented metrics, design, and test metrics are all examples of product metrics.

#26. What is the definition of modularization?

Modularization is a software division technique that divides a software system into discrete components. It is expected of them to complete the responsibilities on their own.

#27. What is the definition of cohesion?

The intra-dependability of the module’s constituents is defined by cohesion, which is a metric.

This is one of the Software Engineer Technical Interview Questions.

#28. Is there any mention of software analysis and design tools?

The following are some of the most important software analysis and design tools:

Diagrams of Data Flow
Charts with Structure
Data Dictionary in Structured English
Diagrams of Hierarchical Input Process Output
Decision tables and entity-relationship diagrams

#29. What does a level-0 data flow diagram imply?

DFD’s highest abstraction level is referred to as Level 0. It’s also known as DFD at the context level. It is a single diagram that depicts the full information system.

#30. What is the most significant distinction between structured English and pseudocode?

Structured English is a dialect of the English language that native English speakers speak. It’s used to write a program module’s structure. It makes use of keywords from the programming language. On the other hand, Pseudo Code is more akin to a programming language without any precise grammar.

#31. What is the definition of structured design?

Structured design is the process of conceiving a solution to a problem. It’s also known as solution design and is built on a technique known as “divide and conquer.”

#32. What is the definition of functional programming?

It’s a programming technique that employs mathematical function principles. It provides calculation capabilities in the form of mathematical functions, which deliver outcomes regardless of program state.

#33. What is the difference between quality assurance and quality control?

Quality Assurance ensures that the right procedures are followed when building software, while Quality Control ensures that the product’s quality is maintained.

#34. What are the distinctions between a Thread and a Process?

A computer software instance is referred to as a process. It is possible to have one or more threads in a single program.

#35. Could you please explain the difference between an EXE and a DLL?

A DLL is a file that may be dynamically loaded and run by applications, whereas an exe is an executable program. It’s a program’s external code repository.

Because the two programs are distinct, they should share the same DLL rather than having identical code in their files. It also minimizes the amount of storage space necessary.

#36. What are CASE tools, and how do you use them?

Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) is a term that stands for computer-assisted software engineering.

They are a collection of automated software application programs that support, enhance, and strengthen SDLC tasks.

#37. Which process approach eliminates flaws before they cause problems in software?

The cleanroom software engineering process eliminates errors before they cause problems with the software.

#38. Solve this puzzle: In a dark room, there are twenty pairs of socks of two distinct sorts in a drawer. What is the bare minimum of socks you should bring to ensure that you have a matching pair?”

Even though the odds are 50 percent, three socks may be of the same type if you pick them up. The odds are never comparable to reality. As a result, picking up at least 11 shocks is the only method to “guarantee you have a matching pair.”

#39. How can you make sure that your written code which can handle various kinds of error situation?

I’m confident in my ability to write tests that characterize the experience.

#40. What criteria do you use to rank requirements?

To begin, you must evaluate the data structure and develop a system. Then it would be best if you looked at the code structure that will be required to support it.

#41. What is the difference between component-based and object-oriented design?

Component-based design can readily incorporate object-oriented design to some extent.

#42. When should polymorphism be used?

When inheriting a class, polymorphism is used to provide override functionality. It all comes down to common classes and contracts.

#43. How do you distinguish between a stack and a queue?

It’s always First In, First Out in the queue.
It’s always Last In, First Out in the stack.

#45. Why is it always a poor idea to use catch (exception)?

It’s a bad idea for the following reasons:

The exception cannot be read since no variable has been defined.
When you have a list of known exception types, it’s best to use an exception.

#46. What kind of information is supplied by HTTP headers?

HTTP headers are used to pass script and metadata.

#47. What is required to ensure that the code is of high quality?

The unit testing framework, in my opinion, is critical for ensuring code quality.

#48. Do you believe that software maintenance is costly?

In my opinion, software maintenance will never be expensive, provided we follow correct development procedures.

#49. What are the distinctions between tags and branches?

Tags are used for versioning releases and serve as a temporary storage location. However, branches are removed when such changes are integrated into the trunk.

#50. Where can I find a protected class-level variable?

Any sub-class inherited from the base class has access to protected class-level variables.

#51. Is it possible for a single try statement to run numerous catch blocks?

Yes. For a single try statement, many catch blocks can be executed.

#52. When should a class be declared abstract?

In the following cases, we should declare a class as abstract:

When a class inherits from an abstract class, not all abstract methods are overridden.
In the case where at least one of the class’s methods is declared abstract.