Top 11 JavaScript Coding Challenges to Ace Your Next Interview

Preparing for a JavaScript interview can be intimidating, but mastering common coding challenges can boost your confidence and help you stand out. This article dives into 11 essential JavaScript problems, offering solutions and explanations to sharpen your problem-solving skills. These challenges test concepts like strings, arrays, loops, and logic — all crucial topics for technical interviews.

1. Reverse a String

Reversing a string is a common challenge that demonstrates your understanding of strings and JavaScript’s built-in methods.

function reverse(str) {    return str.split('').reverse().join('');}let input = "demha";let output = reverse(input);console.log(`The Reverse of ${input} is ${output}`); // Output: "ahmed"

Explanation:

• split('') converts the string into an array of characters.
• reverse() reverses the array.
• join('') converts the array back into a string.

2. Palindrome Test

A palindrome is a word that reads the same forwards and backwards.

function palindrome(str1, str2) {    let reversed = str1.split('').reverse().join('');    return reversed.toLowerCase() === str2.toLowerCase();}const str1 = "Ahmed";const str2 = "demha";console.log(palindrome(str1, str2)); // Output: true

Explanation:

• Reverse the first string.
• Compare it (case-insensitive) to the second string.

3. Most Frequent Character

Identify the character that appears most frequently in a string.

function mostFrequentChar(str) {    const charCount = {};    let maxChar = '', maxCount = 0;    for (let char of str) {        charCount[char] = (charCount[char] || 0) + 1;        if (charCount[char] > maxCount) {            maxChar = char;            maxCount = charCount[char];        }    }    return maxChar;}const input = "ABBAAdBd5BBB";console.log(mostFrequentChar(input)); // Output: 'B'

Explanation:

• Use an object to count character occurrences.
• Track the character with the maximum frequency.

4. Chunk an Array

Divide an array into smaller chunks of a specified size.

function chunk(array, size) {    const output = [];    for (let i = 0; i < array.length; i += size) {        output.push(array.slice(i, i + size));    }    return output;}let array = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7];console.log(chunk(array, 3));/* Output:[[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6], [7]] */

Explanation:

• Use a for loop to slice the array into smaller parts of size.

5. Capitalize the First Character of Each Word

This problem tests string manipulation and array methods.

function capitalize(sentence) {    return sentence.split(' ').map(word => word[0].toUpperCase() + word.slice(1)).join(' ');}let input = "the moon is so beautiful";console.log(capitalize(input)); // Output: "The Moon Is So Beautiful"

Explanation:

• Split the sentence into words.
• Capitalize the first letter and concatenate the rest.
• Join the words back into a string.

6. Anagram Test

Check if two words are anagrams of each other.

function cleanText(str) {    return str.toLowerCase().replace(/\W/g, '').split('').sort().join('');}function anagrams(str1, str2) {    return cleanText(str1) === cleanText(str2);}console.log(anagrams("RAIL! SAFETY!", "fairy tales")); // Output: true

Explanation:

• Remove non-alphabet characters.
• Sort and compare both strings.

7. Count Vowels

Count the number of vowels in a string.

function vowelCheck(str) {    const vowels = ['a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u'];    return str.split('').filter(char => vowels.includes(char.toLowerCase())).length;}console.log(vowelCheck("Apple")); // Output: 2

Explanation:

• Use a filter to identify vowels and count them.

8. FizzBuzz

Classic challenge to print numbers and specific words based on divisibility.

function fizzBuzz(n) {    for (let i = 1; i <= n; i++) {        if (i % 3 === 0 && i % 5 === 0) console.log("FizzBuzz");        else if (i % 3 === 0) console.log("Fizz");        else if (i % 5 === 0) console.log("Buzz");        else console.log(i);    }}fizzBuzz(15);

9. Print Steps of (#)

Print steps of increasing # for a given size.

function steps(n) {    for (let i = 1; i <= n; i++) {        console.log('#'.repeat(i));    }}steps(3);/* Output:###### */

10. Print a Pyramid of (#)

Create a pyramid pattern using #.

function printPyramid(height) {    for (let row = 1; row <= height; row++) {        let spaces = ' '.repeat(height - row);        let hashes = '#'.repeat(2 * row - 1);        console.log(spaces + hashes + spaces);    }}printPyramid(3);

11. Spiral Matrix

Generate a square matrix in a spiral order.

function spiralMatrix(n) {    let matrix = Array.from({ length: n }, () => Array(n).fill(0));    let num = 1, rowStart = 0, rowEnd = n - 1, colStart = 0, colEnd = n - 1;    while (rowStart <= rowEnd && colStart <= colEnd) {        for (let i = colStart; i <= colEnd; i++) matrix[rowStart][i] = num++;        rowStart++;        for (let i = rowStart; i <= rowEnd; i++) matrix[i][colEnd] = num++;        colEnd--;        for (let i = colEnd; i >= colStart; i--) matrix[rowEnd][i] = num++;        rowEnd--;        for (let i = rowEnd; i >= rowStart; i--) matrix[i][colStart] = num++;        colStart++;    }    return matrix;}console.log(spiralMatrix(3));

Final Thoughts

By solving these 11 JavaScript challenges, you’ll strengthen your understanding of key concepts and build confidence for your next interview. Focus on writing clean, efficient code and practice explaining your solutions out loud. Good luck!

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