Design a Recipe Manager
Design an In-Memory Recipe Manager
Design an in-memory recipe manager with four levels of functionality. No user interface (UI) is required; the focus should be on clean APIs, efficient data structures, and robust edge-case handling.
Level 1: Basic Recipe Management
Support standard Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) operations for recipes. Each recipe must contain:
name: A unique string identifier for the recipe.ingredients: A list of ingredient names.steps: An ordered list of instructions.
Level 2: Search by Ingredient
Implement a query function that returns all active recipes containing a specified ingredient.
Level 3: Users and Sorting
Introduce a User concept into the system.
- Every create, update, or delete operation must be associated with a specific user.
- Each recipe should record the user who most recently modified it.
- Support listing recipes sorted by a caller-specified key (e.g., recipe name, number of ingredients) in either ascending or descending order.
Level 4: Version History
Add comprehensive version control for recipes.
- Every create and update operation must generate an immutable version snapshot of the recipe.
- Each version snapshot should record the full recipe content, its version number, a timestamp of the modification, and the editing user.
- Support listing all historical versions of a specific recipe.
- Support searching version history, at minimum by recipe name and the editor (user) who created that version.
- Historical versions must remain accessible even if the active recipe is subsequently deleted.
Describe your class design, core APIs, chosen data structures, and how you would handle critical corner cases such as duplicate recipe names, ingredient normalization, and the implications of deletes on version history.
AI interview prep
Core dilemma
Balancing efficient in-memory storage and retrieval for active recipes with immutable, searchable version history, while optimizing for diverse query patterns (CRUD, ingredient search, sorted lists, historical search) under memory constraints.
3 tradeoffs and 3 stress tests locked
Interview prep
Unlock the interviewer X-Ray rubric, tradeoff matrix, stress tests, clarifying questions, and key concepts.
Design a Recipe Manager
Design an In-Memory Recipe Manager
Design an in-memory recipe manager with four levels of functionality. No user interface (UI) is required; the focus should be on clean APIs, efficient data structures, and robust edge-case handling.
Level 1: Basic Recipe Management
Support standard Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) operations for recipes. Each recipe must contain:
name: A unique string identifier for the recipe.ingredients: A list of ingredient names.steps: An ordered list of instructions.
Level 2: Search by Ingredient
Implement a query function that returns all active recipes containing a specified ingredient.
Level 3: Users and Sorting
Introduce a User concept into the system.
- Every create, update, or delete operation must be associated with a specific user.
- Each recipe should record the user who most recently modified it.
- Support listing recipes sorted by a caller-specified key (e.g., recipe name, number of ingredients) in either ascending or descending order.
Level 4: Version History
Add comprehensive version control for recipes.
- Every create and update operation must generate an immutable version snapshot of the recipe.
- Each version snapshot should record the full recipe content, its version number, a timestamp of the modification, and the editing user.
- Support listing all historical versions of a specific recipe.
- Support searching version history, at minimum by recipe name and the editor (user) who created that version.
- Historical versions must remain accessible even if the active recipe is subsequently deleted.
Describe your class design, core APIs, chosen data structures, and how you would handle critical corner cases such as duplicate recipe names, ingredient normalization, and the implications of deletes on version history.