Katkat
Back

Implement a single-producer multi-consumer ring buffer

CitadelSoftware Engineer · Technical Screen
MediumSoftware EngineerTechnical ScreenCoding & Algorithms

Last updated

This question evaluates understanding of ring-buffer data structures, circular indexing, fixed-capacity storage, and object-oriented design for a single-producer, multi-consumer implementation in C++.

Implement a fixed-capacity ring buffer in C++ for a setting with one producer and multiple consumers.

Design a class that stores integers in a preallocated circular array and supports the following operations:

  • RingBuffer(int capacity): initialize the buffer with a fixed capacity.
  • bool push(int value): insert a value at the tail. Return false if the buffer is full.
  • bool pop(int& value): remove the oldest value from the head and write it into value. Return false if the buffer is empty.
  • bool empty() const
  • bool full() const
  • int size() const

Requirements:

  • All operations should run in O(1) time.
  • Use circular indexing to reuse freed space.
  • Do not resize the underlying storage.
  • Focus on the object-oriented design and correct ring-buffer behavior.
  • You may assume synchronization is handled externally; the main goal is to implement the ring-buffer logic correctly for a single-producer, multi-consumer use case.

After coding, briefly explain how you would adapt the design if true thread safety were required.