A compact and pragmatic "crib sheet" for tech interviews, full of standard answers, classic patterns, and boilerplate wisdom — aka the programmer's 八股文.
In ancient China, "八股文" (Bāgǔ wén) was a rigid essay format used for imperial exams — highly structured, formulaic, and focused on the classics.
In today's tech world, we programmers have our own version of it:
Reciting HashMap internals, listing TCP/IP layers, and explaining volatile vs synchronized — all from memory.
This is the modern 八股.
This repo embraces it.
Not to mindlessly repeat it — but to master the fundamentals, internalize the patterns, and eventually break free from them.
- 🔑 Core concepts (OS, networking, DB, etc.)
- 🔍 Common interview questions with “standard answers”
- 🧾 Summarized design patterns and system design bullets
- 💡 Tips, gotchas, and mental models
- 🧪 Occasional code snippets to reinforce ideas
Because time is short, interviews are brutal, and sometimes you just want a well-organized little scroll of wisdom to scroll through on your phone.
No fluff, no distractions — just distilled 八股精华.
- Data Structures & Algorithms
- Golang
- OS / Networking
- MySQL / Redis / MQ
- System Design
- Common "HR traps" & how to handle them
- Before interviews — cram it
- Between jobs — refresh it
- While coding — reference it
- Long-term — improve it (PRs welcome!)
Got better answers? Spotted a pattern? Let’s make this crib sheet better together.
Feel free to submit pull requests or open issues.
⚠️ Disclaimer: This is not a shortcut to becoming a great engineer — but it does help you survive the gauntlet.
八股 Crib Sheet — recite it, refine it, transcend it.