Intermediate interview questions in Frontend Dev, page 4
Explain advantages of rem and em over px in responsive design
This tests cascading font scaling and accessibility. Strong answers mention user zoom, root-level rem control, component em scaling, and avoiding px fragmentation. Red flag: claiming px handles all user preferences automatically.
Strategies to type querySelector results as HTMLInputElement
Tests whether you know safe ways to narrow querySelector's Element or null to HTMLInputElement. A strong answer compares type assertions with generic querySelector calls, and insists on null checks. Red flag: asserting without runtime validation.
How do you type-safely check an LI click and read data-id?
Tests TypeScript narrowing with DOM event delegation. A strong answer uses closest to walk up from event.target, checks result with instanceof HTMLLIElement, then reads dataset.id. Red flag: casting event.target directly without handling nested child elements.
Implement a protected /dashboard route in React Router
Tests declarative route guards versus imperative redirects in React Router 7. Strong answer: reusable ProtectedRoute wrapper with Navigate replace, auth state above Routes, and role checks.
Programmatically create and append a div in TypeScript
Tests TypeScript DOM typing and safe element creation. Strong answers name HTMLDivElement and Document, use createElement plus classList.add and textContent, then append. Red flag: innerHTML for text or avoiding specific types.
How do you create a dynamic route like /products/:productId in React Router?
Tests React Router v6 dynamic segments and useParams. A strong answer declares path="products/:productId" on a Route, then extracts productId with useParams in the component. Red flag: using v5 props.match.params or manual URL parsing instead of the hook.
Why is animating transform preferred over top or margin-left?
Grasp of the rendering pipeline and frame rate. A strong answer says transform skips layout and runs on the compositor, while top and margin-left force layout and drop frames.
Compare Pages Router and App Router file-based routing conventions and capabilities
Tests your grasp of the folder-as-route paradigm shift. A strong answer notes that Pages files are routes while app folders are segments requiring page.js, and cites layout.js, loading.js, and error.js as nested primitives.
Create a staggered list fade-in using only CSS
Tests CSS animation orchestration via keyframes and delay strategies. Great answers use :nth-child or --index variables for scalable staggering, set fill-mode forwards, and honor prefers-reduced-motion.
Explain Angular default change detection, zone.js, and OnPush
Deep knowledge of Angular's automatic vs explicit change detection. Explain zone.js monkey-patching async APIs to trigger default checks; contrast with OnPush requiring immutable inputs, async pipe, or markForCheck.
CSS will-change: purpose, appropriate use, and overuse consequences
Tests whether you know will-change is a last-resort hint, not a default. Strong answers: hint imminent changes, toggle via script, and warn that overuse wastes memory. Red flag: leaving it in CSS permanently or applying it preemptively to many elements.
Fundamental difference between Vue computed and watcher with examples
Tests derived state vs side effects in Vue reactivity. Computed returns cached derived value; watch executes callback on mutation. Example: computed filters list; watch fetches data when ID changes. Red flag: watch for template state or computed for async.
How do Svelte Stores work and how do you create custom ones?
Tests Svelte store contract mastery. A strong answer defines the subscribe/unsubscribe interface, wraps writable() with custom set/update logic, subscribes via $ prefix or manually, and uses $store in templates.
Promise .catch() versus async/await try...catch
.catch() handles rejection for all preceding chain steps and reads functionally; try/catch reads synchronously and can scope errors per await, but only catches awaited rejections.
How do you fetch from three APIs using Promise.all versus allSettled?
Promise.all parallelizes but rejects on first failure. allSettled returns every outcome with status, value, and reason.
Prefer multiple useState or useReducer for multi-field forms?
Separate useState for simple fields; one object for coupled validation or batch resets; useReducer for complex logic.
How do you type an async function return in TypeScript?
This tests if you know async functions always return Promise<T>. A great answer: annotate Promise<User>, return User from the body, and note TypeScript implicitly wraps it. A red flag is omitting Promise and typing the return as just User.
How would you implement real-time client-side validation in React?
Tests state-driven UI thinking over imperative DOM updates. A strong answer uses a status enum like typing or error, derives validation from state instead of redundant booleans, and conditionally renders feedback.
How custom properties enable dynamic theming
Custom properties cascade and resolve live, so redefining them on a scope or data attribute reskins everything via var().
Advantages of dedicated React form libraries over manual state
Your grasp of the hidden costs of fully controlled form state in React. Mention re-render reduction via refs, declarative validation, less boilerplate, and custom input support.
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