Interview Bank

From Frontend Engineer to Agent Engineer in 30 Days

D15 A Tour of Multi-Agent Patterns (Router/Supervisor, Planner-Executor, Critic, Swarm, Blackboard) and When Not to Use Them; Getting Started With LangGraph

• In LangGraph, what roles do nodes, edges and state play? If you had no framework, how would you implement it yourself?LangGraph 里节点、边、状态分别扮演什么角色？如果不用框架，你自己会怎么实现？

  Common in ChinaCommon overseasIntermediate#langgraph#orchestration#state-management

  How to reason about it · think before answering

  1. The hinge is the second half. Defining the three concepts only proves you read the docs; explaining what hurts without a framework proves you know what it buys you. The general move for this family of questions is: describe your hand-rolled version first, then name what the framework collapsed.
  2. Hand-rolled version: a loop, a chain of conditionals picking the next step, and one big object carrying data between steps. By the third branch you hit three walls — when two steps write the same field, is it overwrite or append, and you hand-write that merge in every branch; intermediate state lives in local variables so debugging means print statements; a crash restarts from zero and the model calls you already paid for are wasted.
  3. Then map them: a node is an ordinary function that reads the whole state and returns a delta containing only what it changed; edges connect nodes, unconditional ones fix the order and conditional ones decide at runtime; state is a table of fields where each field is its own channel carrying a merge rule.
  4. Dwell on the third, which is the most skipped and most valuable point: the merge rule is declared on the field, not written inside the node. Adding a node therefore requires no thought about how to combine with other writers, and parallel writes to one field behave deterministically instead of depending on who returns first.
  5. Add two concrete traps to show you have actually run this: mutating state in place inside a node bypasses the merge rule — invisible single-threaded, an intermittent overwrite once things run in parallel; and adding a node without wiring an edge raises no error at all, it simply never executes, which only per-node tracing reveals.
  6. Expect: so why not just write it yourself? Because the three primitives are genuinely light — a few dozen lines. What the framework actually sells is checkpointing and recovery, parallel execution, and per-step observability, all of which cost far more to build than the primitives. Mention too that there is no official LangGraph for Java or Swift, so in those languages you do hand-roll exactly these three.

  分析过程 · 先想清楚再作答

  1. 题眼在后半句。只答三个概念的定义，面试官会认为你读过文档；能说出「不用框架会难受在哪」，才证明你知道框架替你解决了什么。这类题的通用解法是：先讲自己手写的版本，再讲框架把哪几处收敛了。
  2. 先给手写版：一个循环，里面一串条件判断决定下一步走哪，中间用一个大对象在各步之间传数据。写到第三个分支就会撞上三件事——两步都往同一个字段写，是覆盖还是追加，你要在每个分支里手写一遍合并逻辑；中间过程全在局部变量里，出错只能靠打印；进程一挂就从头重来，已经花掉的模型调用钱白付。
  3. 然后一一对上：节点是一个普通函数，读全量状态、返回只含改动字段的增量；边是节点之间的连接，无条件边写死顺序，条件边在运行时决定去哪；状态是一张字段表，每个字段是一条独立通道，通道上挂着合并规则。
  4. 重点讲第三条，因为它是最容易被略过、也最值钱的一条：**合并规则是声明在字段上的，不是写在节点里的**。这意味着新增节点时不需要考虑「我该怎么和别人的写入合并」，字段自己知道；也意味着并行写同一个字段时行为是确定的，而不是取决于谁先返回。
  5. 配两个具体的坑，证明你真跑过：一是在节点里原地修改状态（比如直接往数组里 push）会绕过合并规则，单线程时察觉不到，并行时变成偶发覆盖；二是加了节点没连边不会报错，表现只是那个节点永远不执行，只能靠逐节点追踪发现。
  6. 可以预期的追问：那你为什么不直接自己写？答：三要素本身很轻，核心逻辑几十行就能手写出来——框架真正值钱的是检查点与恢复、并行执行、以及每一步的可观测，这三样自己写的成本远高于三要素本身。顺带说明 Java 和 Swift 没有官方 LangGraph，真要在这两门语言里做，就是把这三要素手写一遍。

  Key points

  • A node is a plain function: read the full state, return a delta of changed fields only, never mutate in place
  • Edges set execution order: unconditional edges are fixed, conditional edges decide the next hop at runtime — that is what a supervisor uses
  • State is a table of fields, each field a channel carrying a merge rule declared on the field rather than inside nodes
  • Without a framework you hit three walls: hand-written merges in every branch, no visibility into intermediate steps, and full restart after a crash
  • Two real traps: in-place mutation bypasses the merge rule and causes intermittent overwrites under parallelism; an unwired node raises no error, it just never runs
  • What the framework really sells is checkpoint recovery, parallel execution and per-step observability — not the three primitives themselves

  答题要点

  • 节点是普通函数：读全量状态，返回只含改动字段的增量，不在节点里原地改状态
  • 边决定执行顺序：无条件边写死，条件边在运行时决定下一步去哪（Supervisor 就靠它）
  • 状态是一张字段表，每个字段一条通道，通道上挂合并规则——规则声明在字段上而不是写在节点里
  • 不用框架会撞三堵墙：合并逻辑在每个分支手写一遍、中间过程只能靠打印、进程挂了从头重来
  • 两个真实的坑：原地改状态绕过合并规则（并行时偶发覆盖）、加了节点没连边不报错只是永不执行
  • 框架真正值钱的不是这三要素，而是检查点恢复、并行执行和逐步可观测

D16 Dynamic Routing With a Supervisor: Structured-Output Routing, Override, routingReason

• How is the routing decision usually implemented in a supervisor pattern? What should that node do, and what should it not do?Supervisor 模式里的路由决策一般怎么实现？请说说这个节点该做什么、不该做什么。

  Common in ChinaCommon overseasBasic#multi-agent#routing#langgraph

  How to reason about it · think before answering

  1. This is a warm-up question, and warm-ups are where people lose points by restating the prompt: an agent decides who goes next. The discriminator is the second half — can you state the node's responsibility boundary?
  2. Start with the mechanics: the supervisor is an ordinary node. It reads state, makes one model call, and writes exactly two fields — the route and the reason for it. The actual branching happens on the conditional edge after it, whose selector function maps the route to the next node name.
  3. Then draw the boundary, which is where the points are: the supervisor never answers the user, never calls business tools, and produces no side effects. It only takes a multiple-choice test, so it can run on a cheaper small model with a short input.
  4. One boundary people miss: do not call the model inside the selector function. The judgement was already made and stored in state; the selector only translates. Calling a model there makes the same state jump to different nodes across runs, which destroys reproducibility and breaks checkpoint replay and evaluation later.
  5. Close with one-at-a-time: a supervisor answers who takes this, not how to split a task and who reviews the output. That second problem belongs to planner-executor-critic. Drawing that line yourself signals you have seen a real system.
  6. Expect: where does the list of sub-agents live, and how many places change when you add one? Answer that the list should be a single source of truth — the enum, the schema, and the edge mapping all derive from it, so adding an agent is one edit and everything else fails at compile time.

  分析过程 · 先想清楚再作答

  1. 这是一道送分题，但送分题最容易答成「让一个 Agent 决定下一步找谁」这种复述题面的话。区分度在后半句：你能不能说清这个节点的职责边界。
  2. 先给机械原理：Supervisor 是图里的一个普通节点，它读状态、调一次模型、只写两个字段——交给谁（route）和为什么这么判（routingReason）；真正的分叉发生在它后面那条条件边上，边上挂一个选择函数，把 route 翻译成下一个节点名。
  3. 再划边界，这是拿分的地方：Supervisor 不回答用户的问题、不调业务工具、不产生副作用。它只做选择题，所以可以配一个更便宜的小模型，输入通常只有系统提示词加最后一两句话。
  4. 还有一条边界更容易被忽略：**选择函数里不要再调模型**。判断已经在 Supervisor 节点里做完并落进状态了，选择函数只做翻译。把模型调用塞进选择函数，同一份状态每次可能跳到不同的节点，图就不可复现，后面做检查点重放和评估都会失真。
  5. 最后补一句「一次只派一个人」：Supervisor 解决的是「交给谁」，不解决「一件事要拆成几件、还得有人验收」。后者是 Planner-Executor-Critic 的活。能主动划出这条线，面试官会认为你见过真实系统的边界。
  6. 可以预期的追问：那三个子 Agent 的名单从哪来、加一个新的要改几处？答案是名单应该是单一真相来源——枚举定义、schema、条件边的映射表都从它生成，加一个子 Agent 只改一处，其余地方编译期报错提醒你。

  Key points

  • The supervisor is an ordinary node: read state, one model call, write only the route and the routing reason
  • Branching lives on the conditional edge after it — a selector maps the route to a node name, and the mapping table must be exhaustive
  • Boundary: it never answers the user, calls no business tools, has no side effects, so it can run on a cheaper small model
  • Never call a model inside the selector, or the same state jumps to different nodes across runs and replay and evaluation both break
  • A supervisor dispatches one agent at a time and only answers who takes this; splitting and reviewing belong to planner-executor-critic

  答题要点

  • Supervisor 是图里的一个普通节点：读状态、调一次模型、只写 route 与 routingReason 两个字段
  • 真正的分叉在它后面的条件边上：选择函数把 route 翻译成下一个节点名，映射表要写全
  • 职责边界：不回答用户、不调业务工具、不产生副作用，因此可以单独配一个更便宜的小模型
  • 选择函数里不能调模型，否则同一份状态每次跳的节点不同，图不可复现，检查点重放与评估都会失真
  • Supervisor 一次只派一个人，只解决「交给谁」；拆任务与验收是 Planner-Executor-Critic 的职责

D21 Evaluation and Observability: a Golden Set, LLM-as-Judge, Tracing, a Failure-Rate/Cost Dashboard; Pi vs. LangGraph Summary; Week Three Retrospective

• When should you reach for an orchestration framework like LangGraph, and when should you not?什么时候该用 LangGraph 这类编排框架，什么时候不该用？

  Common in ChinaCommon overseasIntermediate#architecture#framework-selection#langgraph

  How to reason about it · think before answering

  1. The trap is answering with a feature matrix. The interviewer wants criteria, specifically criteria that can also say do not use it — people who can only argue for adoption usually have not been burned by a framework.
  2. Start with three criteria for splitting at all (if none holds, do not split and do not add a framework): the prompt contains mutually exclusive behavioural demands (rigorous and playful at once, where tuning one breaks the other); tools have grown numerous enough that selection error is visibly rising; or some step needs its own failure and retry semantics (an inventory lookup should retry, a refund draft should escalate to a human, and they cannot share one policy).
  3. Then the framework criterion, which is one sentence: if multiple roles write the same state concurrently, it must be explicit; if you do not need concurrency, explicitness is pure overhead. LangGraph's value is declaring merge rules on the field — with three executors writing one workspace, how those writes combine has to be declared somewhere. Conversely, with two tools and a loop that runs at most twice, a while and a switch suffice and a framework is a net loss.
  4. When comparing against a higher-level SDK like Pi, use dimensions rather than features: onboarding cost (Pi's defaults make it fast, at the price of it choosing your model and persona); explicitness of state (Pi keeps history inside the session, so when you want to change how one workspace merges there is no place to change it); and debugging shape (Pi gives an event stream, one timeline; LangGraph gives per-node deltas and checkpoints, a replayable and forkable tree — linear problems read faster as a timeline, multi-role problems require the tree).
  5. Cross-language deserves its own mention because it is routinely forgotten: neither Java nor Swift has LangGraph, so a polyglot team either standardises on TS/Python or hand-writes the same structure. Pricing that in during selection is cheaper than discovering it after launch.
  6. Expect: so how do you choose? Give something actionable: do you fear invisible defaults more, or endless boilerplate more? Fear the former and pick the explicit framework; fear the latter and pick the high-level SDK. That sentence is more useful than any feature table.

  分析过程 · 先想清楚再作答

  1. 这题最怕答成特性对比表。面试官想听的是判据，而且是能反过来说「不该用」的判据——只会说该用的人，通常是没被框架坑过的人。
  2. 先给三条该拆的判据（一条都不命中就别拆，也别引框架）：**提示词里出现了互斥的行为要求**（既要严谨又要俏皮，调好一个另一个就坏）；**工具多到选错率明显上升**；**某一步需要独立的失败与重试语义**（比如查库存失败该重试，拟退款方案失败该转人工，两者不能共用一套策略）。
  3. 然后给框架本身的判据，核心是一句：**要让多个角色并行写同一份状态，就必须显式；不需要并行，显式就是纯负担。** LangGraph 的价值是把合并规则声明在字段上——三个执行者并行写同一个工作区，谁的写入怎么合并，这件事必须有地方声明。反过来，一两个工具、循环最多两轮的场景，一个 while 加一个 switch 就够了，引入框架是净亏。
  4. 对比 Pi 这类高层 SDK 时，用维度而不是特性：上手成本（Pi 默认值多所以快，代价是模型和人设都是它替你挑的）、状态管理的显式程度（Pi 的历史在会话内部你感知不到，所以想改「同一个工作区怎么合并」时根本没有位置可改）、调试形态（Pi 给事件流是一条时间线，LangGraph 给逐节点增量和检查点是一棵可回放可分叉的树——**线性问题看时间线更快，多角色问题必须看树**）。
  5. 跨语言这条值得单独提，因为它常被忽略：**Java 和 Swift 都没有 LangGraph**，跨语言团队要么统一到 TS/Python，要么自己手写同一套结构。选框架的时候把这条算进去，比上线后再发现便宜。
  6. 可以预期的追问：那你怎么选？给一句可执行的：**你更怕看不见的默认值，还是更怕写不完的样板？** 怕前者选显式框架，怕后者选高层 SDK。这句话比任何特性表都实用。

  Key points

  • First decide whether to split at all: mutually exclusive prompt demands, rising tool-selection error, or a step needing its own retry semantics — none holding means no split and no framework
  • The framework criterion in one line: concurrent writes to shared state require explicitness; without concurrency, explicitness is pure overhead
  • LangGraph's value is declaring merge rules on the field; Pi keeps history inside the session, leaving nowhere to change merge behaviour
  • Different debugging shapes: an event stream is a timeline, per-node deltas plus checkpoints are a replayable forkable tree — timelines for linear problems, trees for multi-role ones
  • Neither Java nor Swift has LangGraph, so polyglot teams standardise or hand-write the structure — price that in at selection time
  • An actionable heuristic: fear invisible defaults, choose the explicit framework; fear endless boilerplate, choose the high-level SDK

  答题要点

  • 先答该不该拆：提示词有互斥的行为要求、工具多到选错率上升、某步需要独立的失败与重试语义——一条不命中就别拆也别引框架
  • 框架判据一句话：多个角色并行写同一份状态就必须显式；不需要并行，显式就是纯负担
  • LangGraph 的价值是把合并规则声明在字段上；Pi 的历史在会话内部，想改合并方式根本没有位置可改
  • 调试形态不同：事件流是一条时间线，逐节点增量加检查点是一棵可回放可分叉的树；线性问题看时间线，多角色问题必须看树
  • Java 和 Swift 都没有 LangGraph，跨语言团队要么统一栈要么手写同一套结构，选型时就要算进去
  • 一句可执行的选型判据：更怕看不见的默认值就选显式框架，更怕写不完的样板就选高层 SDK