Retry with Exponential Backoff | Dataford Interview Questions

Implement a robust retry mechanism with exponential backoff for a critical third-party API integration.

Use a sequence of deterministic API outcomes to simulate calls. Return whether the operation succeeded, the number of attempts, and the delays used before retries.

Contract

retry_api_call(outcomes, max_retries, base_delay) receives boolean outcomes, where True succeeds and False fails. Retries stop after success or max_retries additional attempts. The delay before retry number n is base_delay * 2 ** n, starting with n = 0.

Constraints

1 <= len(outcomes) <= 10^4
0 <= max_retries <= 10^4
base_delay is a non-negative number
Each outcome is either True or False

Function Signature

def retry_api_call(outcomes, max_retries, base_delay):

Your question is Retry with Exponential Backoff. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.

Problem