[mmorett]

An even easier way is to check StackOverflow.

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9321654/java-anagram-find...

One of the comments mentions: "Just had a phone interview with Amazon and this was the exact question they asked. Interesting problem if you have more than 10 minutes to solve it. – Javamann Jun 14 '12 at 20:46"

So....do you store this knowledge in your back pocket in case you need to check anagrams at work (which will be never), or do you toss it aside knowing you can hit StackOverflow if/when you need it?

It seems like the only time this stuff is "used" is on technical interviews.

I readily concede you can't substitute StackOverflow for general competence, but an algo for checking for anagrams doesn't seem like general competence.

[philwelch]

The whole point of the question is that you don't already know the solution. If you already knew the solution the question would be less useful.