CareerCup

1. Program
import java.nio.ByteOrder;

public class Endian {
	public static void main(String argv[]) {
		ByteOrder b = ByteOrder.nativeOrder();
		if (b.equals(ByteOrder.BIG_ENDIAN)) {
			System.out.println("Big-endian");
		} else {
			System.out.println("Little-endian");
		}
	}
}

2. Example usage taken from <doc>ByteOrder#nativeOrder</doc>
/**
 * Retrieves the native byte order of the underlying platform.
 *
 * <p> This method is defined so that performance-sensitive Java code can
 * allocate direct buffers with the same byte order as the hardware.
 * Native code libraries are often more efficient when such buffers are
 * used.  </p>
 *
 * @return  The native byte order of the hardware upon which this Java
 *          virtual machine is running
 */
public static ByteOrder nativeOrder() {
return Bits.byteOrder();
}

@kartik:We cannot use inbuild methods,We need to write a algo/code to detect it :)

I too feel sometimes, it is much easier to code in C than in Java, anyway inbuilt functions are not allowed in interviews. For example, string manipulation is much easier in C than in Java if we do not have to use inbuilt function.

How does being a java guy give you immunity from worrying about endianness if you want to send a string from a windows machine to a mainframe system?