Except, if you want to ask a question about CS Data Types, you really do need to be clear in your terminology.
I just turned to the two most relevant books that I had on my shelf. Neither Knuth's The Art of Computer Programming, nor SedgewiCk's Algorithms in C refer to a list without a qualifier. Knuth speaks of Linear Lists, and then goes into a description of Linked lists, doubly linked list and circular linked lists, and Sedgewick refers exclusively to Linked lists.
If I went to an interview for a Java role, and was asked to choose between a list and an array I would assume they meant java.util.List, if it was a Scala role I'd assume scala.collection.immutable.List; I think it's entirely reasonable for a Ruby+Python dev to be confused about what set of terms the interviewer is drawing from.
If you want to ask a generic CS question, then preface it appropriately, and be precise about your terminology.
I just turned to the two most relevant books that I had on my shelf. Neither Knuth's The Art of Computer Programming, nor SedgewiCk's Algorithms in C refer to a list without a qualifier. Knuth speaks of Linear Lists, and then goes into a description of Linked lists, doubly linked list and circular linked lists, and Sedgewick refers exclusively to Linked lists.
If I went to an interview for a Java role, and was asked to choose between a list and an array I would assume they meant java.util.List, if it was a Scala role I'd assume scala.collection.immutable.List; I think it's entirely reasonable for a Ruby+Python dev to be confused about what set of terms the interviewer is drawing from.
If you want to ask a generic CS question, then preface it appropriately, and be precise about your terminology.