This may be too harsh

Post #109,091 by Arkadiy 7/10/03 7:22:08 PM Reply	This may be too harsh for a junior coder. I would provide the algorithm, and ask him/her to code it. Or ask how quicksort works, on paper. But not both. In fact, I am pretty sure I can't code proper quicksort in a hurry. That's what books/compilers/debuggers/unitttests are for. -- Less Is More. In my book, About Face, I introduce over 50 powerful design axioms. This is one of them. --Alan Cooper. The Inmates Are Running the Asylum
Post #109,108 by deSitter 7/10/03 8:59:35 PM Reply	Exactly I would ask What is an exact equivalent syntax to ((A+m) + n) not using asterisks? I think pressure programming proves nothing. It's like a hotdog eating contest. I would stress theoretical aspects of the language and how it fits together to make programs, calling library functions, proper division between headers and code etc. If you understand the implications of the language then you will at worst be a sloppy implementor. -drl
Post #109,188 by Arkadiy 7/11/03 8:41:33 AM Reply	This is not "pressure programming" This is an ansient and venerable algorithm of removing elements that match certain criterion from an array. Expressed in the candidate's language of choice (English for Barry). Your example, on the other hand, is extremely C-dependent, not algorithmic at all. -- Less Is More. In my book, About Face, I introduce over 50 powerful design axioms. This is one of them. --Alan Cooper. The Inmates Are Running the Asylum
Post #109,198 by deSitter 7/11/03 9:27:10 AM Reply	Yes, precisely A monkey can implement and algorithm (place box, step on, retrieve banana). What you want is real understanding of the semantics of the medium at hand. IMO. -drl
Post #109,206 by Arkadiy 7/11/03 9:57:31 AM Reply	That particular algorithm has been really successful at weeding out people with no understanding of medium whatsoever. For the rest, there are other tests. -- Less Is More. In my book, About Face, I introduce over 50 powerful design axioms. This is one of them. --Alan Cooper. The Inmates Are Running the Asylum
Post #109,334 by broomberg 7/11/03 7:49:40 PM Reply	They did not do this to juniors Like I said, they didn't do it to me. But this was in the days of pre-ANSI K&R C. Very limited libraries. Very few coders. Using "real" Unix or original Tandy 6000 Xenix. There were far fewer candidates in those days, and they were of much higher quality than now, simply because the barriers to entry were far higher. It was not too much too ask then. It would be now.

Welcome to IWETHEY!