interview question
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Just curious as to everyone thoughts on asking OO if developers they know the three pillars of Object Oriented Programming. Our company has been interviewing lately and not many developers (some considered to be senior) can answer this question. Is this uncommon knowledge?
Mike Lasseter
I hate those kind of questions and I don't ask such question. Here is how I interview developers. After casual talk to warm the interviewee, I hand him/her paper and pencil and ask a hypothetical question. Suppose you are a builder and I want to build house. Now, if you may, can you please build me a house? then I watch what fellows. Many times, I have seen people start drawing house. That is
redflag to me. What I expect them is to ask lots of questions. What kind of house? how many bedrooms? How many bathroom.... you got the picture. The idea is before the developer jumps and starts writing code he/she needs to understand the problem at hand. I see them how they approach the problem at hand. As far as the syntax and symantec of a language I don't care too much. I ask them to make sure they know the language, but to me as long as they know and can proof it to me, I don't expect them to know everything by heart. In fact whenever I ask a programming question, I tell them it is sufficient to show me pseudo code.Yusuf Oh didn't you notice, analogous to square roots, they recently introduced rectangular, circular, and diamond roots to determine the size of the corresponding shapes when given the area. Luc Pattyn[^]
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encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance. So perhaps a better question would be what features make a language object oriented?
Mike Lasseter
mr_lasseter wrote:
encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance
d@nish wrote:
Are you speaking of abstraction, encapsulation, polymorphism, modularity and inheritance?
The short answer is all of them. :rolleyes: Judging people on their recollection of text book answers gets you people who are good at reciting text book answers but not always good at delivering production grade solutions. Some people are great at text book answers but couldn't deliver working software if their life depended on it. Others may not know the technical terms but have evolved over the years and deliver professional grade software without giving a lot of thought how to describe it technically. Unless the person is going to be the architect, or are so set in their ways that they cannot learn new things, I would go with experience. I have worked in an R&D environment for most of my career and would trade two MTS (member of the technical staff) for a good TA (technical associate) or better yet an STA (senior technical associate) any day. When it comes to crunch time, which all projects eventually come to, the TA or STA will deliver, while the MTS will still be debating which the best approach to take is.
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
Just curious as to everyone thoughts on asking OO if developers they know the three pillars of Object Oriented Programming. Our company has been interviewing lately and not many developers (some considered to be senior) can answer this question. Is this uncommon knowledge?
Mike Lasseter
Are C++ and/or C# object oriented languages? :)
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
I had an interview on Friday. It was for a project on .Net 3.5. I have not worked on anything above 2.0. So I was tested on my knowledge of framework. There came this question and I could not recall modularity. Rest all, I was spot on and was in. Now I will be trained on framework 3.5 and then I would work on it. That's great for me as I have been working in VB6 for almost a year now. And that too after working in .Net 2.0 for 1 Yr 7 months.
जय हिंद
modified on Saturday, March 21, 2009 5:00 PM
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mr_lasseter wrote:
Is it too much to ask for both? And yes I could answer the question, although to be honest I did have a hard time remembering what the 'I' stood for.
I tend to subscribe to the Guerrilla Guide[^] when doing interviews. Knowing the definitions of things like SOLID, OO Pillars etc. is book regurgitation. I want to know how someone applies said techniques, how they architect an application, what patterns do they commonly use, do they consider the absence of source control the 8th deadly sin, do they practice TDD & CI, can they design their own containers, etc. These are all questions which draw upon their past experiences instead of providing the definitions of academic terminology.
Todd Smith
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Are C++ and/or C# object oriented languages? :)
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopesJimmyRopes wrote:
Are C++ and/or C# object oriented languages?
Not if you ask a SmallTalker (not that there are many of them left)
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JimmyRopes wrote:
Are C++ and/or C# object oriented languages?
Not if you ask a SmallTalker (not that there are many of them left)
Nemanja Trifunovic wrote:
Not if you ask a SmallTalker (not that there are many of them left)
What's a "SmallTalker"? :confused:
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
Just curious as to everyone thoughts on asking OO if developers they know the three pillars of Object Oriented Programming. Our company has been interviewing lately and not many developers (some considered to be senior) can answer this question. Is this uncommon knowledge?
Mike Lasseter
mr_lasseter wrote:
know the three pillars of Object Oriented Programming
I assume you're interviewing for an entry-level position? If so, a short programming test might help in separating the wheat from the chaff. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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Nemanja Trifunovic wrote:
Not if you ask a SmallTalker (not that there are many of them left)
What's a "SmallTalker"? :confused:
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopesSomeone who wrote code in SmallTalk
Mike Lasseter
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Someone who wrote code in SmallTalk
Mike Lasseter
mr_lasseter wrote:
Someone who wrote code in SmallTalk
That begs the question “Are C++ and/or C# object oriented languages”? :) And yes the answer is pedantic.
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
Never heard of them. I think it is very difficult to tell if someone can program by asking interview questions. Back when I used to interview people, we'd give them a pc with Visual Studio and SQL Server on it. We asked to make a web page (it for an asp.net position) that contained a drop down list of authors and grid to display the titles by the authors. If they could make the simple application work, they were usually given a job offer. Most people cracked under the pressure and couldn't do it.
I didn't get any requirements for the signature
ToddHileHoffer wrote:
. We asked to make a web page
I would immediately ask if I could use my tools and whip out a thumb drive. :-D I hate interviewing, the last 7 years worth of contracts have been on recommendation and I did not even need to produce a CV :sigh: . Next one will not be so easy. You get these jumped up little squirts who want to quiz you on the latest buzz words they read in a magazine, probably a blog these days oops thats the recruitment agency :mad:.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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Just curious as to everyone thoughts on asking OO if developers they know the three pillars of Object Oriented Programming. Our company has been interviewing lately and not many developers (some considered to be senior) can answer this question. Is this uncommon knowledge?
Mike Lasseter
Ah, the three pillars of object oriented programming: 1) Don't be a dumbass Oh well, just one.
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
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ToddHileHoffer wrote:
. We asked to make a web page
I would immediately ask if I could use my tools and whip out a thumb drive. :-D I hate interviewing, the last 7 years worth of contracts have been on recommendation and I did not even need to produce a CV :sigh: . Next one will not be so easy. You get these jumped up little squirts who want to quiz you on the latest buzz words they read in a magazine, probably a blog these days oops thats the recruitment agency :mad:.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
Mycroft Holmes wrote:
I would immediately ask if I could use my tools and whip out a thumb drive
I would have viewed that as a good thing.
I didn't get any requirements for the signature
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mr_lasseter wrote:
know the three pillars of Object Oriented Programming
I assume you're interviewing for an entry-level position? If so, a short programming test might help in separating the wheat from the chaff. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
Ravi Bhavnani wrote:
separating the wheat from the chaff
Is that a design pattern?
Todd Smith
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Ravi Bhavnani wrote:
separating the wheat from the chaff
Is that a design pattern?
Todd Smith
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mr_lasseter wrote:
encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance
d@nish wrote:
Are you speaking of abstraction, encapsulation, polymorphism, modularity and inheritance?
The short answer is all of them. :rolleyes: Judging people on their recollection of text book answers gets you people who are good at reciting text book answers but not always good at delivering production grade solutions. Some people are great at text book answers but couldn't deliver working software if their life depended on it. Others may not know the technical terms but have evolved over the years and deliver professional grade software without giving a lot of thought how to describe it technically. Unless the person is going to be the architect, or are so set in their ways that they cannot learn new things, I would go with experience. I have worked in an R&D environment for most of my career and would trade two MTS (member of the technical staff) for a good TA (technical associate) or better yet an STA (senior technical associate) any day. When it comes to crunch time, which all projects eventually come to, the TA or STA will deliver, while the MTS will still be debating which the best approach to take is.
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopesYou are so correct! The guy I was hired to replace had a PhD in Computer Science, but he developed a reputation for breaking more software than he created.
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Congrats, hope the new job goes well.
Visit http://www.notreadytogiveup.com/[^] and do something special today.
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mr_lasseter wrote:
encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance
d@nish wrote:
Are you speaking of abstraction, encapsulation, polymorphism, modularity and inheritance?
The short answer is all of them. :rolleyes: Judging people on their recollection of text book answers gets you people who are good at reciting text book answers but not always good at delivering production grade solutions. Some people are great at text book answers but couldn't deliver working software if their life depended on it. Others may not know the technical terms but have evolved over the years and deliver professional grade software without giving a lot of thought how to describe it technically. Unless the person is going to be the architect, or are so set in their ways that they cannot learn new things, I would go with experience. I have worked in an R&D environment for most of my career and would trade two MTS (member of the technical staff) for a good TA (technical associate) or better yet an STA (senior technical associate) any day. When it comes to crunch time, which all projects eventually come to, the TA or STA will deliver, while the MTS will still be debating which the best approach to take is.
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
I had an interview on Friday. It was for a project on .Net 3.5. I have not worked on anything above 2.0. So I was tested on my knowledge of framework. There came this question and I could not recall modularity. Rest all, I was spot on and was in. Now I will be trained on framework 3.5 and then I would work on it. That's great for me as I have been working in VB6 for almost a year now. And that too after working in .Net 2.0 for 1 Yr 7 months.
जय हिंद
modified on Saturday, March 21, 2009 5:00 PM
d@nish wrote:
I have been working in VB6 for almost a year now.
Just in time then! :~
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Just curious as to everyone thoughts on asking OO if developers they know the three pillars of Object Oriented Programming. Our company has been interviewing lately and not many developers (some considered to be senior) can answer this question. Is this uncommon knowledge?
Mike Lasseter
mr_lasseter wrote:
Is this uncommon knowledge?
The classifications and terms may be uncommon knowledge to someone with experience in OOP, but no formal study. I would always ask the question, but weight it more for candidates who wave a diploma at me. Having said that, I believe every developer should spend time on learning and skills development, which can't but include a topic such as 'key pillars of OO'. Anyone interested in OO should, after about one year's experience, at least have come across these concepts.
