Coding Interview Preparation Bootcamp • Hacker News Board

Re: Coding Interview Preparation Bootcamp

#41

Post by nobleach » Mon, Nov 19, 2018, 10:41 PM UTC

bluGill wrote: post #40

nobleach wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I had to guess, it's the "I'll figure it out" mentality. The problem here is, with C++, you probably will NOT figure it out! I did the bare minimum C++ in my classes. I can write trivial little "code challenge" type things with it. (mostly imperative style, very basic OO) But, ask me anything about Templates, etc, and I'll quickly admit you've gone beyond my knowledge. I'm intrigued at the answer to this question…

Actually a great programmer will figure C++ out fast enough for most purposes. Templates are weird and hard, but a great programmer can figure them out. However if you don't have a several years of experience you will make mistakes, so I can't hire you as the next go-to expert in the difficult corner cases of C++ that sometimes we can't avoid (though as we move to modern c++14 there are a lot less of them) If you lie…

I think that's where I was coming from: "if you don't have several years...." I learned enough C++ in school to complete my assignments. But the C++ PRs I've reviewed contain FAR more than those rudimentary basics. When looking at Rust, it brought back some of those memories. (`using` vs `uses`, etc) I'd never DARE say I "know" C++ well enough to be useful.

Re: Coding Interview Preparation Bootcamp

#42

Post by jiveturkey » Tue, Nov 20, 2018, 1:26 AM UTC

throwaway2016a wrote: post #18

watwut wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FizzBuzz is relevant to job. People complaining about izzBuzz havent had the pleasure of working with someone able to talk about development well while being unable to write simple code. Problem of FizzBUzz is that it is too easy, so folks get insulted. I have worked who are totally passionate and read all the blogs and can talk about all new buzzwords and techniques. Who simultaneously had problem write simple code.…

I agree completely on Fizzbuzz. It has saved us from making so many bad hires. It takes 15 minutes during the interview and you learn so much about a candidate. Not only if they can do basic coding but also how they react when they encounter something that don't know or conversely how they react when they think something is "easy" or "beneath them". 10 years ago I was asked how to tell if an integer is divisible by t…

come on. this is so obvious. read an int at that location and see if you take a misaligned read fault. so easy.

if CPU masks it then time the read.

ok partly sarcasm but partly: this isn’t a hard question. i’m sure i could enumerate ALL the possible ways to do this. maybe i’m good at puzzles.

if your comment is about how awful an interview question it is, in that case yeah i agree. but not because it’s hard. anyone should be able to answer this.

Re: Coding Interview Preparation Bootcamp

#43

Post by throwaway2016a » Tue, Nov 20, 2018, 2:59 AM UTC

jiveturkey wrote: post #42

throwaway2016a wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree completely on Fizzbuzz. It has saved us from making so many bad hires. It takes 15 minutes during the interview and you learn so much about a candidate. Not only if they can do basic coding but also how they react when they encounter something that don't know or conversely how they react when they think something is "easy" or "beneath them". 10 years ago I was asked how to tell if an integer is divisible by t…

come on. this is so obvious. read an int at that location and see if you take a misaligned read fault. so easy. if CPU masks it then time the read. ok partly sarcasm but partly: this isn’t a hard question. i’m sure i could enumerate ALL the possible ways to do this. maybe i’m good at puzzles. if your comment is about how awful an interview question it is, in that case yeah i agree. but not because it’s hard. anyone s…

I never said it was hard. I was pointing out that people have been asking easy screener type questions like fizzbuzz for at least 10 years.

Further I was pointing out I prefer fizzbuzz because it at least bears a resemblance to what would be done on a daily basis on the job.

> anyone should be able to answer this.

Anyone should be able to answer fizzbuzz yet people who look good on paper constantly fail it. This is why it is useful. And that is why it is actually not a bad interview question. (in my opinion)

Re: Coding Interview Preparation Bootcamp

#44

Post by privatecomenter » Tue, Nov 20, 2018, 6:34 AM UTC

bluGill wrote: post #22

watwut wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FizzBuzz is relevant to job. People complaining about izzBuzz havent had the pleasure of working with someone able to talk about development well while being unable to write simple code. Problem of FizzBUzz is that it is too easy, so folks get insulted. I have worked who are totally passionate and read all the blogs and can talk about all new buzzwords and techniques. Who simultaneously had problem write simple code.…

In the past one of my bosses said he the most valuable thing to asking someone claiming to know C++ was "How do you make a class member that cannot be accessed outside the class". If you know anything about C++ you know the one word answer, yet many so called programmers can't get that far.

private