Honestly neither are great ways to interview someone. The first is better, sure, but it doesn't actually tell you if they're a good programmer. The only thing

Honestly neither are great ways to interview someone. The first is better, sure, but it doesn't actually tell you if they're a good programmer. The only thing I've found that does work is asking them about problems they've encountered/solved before, and then maybe have them write out something from them on the board. This gives pretty decent insight into their problem solving process.