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I've legitimately used whiteboards to pseudocode while discussing architecture with teammates plenty of times before. Does it compile? No. But the point is that
by andrewstuart2 8y ago
I've legitimately used whiteboards to pseudocode while discussing architecture with teammates plenty of times before. Does it compile? No. But the point is that I can more easily demonstrate the benefits of an approach with some concrete pseudocode to help grok the proposed algorithm.
As an aside, if you've never done systems design or pseudocode on a Smartboard, you're really missing out. Copy/paste, duplicating a slide, recalling earlier slides, etc. Man, that's the way to design a system with quick iteration but still no worry of losing your work.
- Jemmeh 8y agoYes but I think the point is a lot of interviewers do not go for pseudocode. They want syntax perfect solutions on a whiteboard.
- ianhawes 8y agoThis. When interviewers feel that the question was not hard enough or that they didn't like the answer, they often fall back on "you're missing a semicolon".
- brokenwren 8y agoYes. That's essentially what I was getting at. Asking someone to code accurately on a whiteboard is nonsense. When I interviewed at Google, they asked me if my whiteboard code would compile. I said, "give me a laptop and I'll tell you". I don't think they liked that answer. ;)
- bsk26 8y agoWhen I ask candidates if their whiteboard code compiles, it's a gentle hint that there are major structural issues, or an opportunity for them to point out the parts that are psuedocode-y. In general I don't include whether the code compiles (mostly JS, so "runs") in feedback unless it is amazingly perfect or really far off. This seems standard.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]