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For almost all typical programming jobs out there, isn't asking a question such as this like hiring someone to flip burgers and expecting them to demonstrate ho
by BigZaphod 16y ago
For almost all typical programming jobs out there, isn't asking a question such as this like hiring someone to flip burgers and expecting them to demonstrate how to butcher a cow during the interview?
- nevinera 16y agoExpecting the bit arithmetic would be for some positions. But asking a programmer to design and implement an extremely basic algorithm doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
- BigZaphod 16y agoI guess I was focusing on the bit-level answers since that's what the article and most of the comments seem to value the highest. You're right, though, the original question itself is not so much of a problem, I suppose. What bothered me is the subtext that, unless you get down to the bit level with the minimum possible number of CPU instructions in the result and do the compiler's job yourself, you're not a "real programmer" or something.
- leif 16y agoI disagree. A "real programmer" should know something about how the computer works, and should not revere anything below his level as "magic" or be afraid of it, even if he/she will never need to deal with it. Understanding that integers are stored as binary bitstrings, and what this means, is the most basic level of competency in this area.
- city41 16y agoExpecting your minimum wage paid burger flipper to understand that is not too realistic. Hiring a chef for your 5 star restaurant, you'd probably want him to understand cuts of meat, where they come from, what they are used for, etc. In that case, understanding a bit about the butchering process is reasonably expected. I make no qualms about wanting to hire programmers that "get" what's going on down below.