4 ms·

I recently was given a toy problem in an interview - read data in some format, process it, and write the output. Expectation was 4 hours of work, which is prett

I recently was given a toy problem in an interview - read data in some format, process it, and write the output. Expectation was 4 hours of work, which is pretty close to what it took me to get all the edge cases, test suite, requisite documentation, and VS project/solution files. The feedback I got afterwards was "We're passing on you as your code doesn't compile/run on Linux", a requirement that wasn't specified.

0xffff2 7y ago
>The feedback I got afterwards was "We're passing on you as your code doesn't compile/run on Linux", a requirement that wasn't specified. I have to ask, was there something that implied that it should specifically run on Windows? If I got a software spec that didn't spell out exactly which platforms needed to be supported, one of the very first things I would do would be to ask for clarification.
- max76 7y ago
  Applying for a dotnet position and assuming dotnet framework instead of dotnet core would have been very responsible two years ago.
  - 0xffff2 7y ago
    I guess I have a fundamentally different view of software requirements. Even before dotnet core even existed I would have explicitly confirmed that the company wasn't using Mono if they didn't spell it out for me.
    - monsieurbanana 7y ago
      I don't know about that, but you do have a fundamentally different view of software requirements for interview tasks than me.
      - VBprogrammer 7y ago
        Can't help but agree. If someone completed a task in anything remotely sensible then I'd evaluate it to the best of my abilities in good faith. Of course I'd be a little surprised if they chose to use a language not listed as part of the job requirements but if it looked reasonable it wouldn't stop proceedings.
    - max76 7y ago
      Mono's use was very limited because it was an out of date and slower implementation of .NET. It's used in such niche contexts (Xamarin and Unity) that it was easy to determine if the team you are applying is using MONO or Framework. .NET core changed the ability to make the Windows assumption. Almost everyone has received the memo by now, but there was a period of time between .NET core 1.0 (June 2016) and the release of .NET core 2.0 (August 2017) where the platform was changing so much and the performance wasn't as good as framework that anyone without a simultaneous interest in Linux rightly ignored it. After the release of .NET core 2.0 the entire community began accepting it as a faster platform that runs comfortably on cheaper servers. A larger and larger portion of new projects have been running .net core. Now, with the planned release for .NET 5 next year .NET Framework is dead. However, if you were interviewing with a .NET team before June 2016 even asking the question "What operating system will this run on?" would have been a sign of incompetence. Of course you'll be building .exe and .dll files. Of course the webserver is going to be IIS. Those were the only things .NET was good at building.
      - 0xffff2 7y ago
        > However, if you were interviewing with a .NET team before June 2016 even asking the question "What operating system will this run on?" would have been a sign of incompetence. It really depends on how you're asking the question. "What OS will this run on?" is going to be perceived differently from "Are you expecting anything unusual like Mono support?". The OP didn't actually say that this was a .NET application, but if it was the answer to either question would have been important. If the answer had been that the company expected a standard Windows environment, I don't think it's likely that the second question would be perceived negatively.
  - quickthrower2 7y ago
    It still is IMO and rejecting someone because their .NET code didn’t work on Linux without specifying is like doimg the same for a Ruby developer whose code fails on Windows.
gregd 7y ago
At least you got a response :) But on a serious note, I really don't understand why they couldn't have written you back and asked if you could make it compile on Linux and send it back.

0xffff2 7y ago

>The feedback I got afterwards was "We're passing on you as your code doesn't compile/run on Linux", a requirement that wasn't specified. I have to ask, was there something that implied that it should specifically run on Windows? If I got a software spec that didn't spell out exactly which platforms needed to be supported, one of the very first things I would do would be to ask for clarification.

max76 7y ago
Applying for a dotnet position and assuming dotnet framework instead of dotnet core would have been very responsible two years ago.
- 0xffff2 7y ago
  I guess I have a fundamentally different view of software requirements. Even before dotnet core even existed I would have explicitly confirmed that the company wasn't using Mono if they didn't spell it out for me.
  - monsieurbanana 7y ago
    I don't know about that, but you do have a fundamentally different view of software requirements for interview tasks than me.
    - VBprogrammer 7y ago
      Can't help but agree. If someone completed a task in anything remotely sensible then I'd evaluate it to the best of my abilities in good faith. Of course I'd be a little surprised if they chose to use a language not listed as part of the job requirements but if it looked reasonable it wouldn't stop proceedings.
  - max76 7y ago
    Mono's use was very limited because it was an out of date and slower implementation of .NET. It's used in such niche contexts (Xamarin and Unity) that it was easy to determine if the team you are applying is using MONO or Framework. .NET core changed the ability to make the Windows assumption. Almost everyone has received the memo by now, but there was a period of time between .NET core 1.0 (June 2016) and the release of .NET core 2.0 (August 2017) where the platform was changing so much and the performance wasn't as good as framework that anyone without a simultaneous interest in Linux rightly ignored it. After the release of .NET core 2.0 the entire community began accepting it as a faster platform that runs comfortably on cheaper servers. A larger and larger portion of new projects have been running .net core. Now, with the planned release for .NET 5 next year .NET Framework is dead. However, if you were interviewing with a .NET team before June 2016 even asking the question "What operating system will this run on?" would have been a sign of incompetence. Of course you'll be building .exe and .dll files. Of course the webserver is going to be IIS. Those were the only things .NET was good at building.
    - 0xffff2 7y ago
      > However, if you were interviewing with a .NET team before June 2016 even asking the question "What operating system will this run on?" would have been a sign of incompetence. It really depends on how you're asking the question. "What OS will this run on?" is going to be perceived differently from "Are you expecting anything unusual like Mono support?". The OP didn't actually say that this was a .NET application, but if it was the answer to either question would have been important. If the answer had been that the company expected a standard Windows environment, I don't think it's likely that the second question would be perceived negatively.
- quickthrower2 7y ago
  It still is IMO and rejecting someone because their .NET code didn’t work on Linux without specifying is like doimg the same for a Ruby developer whose code fails on Windows.

gregd 7y ago

At least you got a response :) But on a serious note, I really don't understand why they couldn't have written you back and asked if you could make it compile on Linux and send it back.