4 ms·

The inode question is tricky. It is certainly not something an employer should take for granted you have memorized. But the answer can be reached by reasoning,

by mongol 5y ago

The inode question is tricky. It is certainly not something an employer should take for granted you have memorized. But the answer can be reached by reasoning, at least if you know something about filesystems and the concept of hard links. Which you probably do if you have read the "ln" man page. It is still a pretty poor question, I remember getting a similar kind of question when I passed through the (at the time, in Sweden) mandatory conscription testing, where you are tested for which role you best fit as a military conscript. One question on the intelligence test was: "What is heaviest, gasoline or water?". I did not know how to approach the question, I had not memorized the density of gasoline and I didn't think an intelligence test could have assumed that either. I was stumped. How could that be an intelligence test question? Only afterwards did I realize that the test creators probably assumed that knowing that gasoline floats on water as common knowledge, and if you were intelligent enough you should be able to derive the answer from that. I think the inode question is similar.

fredgrott 5y ago
mote not a good example as oil which is also hydrocarbon based does in fact float for awhile but not due to density
david-gpu 5y ago
> "What is heaviest, gasoline or water?" It depends on the amount. Two pounds of gasoline are heavier than one pound of water. Yes, I get that they are asking about density, not mass. My point is that tests need to be carefully written. I remember once during an early online screening at a multinational they asked something like Alice went shopping in the morning and bought apples. What did she buy? A) Apples. B) Oranges. C) All of the above. D) None of the above. With the information provided, the only answer we can reject is D, because we know that she did in fact but apples. However, it is possible that she also bought oranges (and/or something else), in which case answers B and C would also be correct. We don't have enough information. Bear in mind this was a test for recently graduated software engineers, who are supposed to be trained in logic, so I spent a few seconds puzzled wondering why the question was worded so strangely. I did answer A and moved on.
- jaredsohn 5y ago
  If looking for the best answer, you can rule out B but A vs C is still ambiguous.
jozvolskyef 5y ago
If you ever carried a canister of gasoline, you'd notice it to be uncannily light. It may have been a practical experience question.
- wly_cdgr 5y ago
  > canister....uncannily light... I see what you did there
Joker_vD 5y ago
Well, maybe it'd be better called "aptitude test": if you don't know that gasoline lighter than water that means you've never handled it manually, so better not put you into an automechanic position.
- mongol 5y ago
  It was 2 days of various tests, resulting in a number of scores, physical, intelligence, psycological etc. All together an aptitude test. I don't know why this was called intelligence test, it was a mix of questions, not all of these kind. I remember many were something like "circle the fourth word of the second sentence except if..."
marcosdumay 5y ago
Almost everybody with some Linux experience knows that the file name is not stored on the inode. It's not this part that makes the question bad. What makes the question bad is that nobody can guess what answer he wants, and anything else, as correct as it may be, will be understood as a mistake (what is evident by the OP's answers that were perfectly correct). "What number am I thinking right now" may be a really strict question that fails your expected number of people, but it's not a good interview question.
- kevstev 5y ago
  My first linux install was Redhat 5.2 bought at a bookstore in ~1997. I have not always been a primary linux user, but I have been using it in some capacity for over 20 years now- though as a means to an end primarily- in the bad old days I mucked around with drivers and X configs and have even recompiled a custom kernel on occasion. Never once has it come up that the filename is not stored in the inode. I am actually just curious as to why this would ever even be a thing you come across unless dealing with filesystems directly?
  - pram 5y ago
    You'd never need to know anything about it as a user. I don't know how anyone could seriously make the argument otherwise. In fact the only reason I know anything about inode and dentry specifics is because they are 'very clever' interviewer favorites! I've been a professional UNIX admin for 15 years and I've dealt with inode issues literally once in my life lol
    - kevstev 5y ago
      Thanks. Its comments like the GPs that makes me wonder how I have avoided learning some very commonplace issue and its these types of comments that foment imposter syndrome. I have even read books on linux architecture and remember discussions about filesystems and inodes and remember the general structure and form, but a detail around what is and what is not stored in the actual inode... seems like an absurd detail to memorize. The only way I could see this being commonplace is if I somehow missed out on a widespread bug that somehow caused inodes to be corrupted and requiring manual intervention/surgery to prevent data loss.

by mongol 5y ago

fredgrott 5y ago

mote not a good example as oil which is also hydrocarbon based does in fact float for awhile but not due to density

david-gpu 5y ago

> "What is heaviest, gasoline or water?" It depends on the amount. Two pounds of gasoline are heavier than one pound of water. Yes, I get that they are asking about density, not mass. My point is that tests need to be carefully written. I remember once during an early online screening at a multinational they asked something like Alice went shopping in the morning and bought apples. What did she buy? A) Apples. B) Oranges. C) All of the above. D) None of the above. With the information provided, the only answer we can reject is D, because we know that she did in fact but apples. However, it is possible that she also bought oranges (and/or something else), in which case answers B and C would also be correct. We don't have enough information. Bear in mind this was a test for recently graduated software engineers, who are supposed to be trained in logic, so I spent a few seconds puzzled wondering why the question was worded so strangely. I did answer A and moved on.

jaredsohn 5y ago
If looking for the best answer, you can rule out B but A vs C is still ambiguous.

jozvolskyef 5y ago

If you ever carried a canister of gasoline, you'd notice it to be uncannily light. It may have been a practical experience question.

wly_cdgr 5y ago
> canister....uncannily light... I see what you did there

Joker_vD 5y ago

Well, maybe it'd be better called "aptitude test": if you don't know that gasoline lighter than water that means you've never handled it manually, so better not put you into an automechanic position.

mongol 5y ago
It was 2 days of various tests, resulting in a number of scores, physical, intelligence, psycological etc. All together an aptitude test. I don't know why this was called intelligence test, it was a mix of questions, not all of these kind. I remember many were something like "circle the fourth word of the second sentence except if..."

marcosdumay 5y ago

Almost everybody with some Linux experience knows that the file name is not stored on the inode. It's not this part that makes the question bad. What makes the question bad is that nobody can guess what answer he wants, and anything else, as correct as it may be, will be understood as a mistake (what is evident by the OP's answers that were perfectly correct). "What number am I thinking right now" may be a really strict question that fails your expected number of people, but it's not a good interview question.

kevstev 5y ago
My first linux install was Redhat 5.2 bought at a bookstore in ~1997. I have not always been a primary linux user, but I have been using it in some capacity for over 20 years now- though as a means to an end primarily- in the bad old days I mucked around with drivers and X configs and have even recompiled a custom kernel on occasion. Never once has it come up that the filename is not stored in the inode. I am actually just curious as to why this would ever even be a thing you come across unless dealing with filesystems directly?
- pram 5y ago
  You'd never need to know anything about it as a user. I don't know how anyone could seriously make the argument otherwise. In fact the only reason I know anything about inode and dentry specifics is because they are 'very clever' interviewer favorites! I've been a professional UNIX admin for 15 years and I've dealt with inode issues literally once in my life lol
  - kevstev 5y ago
    Thanks. Its comments like the GPs that makes me wonder how I have avoided learning some very commonplace issue and its these types of comments that foment imposter syndrome. I have even read books on linux architecture and remember discussions about filesystems and inodes and remember the general structure and form, but a detail around what is and what is not stored in the actual inode... seems like an absurd detail to memorize. The only way I could see this being commonplace is if I somehow missed out on a widespread bug that somehow caused inodes to be corrupted and requiring manual intervention/surgery to prevent data loss.