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> Add a mult command to memcached You problem setup seems to assume that your interviewee is compeltely unfamiliar with memcached. So how do you expect someon
by lisper 5y ago
> Add a mult command to memcached
You problem setup seems to assume that your interviewee is compeltely unfamiliar with memcached. So how do you expect someone to be able to answer this question if you haven't told them how to add commands to memcached?
[UPDATE] Ah, I see you actually want them to go hack on the memcached code base. That is not at all clear from the problem description. The language of the problem setup is pretty elementary. I think anyone who is actually capable of doing this task would find the description pretty condescending.
- timClicks 5y agoThe description starts with downloading the source code that you'll be expected to modify.
- akhmatova 5y agoNot the description that we're seeing; it starts with downloading source code that you are told you will need to build.
- jfrbfbreudh 5y ago> That is not at all clear from the problem description. Seems like everyone else here thinks it’s perfectly clear.
- akhmatova 5y agoIt can't possibly be "clear" because it doesn't follow from the problem description. Which, verbatim, was simply this: Our programming challenge: Add a mult command to memcached. Maybe "adding a command" involves "hacking the codebase"; maybe it doesn't. From the problem statement as such, you can't tell.
- db48x 5y agoI confess to being a little confused by that. How can you “add a command to memcached” without altering memcached’s source code?
- akhmatova 5y agoI know nothing about memcached. But in general, out in programmingland: "Adding a command to do X" does not imply (in general) "altering the source". That is, there are plenty of cases where one does not need to hack the source to effectively "add a command" to the running system.
- db48x 5y agoOk, I guess you’re thinking of your shell where you can “add a command” by dropping a shell script anywhere on the disk? Or your text editor, where you can add commands by editing some config file? I guess that’s fair. Note however that each of these programs has bent over backwards to enable easy extensibility. The average program does not. This is more like adding a command to sed or grep, which have no extensibility (aside from editing their source code).
- akhmatova 5y agoThe average program does not. Right -- the average system does not. But that doesn't mean that every system does not. That's all I'm saying.
- ankrgyl 5y agoThe question wasn't administered with the "script" laid out in the blog post. I understand why if you were just reading that, you might get confused. In practice, we had a script that walked the candidate through how to use the memcached client, explained that the command didn't exist, pointed them to the codebase, and instructed them to add the command within the codebase, so that you can issue it through the client.
- lisper 5y agoI see. Thanks for clarifying.
- jseban 5y agoThis interview will filter for people who happen to already be familiar with the memcached code base, in which the interviewer will believe he has found his genius superhero.
- akhmatova 5y agoExactly. Like all these other "gee-whiz" filter questions.