One of my interview questions used to involve putting up a parameterized SQL statement on the whiteboard, (select userid, email from users where userid=?), give

One of my interview questions used to involve putting up a parameterized SQL statement on the whiteboard, (select userid, email from users where userid=?), give the candidate instructions on how to use a data reader, and then expect them to construct a "user" object. I did this because I was part of a project that failed because the leads did not know how to work with a database. They thought the ORM would just magically load objects. Without understanding the basic limitations of data readers, they painted themselves into a corner. Licensing basically needs to filter this kind of thing. IE, you don't get a license to work with a SQL database unless you can work with a data reader. --- The irony was that we very rarely touched SQL, but the question was one of the greatest filters out there! It showed who understood basic concepts, who was just BSing their way though, and who would get stuck in high-level abstractions.