3 ms·

For a general-purpose developer interview question, I think this relies a little too heavily on domain-specific knowledge to be generally useful. Personally, w

For a general-purpose developer interview question, I think this relies a little too heavily on domain-specific knowledge to be generally useful. Personally, while I was quite decent at algebra and geometry in university, my skills have atrophied significantly, to the extent that I really didn't know where to start with this problem. I don't think it represents what most programmers do on a day-to-day basis, and someone with a strong math background would probably be far more capable of answering this, despite not necessarily being a better developer. If this sort of thing represents what developers at your company would likely be doing on a daily basis, I think it could be a relevant question. Otherwise, I think a question like this is very likely to inadvertently screen out good developers.

MidsizeBlowfish 13y ago
Certainly. This interview was for a data-oriented position.
peacemaker 13y ago
Completely agree. While I feel I could probably figure it out given time, in an interview setting I would test badly at this question. Does that mean I'm a terrible developer? I don't think so. Interviews are tricky to get right. It's my opinion that interviews should aim to prove that the candidate knows enough to do the day-to-day work, plus test for good personality fit etc. After that, there should be a short probation period to learn more about each other. Honestly, my perfect interview (as a candidate) would be a quick chat about my previous work experience, some one-on-one work with another developer to solve a common problem the company faces and then a few drinks with the team to get to know everyone.