NYCPHP Meetup

NYPHP.org

[nycphp-talk] Questions to ask at a job interview?

CED Consult at CovenantEDesign.com
Sat Jul 7 20:11:21 EDT 2007


I think 150 lines is huge, I want to do it in two. =D

-Ed
Edward JS Prevost II
Me at EdwardPrevost.info
www.EdwardPrevost.info

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Krings" <ramons at gmx.net>
To: "NYPHP Talk" <talk at lists.nyphp.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2007 8:05 PM
Subject: Re: [nycphp-talk] Questions to ask at a job interview?


> Ben Sgro (ProjectSkyLine) wrote:
> > Hey again,
> >
> > So, I had a string of interviews over the last two weeks.
> >
> > I have just hired one candidate that I believe will be a good addition
> > to our company.
> >
> > I ended up using the Joel Spolsky (or whoever coined this) question:
> >
> > I have two variables and I want to switch their values.
> >
> > Some candidates totaly froze, and other's got it quickly.
>
> I'd use a third variable to keep a copy of one variable before basically
> making both the same first and then assigning the saved to copy to the
> originally uncopied variable.
> Did I get hired?
> No! Well, unless you are desparate...
> Thanks to Google I now know the answer:
> $x = $x xor $y;
> $y = $x xor $y;
> $x = $x xor $y;
>
> I guess this shows that I have no formal programming training. Although,
> when would anyone want to switch variable values? Just use the one that
> already has the right value. Saves three lines of code! Same amount of
> lines is used with a helper variable, but the xor stuff uses less memory.
>
> > I also showed some source code, a *small* 150L script, and asked them
> > what it did.
> >
> > Not only was it commented, but the function & variable names are
> > extremely obvious.
>
> Mind sharing that test script with me (us)? I simply want to know how
> good or bad I am.
>
> > Some looked in awe and said, "this is a small script?" while some took a
> > few minutes
> > and looked over the code, then attempted to explaint to me what it did.
> >
>
> My record is currently at 761 lines for a script including comments and
> empty lines. I think 150 isn't huge.
>
> > Overall, it was a great experiance. I look forward to finding new talent
> > to add to our growing
> > company.
> >
> > Thanks for all the responses and feedback!
> >
> > - Ben
>
> Thanks for asking and sharing with us. And for giving a PHP beginner an
> awesome opportunity to pick up some more skill. I wish I could spend
> more time on learning PHP.
>
>
> David
>
>
> David
>
> _______________________________________________
> New York PHP Community Talk Mailing List
> http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
>
> NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online
> http://www.nyphpcon.com
>
> Show Your Participation in New York PHP
> http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php
>
>





More information about the talk mailing list