Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 24th Sep 2012 15:07 UTC, submitted by MOS6510
"I've been programming professionally for about 3 years at this point, and I've noticed some interesting patterns in other programmers I've worked with. One of the key differentiators among programmers is motivation. I'm not referring to an individual's passion to simply be successful in their career, but rather the type of work they want to pursue. The thing they want to do with computers every day, the types of problems they are interested in solving."
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Member since:2009-08-13
Member since:2010-06-12
Phreck, it's impossible to address such suspicion here, so I can't say anything about that.
Anyway, the function in my original post is pretty basic that anyone who has written enough arithmetic code would spot the bug just by glancing over it. I'm not saying I'm a wizard here, mind you.
Member since:2012-01-17
Question no. 1:
Really? we encounter ternary operator on a day-to-day basis. It's very common here. That snippet in my original post is just an example, for the sake of brevity.
Question No. 3:
This is already answered in one of my earlier replies. To put it another way, my question to the applicant was essentially "could you write an example of abs() implementation for me?".
As for No. 4:
Very few people forget such basic operation. Most fresh (or semi-fresh) grads still remember. And it's not a matter of optimization whatsoever. Again, that's just an example. It doesn't mean I would frown at solutions different from mine. I just don't like bad solutions.
Even the solution I wrote in my original post has a bug, which I would've asked about, if he would've come up with something similar. But this follow-up question is only meant to test his mastery, which is not compulsory for the position he was being interviewed for.
Question No. 5:
Given such solution, I would ask the applicant about overflows, but again, this is a test of mastery and is not compulsory for the position in question, but a test that must be performed nonetheless.
Really? we encounter ternary operator on a day-to-day basis. It's very common here. That snippet in my original post is just an example, for the sake of brevity.
Question No. 3:
This is already answered in one of my earlier replies. To put it another way, my question to the applicant was essentially "could you write an example of abs() implementation for me?".
As for No. 4:
Very few people forget such basic operation. Most fresh (or semi-fresh) grads still remember. And it's not a matter of optimization whatsoever. Again, that's just an example. It doesn't mean I would frown at solutions different from mine. I just don't like bad solutions.
Even the solution I wrote in my original post has a bug, which I would've asked about, if he would've come up with something similar. But this follow-up question is only meant to test his mastery, which is not compulsory for the position he was being interviewed for.
Question No. 5:
Given such solution, I would ask the applicant about overflows, but again, this is a test of mastery and is not compulsory for the position in question, but a test that must be performed nonetheless.
1. Yes really, I find that ternary operator out of place in your example. But as I said in another discussion, it is a matter of personal preference, and as such hardly worth a long discussion.
3. When you put it like that, it is a whole another story. In normal C++ code, one would use abs(num) and be done with it. But the way I read your posts here, it sounds like you think (or have thought) that abs is some sort of non standard, third library, hack. Another strange thing I noticed in some of your posts, was criticizing use of Google. What is the problem with that? Google is a great tool to find quick and simple solutions for small problems. In fact, Google will more likely that not (in my experience), point to the standard (most typical) way.
4. Still it is relatively complex and unintuitive binary hack and if I was mentoring you, I'd point that function as something that needs to be simplified. You say that you don't like bad solution, and converting to string for testing of presence of minus sign is certainly a bad solution, but I would argue that your implementation is also a bad solution just to a lesser degree. And the second solution you offered is bad in both performance and correctness as it covers only numbers up to 2**16 (for 32 bit integers).
And what bug are you talking about? Passing in unsigned int?
5. Fair enough.
The thing is, your original post made a lot of sense until you wrote your own code. You have obviously interviewed a newbie, and his mistakes were naive, even funny, but then you offered something from the same neighborhood. That is what I was aiming at.
BR
Loreia
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.More Features »
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Member since:
2010-06-12
Question no. 1:
Really? we encounter ternary operator on a day-to-day basis. It's very common here. That snippet in my original post is just an example, for the sake of brevity.
Question No. 3:
This is already answered in one of my earlier replies. To put it another way, my question to the applicant was essentially "could you write an example of abs() implementation for me?".
As for No. 4:
Very few people forget such basic operation. Most fresh (or semi-fresh) grads still remember. And it's not a matter of optimization whatsoever. Again, that's just an example. It doesn't mean I would frown at solutions different from mine. I just don't like bad solutions.
Even the solution I wrote in my original post has a bug, which I would've asked about, if he would've come up with something similar. But this follow-up question is only meant to test his mastery, which is not compulsory for the position he was being interviewed for.
Question No. 5:
Given such solution, I would ask the applicant about overflows, but again, this is a test of mastery and is not compulsory for the position in question, but a test that must be performed nonetheless.