Other than just FizzBuzz to test programmer candidates

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TL;DR

Through trying a web search I found nothing outside of FizzBuzz for testing programmer candidates' skills. What other games or tests are used other than FizzBuzz?

No. This should not be "too long didn't read".

FizzBuzz is a way to check on the qualifications of a candidate for a programmer job. What other ways to do this are also known or used, OTHER THAN just FizzBuzz?

Doubtful that any reader here needs some reference, but https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fizz_buzz

 

[Ibix]

Convert a number to an Excel column letter (i.e. 1 -> A, 2 -> B,..., 26 -> Z, 27 -> AA etc). This was described to me as difficult in the sense that your first guess will probably not be correct, but as long as you have sensible test cases it's easy to refine to the correct answer. And you can make one that works for old Excel (max two letters), new Excel (max three letters), or generalises the rules to any integer.

 

[Filip Larsen]

I have sometimes asked candidates to use around 4 hours on a small program that can read in a text file and then calculate and show the Lix of the text. They were free to choose language and style (command line/GUI) as long as the result could be run with minimum effort. The main purpose was to see how they overall would address the problem and solution rather than only check that they can produce perfect code, so requirements were deliberately vague.

 

[Ibix]

I have sometimes asked candidates to use around 4 hours on a small program that can read in a text file and then calculate and show the Lix of the text. They were free to choose language and style (command line/GUI) as long as the result could be run with minimum effort. The main purpose was to see how they overall would address the problem and solution rather than only check that they can produce perfect code, so requirements were deliberately vague.

People really need four hours for that? Seems like it would be about ten lines in python, maybe a bit more if you can't fit the whole document in memory.

 

[Filip Larsen]

People really need four hours for that?

It was not an on-premise test. The arrangement was I mailed them in the morning and expected answer in afternoon. They could answer early if they liked, though none did. This was also decades ago before the days of AI answers, so that form may not work well today.

 

[berkeman]

Convert a number to an Excel column letter (i.e. 1 -> A, 2 -> B,..., 26 -> Z, 27 -> AA etc).

Spoiler

Can you just define an array to do that conversion? That's how I used to do conversions like that.

EDIT/ADD:

Spoiler

I would probably just define a 26-element array, and then reuse it with some math for numbers > 26...

 

[Ibix]

Spoiler

Can you just define an array to do that conversion? That's how I used to do conversions like that.

EDIT/ADD:

Spoiler

I would probably just define a 26-element array, and then reuse it with some math for numbers > 26...

If you do it that way, "reuse it with some math" is where the tricky bit is.

 

[jedishrfu]

There's a range of questions depending on the job requirements.

One interviewer asked me how to swap two numbers using pseudocode. Another had asked me to write a small bubble sort. He was a junior programmer interviewing a senior programmer and it kind of pissed me off that the company did that.

And then there's the Google interview questions, which fortunately I never had to deal with, like you're 1 inch tall and in a blender, how do you get out before someone turns it on.

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Once, I had a job interview for a C++ development lead. The interviewer asked me this trick question. Fortunately for me, Dr Dobbs Journal had an article on common C++ trick questions, and I asked him if he had read it too. I answered, then gave him one from the article. He couldn't answer it off the top of his head, so I gave him the answer. After that, he was thoroughly impressed, and we had a pleasant conversation.

---

Bottom line, I didn't take the job because they wanted me to do product management (needed a senior developer) for a database product. The job required you to be knowledgeable of C++ and to talk the talk while walking the walk. They promised to transfer me to development after a year or so and that was the breaking point for me. Companies often renege on their promises.

 

[jedishrfu]

Here's a list of C++ specific questions although they might be applicable to Java or Kotlin or Golang.

https://jacobfilipp.com/DrDobbs/articles/DDJ/1998/9813/9813d/9813d.htm

 

[jedishrfu]

I think the best questions are those that draw on the interviewer's own background of problems they encountered and how they got around them.

You're not looking for the answer. You want to see and hear the interviewee think and work through the problem.

The interview then becomes more of a conversation where the interviewer can see the interviewee in action and how well they'd work in a team environment.

 

[Nugatory]

People really need four hours for that? Seems like it would be about ten lines in python, maybe a bit more if you can't fit the whole document in memory.

@Filip Larsen said in a later post that this was decades ago. Depending on how many decades ago (Python is 35 years old) this would have been appreciably more difficult. Four hours for a constant-space solution using K&R C would be pretty good.