Re:Why it’s hard for programmers to write a program to flatt...
by gumby on Friday February 24, 2017 @11:12AM
(#13724907)
> I am not sure what makes this problem tough for candidates.
Most people aren't programmers, and sad to say, most people employed writing code are not programmers.
I find trivial problems like this are good interview questions. What the person asks, says and does tells me a lot about what they would be like to work with. And it's not like you're using some bizarre datastructure or obscure CS case: this is an ordinary workaday problem. So it's not a "trick" or one-upsmanship, just "do you know your tools?"
Most people aren't programmers, and sad to say, most people employed writing code are not programmers.
I find trivial problems like this are good interview questions. What the person asks, says and does tells me a lot about what they would be like to work with. And it's not like you're using some bizarre datastructure or obscure CS case: this is an ordinary workaday problem. So it's not a "trick" or one-upsmanship, just "do you know your tools?"