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I never understood why programmers don't have a portfolio of code they have written, to be used to evaluate their skills. I've never understood why IT Managers don't demand to see samples of programs and documentation. A portfolio is not hard to develop and it is a wonderful opportunity to show My best practices, according to my own rulz." A portfolio is a common practice in many of the creative professions, why not in ours? Beating the 5-minute decision process is not tough for some people. Some people interview well while others can barely remember their own name in an interview. --------------------------------------------------------- Booth Martin http://www.MartinVT.com Booth@xxxxxxxxxxxx --------------------------------------------------------- -------Original Message------- From: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion Date: 12/29/2003 4:45:40 PM To: 'Midrange Systems Technical Discussion' Subject: RE: Midrange Knowledge test My 2 cents worth. If you can't talk to someone for 5 minutes or less and tell that they either know their stuff or they are attempting to blow smoke up your skirt, then you need a new YOU, because you can't figure that out. John Brandt iStudio400.com -----Original Message----- From: Bob Cagle [mailto:bcagle@xxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Monday, December 29, 2003 4:36 PM To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion Subject: RE: Midrange Knowledge test I have been an RPG programmer for 15+ years and I have never coded a 'program that loops endlessly without a compiler error' unless it was a bug that was subsequently fixed! Bob Cagle IT Manager Lynk, Inc. 913-492-9202 x41 -----Original Message----- From: James Rich [mailto:james@xxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Monday, December 29, 2003 4:29 PM To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion Subject: Re: Midrange Knowledge test On Sun, 28 Dec 2003, James H. H. Lampert wrote: > Moving more tightly on-topic: > > To test a candidate's RPG knowledge, I would write a short RPG program > that had neither a primary file, nor an explicit SETON LR statement, nor > an explicit return, and then ask the candidate to: [snip] > and 3. Modify the program so that it would loop endlessly, without a > compiler error, and without using any explicit DO, DOWHILE, or DOUNTIL > construct (answer: add a return statement or a SETON LR statement that > can never actually be executed; that would satisfy the compiler, while > leaving the endless Cycle loop intact). > > An exercise like this would weed out the people who took purely academic > RPG classes that never even mentioned the ability of an RPG program to > take a free ride on the Cycle (even without a primary file). I think this example would help you find people who write hard to debug code and eliminate those that follow best practices. The best hires aren't necessarily the tricksters but rather those who write easy to follow, correct code and get along with others. Quite honestly, I think an English (or other human language) exam is a better test of thinking skills than a programming exam. James Rich "As for security, being lectured by Microsoft is like receiving wise words on the subject of compassion from Stalin." -- mormop on lwn.net
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