Re: Midrange Knowledge test

["James H. H. Lampert" <jamesl@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

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:
1. Explain the sort of compiler error one might get (answer: an error
complaining that the program had no way to exit, and would continue to
ride the RPG Logic Cycle until forcibly stopped)

2. Modify the program so that it would execute exactly once when called,
and so that the first two times it was called, it would terminate but
remain active, with its variables intact, and the third time, it would
shut itself down completely (answer: add a counter, a return statement
that would be executed at the end of the first two calls of the program,
and a SETON LR statement that would be executed somewhere in the third 
iteration).

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).

Outside of RPG, one could ask about common CL commands, as well as any
other languages you use (such as MI). You can and should probably ask
relevant philosophical questions, such as (either as an essay question
or as part of an oral board) what language(s) the candidate would use to
write a program to solve some stated problem, and (more importantly) WHY
he or she would use that language.
-- 
James H. H. Lampert
Professional Dilettante
http://www.hb.quik.com/jamesl
http://members.hostedscripts.com/antispam.html
http://www.thehungersite.com

Help America's Passenger Trains. http://www.saveamtrak.org

Read My Lips: No More Atrocities!