Coding interview: Difference between revisions

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Microsoft's interview style was distinctive in that it concerned technical knowledge, problem solving and creativity as opposed to the [[Job interview#Behavioral interview questions|goal and weaknesses interviews]] most companies used at the time. Initially based on [[Bill Gates]]'s obsession with puzzles, many of the puzzles presented during interviews started off being [[Fermi problem]]s, or sometimes logic problems, and have eventually transitioned over the years into questions relevant to programming.<ref>{{cite book | last = Poundstone | author-link = William Poundstone | first = William | title = How Would You Move Mount Fuji | ___location = Boston | publisher = [[Little, Brown and Company]] | year = 2003 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/howwouldyoumovem00poun/page/50 50–90] | isbn = 0-316-91916-0 | url = https://archive.org/details/howwouldyoumovem00poun/page/50 }}</ref> As [[William Poundstone]] wrote, "Puzzles test competitive edge as well as intelligence. Like business or football, a logic puzzle divides the world into winners and losers. You either get the answer, or you don't. … Winning has to matter."<ref>Poundstone, page 62.</ref>
 
== Example interview questions ==
The questions asked during a coding interview are crafted to determine a candidate's problem solving, coding and design abilities. Eccentric questions (such as ''Which of the fifty states would you remove?'') test a candidate's ability to come to a decision and articulate it.<ref>Poundstone, page 67.</ref> Candidates answering questions should consider the use of technology in the present and future, and [[user scenarios]]. Some questions involve projects that the candidate has worked on in the past.
 
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The practice of asking [[lateral thinking]] questions was later formally discouraged at Microsoft.{{cn}}
 
==Programming language==
If the interviewing position has specific [[programming language]] requirements, the candidate is expected to know those languages and solve the questions with it. If the interview is for general programming or development position, a thorough knowledge of one mainstream language such as [[C (programming language)|C]], [[C++]], [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]], or [[Java (programming language)|Java]] may be enough to get by.{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} An interviewer may also allow use of other popular languages, such as [[JavaScript]], [[PHP]], or [[Perl]].{{cn}}
 
==References==