I need an understanding of what C++ is good for -Thanks

[RAY]

Hi ,

my boss has asked I sit in on an interview this afternoon and that I create
some interview questions on the person's experience.

What is C++ used for and why would a company benefit from someone who could
use it?

I would like you guys/and gals to give me some good questions & the correct
answers so I can give this person a good review for my boss.

Thank you very much!
-J

 

[E. Robert Tisdale]

My boss has asked I sit in on an interview this afternoon
and that I create some interview questions on the person's experience.

What is C++ used for
and why would a company benefit from someone who could use it?

This would be a *very* good question to ask your candidate.

May we assume that you are interviewing a C++ programmer?

Personally, I would *never* even ask a candidate
whether they programmed in C++ or not.
Programming is a low level skill
which I would expect the candidate to "pick up"
in the first few weeks on the job.

Assuming that you understand your company's business better than C++,
describe some [simple] problem that your company has
that might be solved by applying computer technology
and ask you candidate to propose a solution using C++
or whatever language/software package
that the candidate deems appropriate.

You should very quickly know whether you should hire this person or not.

 

[Bill Seurer]

my boss has asked I sit in on an interview this afternoon and that I create
some interview questions on the person's experience.

What is C++ used for and why would a company benefit from someone who could
use it?

Why would you care if someone you want to hire knows something about C++
if you aren't doing anything with C++? Or are you hiring someone to
write some software and they are proposing to use C++?

 

[jeffc]

Personally, I would *never* even ask a candidate
whether they programmed in C++ or not.
Programming is a low level skill
which I would expect the candidate to "pick up"
in the first few weeks on the job.

Really... you'd expect them to "pick up" C++ in a few weeks.... OK.

 

[jeffc]

Really... you'd expect them to "pick up" C++ in a few weeks.... OK.

I just can't get over how ridiculous this is. It's like calling the ability
to perform laser surgery a "low level skill" - one that you'd never ask a
doctor about before hiring him. As long as he, like, knows all about body
parts, 'n' stuff.

 

[Howard]

I just can't get over how ridiculous this is. It's like calling the ability
to perform laser surgery a "low level skill" - one that you'd never ask a
doctor about before hiring him. As long as he, like, knows all about body
parts, 'n' stuff.

It's not so ridiculous! I actually tend to agree with Mr. Tisdale on this.
A truly good programmer should be able to pick up a new language rather
easily. Now, given the (at least potential) complexity of C++, I would
hardly expect the person to become a "good C++ programmer" in a few weeks,
but I would certainly expect him/her to be able to modify/maintain existing
code within that timeframe. Being a good programmer, in my book, includes
that ability. Critical thinking, problem solving, design, and being able to
work with the available tools...these are areas that make a good programmer.
(That's why good colleges don't concentrate on teaching a specific language,
but instead teach a broad spectrum of data structures, mathematics,
operating systems, hardware, etc.) If you can program well in Java, but
would have trouble programming in, say C++ or Pascal, then you're not really
a good programmer, you're just an experienced Java programmer.

Regarding your anaology, I'd say that's not accurate. A good surgeon, given
a few weeks training in the use of a laser surgery device, should be able to
do laser surgery. That's a better analogy, I think, and it applies equally
as well to a good programmer being able to use a new tool, such as C++.


-Howard

 

[RAY]

Thank you these are all great points from different angles -

So from what I gather, if you are going to put on your resume that you "have
5 years of C++ Beginner 1 experience" I could asset that this canidate
would possibly be able to pickup on/program say XML & Java? The person says
they have 3yrs exper in Intermediate Visual Basic.

Do these two programming languages work hand in hand, might this experience
be stretching the truth and/or are these two vary different and a great
quality that this person can use both?

How do I (as a non-programmer) know if the person's answers are true or if
they are stretching for answers (in the unknown)?

Thanks,

 

[E. Robert Tisdale]

How do I (as a non-programmer) know if the person's answers are true?
Or if they are stretching for answers (in the unknown)?

You don't.
You are a dishonest person so you suspect everyone else.
You don't know anything about C++ so you can't judge.
Stick to topics that you know something about
so that you can judge the candidate --
unless, of course, you have you boss fooled
and don't know anything about the business at all.

The right candidates should be able to tell you
how they can solve your problems.
And if they can convince you of that,
they can easily pick up C++ or whatever [language] is required.
If they can't, it doesn't matter how well they know C++.
They won't be able to help you.

 

[jeffc]

It's not so ridiculous! I actually tend to agree with Mr. Tisdale on this.
A truly good programmer should be able to pick up a new language rather
easily. Now, given the (at least potential) complexity of C++, I would
hardly expect the person to become a "good C++ programmer" in a few

weeks...

Exactly, which is why it's ridiculous not to ask about C++ programming.

 

[jeffc]

Regarding your anaology, I'd say that's not accurate. A good surgeon, given
a few weeks training in the use of a laser surgery device, should be able to
do laser surgery.

If you have a position for a laser surgeon, then it would be even more
ludicrous to hire just any doctor and hope he "picks it up", rather than
hiring an expert with extensive experience. Ridiculous. I can't believe
I'm hearing this.

 

[Howard]

weeks...

Exactly, which is why it's ridiculous not to ask about C++ programming.

Well, that's where I disagree with you. I'd rather have a truly good
programmer with little or no C++ experience than a mediocre C++ programmer.

In an interview, I'd ask questions related to programming in general
(although I'm not sure the OP knows anything about that subject in the first
place), and about problem solving, and about the projects they've worked on
(regardless of the language) and what problems they had and how those were
solved, etc. That's how to get a feel for whether someone's a good
programmer or not, as opposed to asking them specifics like what's the
size_t type for, or what would happen if you executed some bizarre line of
code full of pre- and post-increments, etc.

The best programmer we had on our team at my last job (except perhaps me
) had no experience whatsoever programming in Delphi (Pascal), which was
what we were using. We had him doing QA for our team for a few weeks,
including some code walkthrough stuff. In a few months, he turned out to be
the most productive member of our team. He even taught me stuff about a
language I thought I knew quite well. If we'd rejected him because he
wasn't a Delphi programmer, we'd have missed out on having a truly awesome
team member, and our final products would not have been anywhere near as
good.

-Howard

 

[Phlip]

my boss has asked I sit in on an interview this afternoon and that I create
some interview questions on the person's experience.

What is C++ used for

C++ is used for very large systems, such as a database or an OS, and for
extensions to those systems.

It is not good for the majority of the situations that most people here -
including me - use it for. It's not good for GUIs, small apps, or the glue
between apps. Plenty of language systems make writing those things easier,
but

and why would a company benefit from someone who could
use it?

A company that actually needs C++ would benefit from someone with the
experience needed to write it without the endless low-level bugs that
newbies create with it.

Now about your interviews. If I were a good fit for your job, you all still
might not be qualified to interview me. Someone who answers like this
newsgroup did might still not qualify, and someone who gives an excellent
answer might get bounced.

Focus on the problem y'all need solved. That's what I prefer my interviewers
do, so I needn't beat around the bush or guess at it.

 

[Howard]

able

If you have a position for a laser surgeon, then it would be even more
ludicrous to hire just any doctor and hope he "picks it up", rather than
hiring an expert with extensive experience. Ridiculous. I can't believe
I'm hearing this.

Speaking of ludicrous! Did I say "just any doctor", or that he or she would
just "pick it up"? No, I said a "good surgeon, given a few weeks training"!

Do you actually work in the real world? Many organizations retrain staff
from their own organization for specific tasks rather than try to hire an
unknown just because that unknown claims x number of years with the specific
tool or skill. And I'd bet any good manager would much rather have a truly
good programmer with little or no C+ experience than an average programer
with a few years C++ experience. Now, if an applicant meets BOTH
requirements, then you've struck gold!

As for interview questions, I'd ask C++ questions if the applicant claimed
C++ experience. I'd ask other questions if they claimed other experience.
The key is to find a good programmer, a good thinker, a good designer, and a
good team member. The specifics of any given language are far less
important than finding someone who can truly help solve your company's
specific problems.

-Howard

 

[Claudio Puviani]

It's not so ridiculous! I actually tend to agree with Mr. Tisdale on this.

You and Mr. Tisdale both are in disagreement with reality.

A truly good programmer should be able to pick up a new language rather
easily.

It's a repeatedly demonstrated and well-accepted fact that it takes a good,
experienced programmer an average of 6 months to become proficient in C++.

Now, given the (at least potential) complexity of C++, I would
hardly expect the person to become a "good C++ programmer"
in a few weeks,

Who, in their right mind, would hire someone who isn't going to be a good
programmer?

but I would certainly expect him/her to be able to modify/maintain
existing code within that timeframe.

Then your expectations are absurd. One can't properly maintain code in a
language that they don't understand. I've seen far too many examples of
intelligent and competent Java programmers who introduced all sorts of mayhem
(not the least of which were dozens of memory leaks) into C++ applications they
were asked to maintain.

Being a good programmer, in my book, includes that ability.
Critical thinking, problem solving, design,

It _includes_ those. It's not limited to them.

and being able to work with the available tools...

You can't use a tool you don't understand.

(That's why good colleges don't concentrate on teaching a specific
language, but instead teach a broad spectrum of data structures,
mathematics, operating systems, hardware, etc.)

To paraphrase Spock, "Fundamentals are the beginning of competence, not the
end."

If you can program well in Java, but would have trouble
programming in, say C++ or Pascal, then you're not really
a good programmer, you're just an experienced Java programmer.

Total, absolute, and unadulterated BULL. Tools and paradigms take time to learn
well. When they're not well understood, they're just dangerous.

Claudio Puviani

 

[Christopher Benson-Manica]

Well, that's where I disagree with you. I'd rather have a truly good
programmer with little or no C++ experience than a mediocre C++ programmer.

What if his language is FORTRAN? Or COBOL?

 

[Howard]

programmer.

What if his language is FORTRAN? Or COBOL?

Ok...what if it is? Is he good at it? I'd probably have trouble getting
much out of an interview with a COBOL programmer, admittedly, seeing as how
it's so different in its very nature from C++, Pascal, BASIC or FORTRAN (the
ones I'm most familiar with). So I'd probably talk about problem solving in
general, projects they've worked on, etc. I certainly wouldn't refuse to
interview them just because they used a different language in the past.
Unless of course I had such a wide pool of applicants to choose from that I
could truly afford to be so picky, which isn't likely in my experience.

-Howard

 

[Christopher Benson-Manica]

Ok...what if it is? Is he good at it? I'd probably have trouble getting
much out of an interview with a COBOL programmer, admittedly, seeing as how
it's so different in its very nature from C++, Pascal, BASIC or FORTRAN (the

IM(extremely)HO, hiring a COBOL programmer to do C++ is more likely to
result in COBOL-style C++ (perish the thought!) than anything else.

 

[Howard]

Total, absolute, and unadulterated BULL.

I see no reason to talk to me like this. You make some good points, but
they are drowned out by this kind of comment. This is hardly the way to
conduct a reasoned discussion, is it? And my opinion, regardless of what
your opinion is, is perfectly valid, not "unadulterated BULL". Either
discuss things civilly, or don't discuss them.

-Howard

 

[Howard]

(the

IM(extremely)HO, hiring a COBOL programmer to do C++ is more likely to
result in COBOL-style C++ (perish the thought!) than anything else.

I'd probably have to agree on that point. But skipping over a truly good
programmer just because they're not very familiar with C++ might be a
mistake, too!

-Howard

 

[bartek]

C++ is used for very large systems, such as a database or an OS, and
for extensions to those systems.

C++ is actually dominating the games market, isn't it?

Cheers!
b