interview question

[Heinrich Pumpernickel]

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............

"why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

do u no the a to this q???

 

[Dave Vandervies]

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............

"why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

do u no the a to this q???

I doubt CLC is the place to get an answer to questions like that.
Most likely they were looking for an answer that would indicate some
combination of creative thought and ability to identify problems and
possible solutions.
This is as important a skill for programming-in-general (not specific
to C) as things like attention to detail or obsession with correctness
(things like using proper punctuation and capitalization, getting the name
of the language you're talking about right, and using standard English
when you're addressing English-speakers are usually good indicators
of those).


dave
(not sure what to pin a grasp of subtlety on, though)

 

[Keith Thompson]

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............

"why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

do u no the a to this q???

Do unicorns nominate the aardvark to this quagmire? I have no idea.
You might get better answers in alt.gibberish, if it existed.

Or try asking questions in actual English, and make sure any questions
you post here actually have something to do with C.

 

[dick]

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............

"why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

do u no the a to this q???

Yes, I know!

Go to the street to find a square cover and try to drop it into the
hole!

Do you have a high school diploma? you should know A^2+B^2=C^2.
Hence C>A when B>0.

|\
| \
|A \ C
| \
|_B__\

 

[Richard Heathfield]

Heinrich Pumpernickel said:

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............

"why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

To find out whether you're capable of answering an easy question without
going crawling to Usenet for help, and to determine whether you
understand the concept of binary representation.

do u no the a to this q???

Ah, now you've lost me.

 

[SM Ryan]

# i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............
#
# "why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

Because manholes are round. An equilateral triangle manhole would
be superior in some respects.

 

[Roberto Waltman]

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............
"why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"
do u no the a to this q???

No, but if you go near one and keep really really quiet, you may see
the man when he comes out to feed. Ask him ...

Roberto Waltman

[ Please reply to the group,
return address is invalid ]

 

[Eric Sosman]

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............

"why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

do u no the a to this q???

1) bcz ty !w fit othryz

2) its ezr

3) 5gonal cvs lk fny

4) 8gonal cvs stp trfk

5) ther nt

6) sxst pig shd b "personhole"

.... & thts >10 rezns quartal

 

[Philip Potter]

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............

"why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

do u no the a to this q???

Where I come from, manholes are mainly rectangular.

Phil

 

[stdazi]

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............

"why are manhole covers round? give at least 10 reasons"

do u no the a to this q???

The manhole is round to make sense to this question.

 

[Very.Little.Gravitas.Indeed]

The two answers to this question are.

A manhole cover is round because a circle has the greatest length
between its corners compared to other shapes, this means there is more
space you can utilise because tehre is more space between the corners.

A manhole cover is round because a man hole is round.

 

[Shadowman]

Heinrich Pumpernickel said:


To find out whether you're capable of answering an easy question without
going crawling to Usenet for help,

Or maybe he was applying for a job with the water & sewer department?

> and to determine whether you
understand the concept of binary representation.

That's kind of a dirty trick, don't you think? One could have a pretty
clear understanding of binary representation yet still not interpret 10
as binary when completely out of context, right? In most cases, written
numbers are understood to have a "default" base.

Or maybe it's just that I didn't get it at first

 

[Christopher Benson-Manica]

Heinrich Pumpernickel said:

That's kind of a dirty trick, don't you think? One could have a pretty
clear understanding of binary representation yet still not interpret 10
as binary when completely out of context, right? In most cases, written
numbers are understood to have a "default" base.

If the base of the number is something other than the obvious, what's
to suggest that the interviewer was not looking for 0x10 reasons
manhole covers are round?

(I think it's a lousy interview question unless it's asked in a
face-to-face, and even then it's not so great.)

 

[CBFalconer]

A manhole cover is round because a circle has the greatest length
between its corners compared to other shapes, this means there is
more space you can utilise because tehre is more space between the
corners.

This is only half right. The roundness prevents dropping it
through the manhole, and thus reduces the replacement costs.

 

[Al Balmer]

Heinrich Pumpernickel said:


To find out whether you're capable of answering an easy question without
going crawling to Usenet for help, and to determine whether you
understand the concept of binary representation.


Ah, now you've lost me.

 

[Al Balmer]

The two answers to this question are.

A manhole cover is round because a circle has the greatest length
between its corners compared to other shapes, this means there is more
space you can utilise because tehre is more space between the corners.

You may be trying to say that it requires the least material for a
given minimum dimension.

A manhole cover is round because a man hole is round.

Also, it can't fall through the hole (also true for the equilateral
triangle someone suggested.)

It's easy to roll.

Men are (more or less) round in cross-section.

 

[Keith Thompson]

Also, it can't fall through the hole (also true for the equilateral
triangle someone suggested.)

If the rim is sufficiently narrow and the cover sufficiently thin, you
can drop a triangular manhole cover into a triangular manhole. Set
the cover on edge, then lift it so that one edge is vertical. The
width of the cover is the distance from a vertex to the center of the
opposite side; this can fit through the hold along one edge.

This is easily avoided, though, by making the rim wide enough.

 

[Richard Tobin]

A manhole cover is round because a circle has the greatest length
between its corners compared to other shapes, this means there is
more space you can utilise because tehre is more space between the
corners.

[/QUOTE]

This is only half right. The roundness prevents dropping it
through the manhole, and thus reduces the replacement costs.

However, many manhole covers *aren't* round. All the ones near here
seem to be rectangular.

-- Richard

 

[Kenneth Brody]

i got this question in a c/c++ job interview............

"why are manhole covers round?

01) Because manhole holes are round!
10) It's the most efficient shape to let large-bellied workers
through.

give at least 10 reasons"

There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand
binary, and those who don't.

do u no the a to this q???

Can you translate that into English, please?

--
+-------------------------+--------------------+-----------------------+
| Kenneth J. Brody | www.hvcomputer.com | #include |
| kenbrody/at\spamcop.net | www.fptech.com | <std_disclaimer.h> |
+-------------------------+--------------------+-----------------------+
Don't e-mail me at: <mailto:[email protected]>

 

[Heinrich Pumpernickel]

You may be trying to say that it requires the least material for a
given minimum dimension.


Also, it can't fall through the hole (also true for the equilateral
triangle someone suggested.)

my boss sez thats !true b/c according to a^2 + b^2 = c^2 , in his
words ,

"the height of a equilateral triangle is 0.8660254 times its edge
length, so there's plenty of space left to accomodate for the
supporting rim and the cover's thickness, and still some space
left to allow it drop down.

what people really mean in this context is *reuleaux triangles*,
or really any reuleaux polygons with an uneven number of corners..."

It's easy to roll.

Men are (more or less) round in cross-section.

but !if they carry their equpment on their backs