Reply to: C++ Tests

Re: .

Reminds me of an interview I had with a twat from Philips in Cambridge.

It did not go well.

230 miles there, got lost, late, not even offered a glass of water, fecked the interview up then 230 miles back.

Never again.

.

That's where experience comes into the equation!

Experience doesn't help, lets face it how often have you implemented ->*. and the brainbench is full of obscure things that you normally don't use, plus they give you 1.5 minutes to answer each question, with all sorts of nasty obscure code rotating bits etc and bit arithmetic in recursive routines. Then there are the ambiguous jargon questions.

A $20 practice session will give you an idea

Re: which compiler

Especially if the C++ books were written by a certain H*rb Sch*ldt, allegedly.

Re: which compiler

The only way you can pass BrainBench (i.e. "guru" status ) is practice it. I can't believe that anybody would pass it cold even after reading c++ books.

That's where experience comes into the equation!

Re: which compiler

Just an addendum to BrainBench. I've subsequently passed the test after a second attempt only to be told by the interviewer in another department of the same company that their experience was that BrainBench wasn't a good indicator ! (surprise surprise:rolleyes ) and proceeded to give a somewhat better verbal test.

The only way you can pass BrainBench (i.e. "guru" status :rolleyes ) is practice it. I can't believe that anybody would pass it cold even after reading c++ books.

Hopefully they'll get rid of this BrainBench cos it's simply forcing everybody to pay about 50 dollars ago in practice runs just to pass it, not to mention sweat blood and toil.

Re: which compiler

Borland?

Not to my taste, Visual Studio V6.0 with SP5 and Processor pack. Don't use the latest Service Pack as you lose the ability to use the SIMD and MMX intrinsics.

Spod - In "you probably won't use them anyway....but" mode!

Re: which compiler

haw haw

Is borland the best one to download or bloodshed?

Re: which compiler

Cobol compiler

which compiler

Currently going through 'Accelerated C++' by koenig and moo. Need some advice as to which would be the best compiler to use.

Thanks

Re: Why do contractors insist on thinking like employees?

My advice would be that if you can't get through a standard C++ test when many others are doing so easily, then you should either look at another career or get learning it properly and charge your client less until you are experienced enough to up the rate.

I find that there is a big gap between "memory type questions" in tests and real world problem solving skills. A lot of people are getting good grades in tests because they became proficient in knowing how to pass tests, rather than solve real life problems.

Also, how many software projects use 100% of available features of a programming language as heavy as C++?

Re: Why do contractors insist on thinking like employees?

If you had to type in even 10% of the lines from scratch it would take ages.

STL anybody?

Re: Why do contractors insist on thinking like employees?

Quite true. Think I can code fairly fast in C++, VB, HTML or jscript but if I actually had to remember all the damn constructs not sure I'd do very well either. Coders just don't work like that, you copy that bit there, paste to there, stick in a bit from there, mod a bit, delete a bit. If you had to type in even 10% of the lines from scratch it would take ages.

Why do contractors insist on thinking like employees?

"I am glad you said that - my comment is this: why are you so concerned about having your memory checked? Good programmer is able to pick stuff on the fly, know how to use Google efficiently rather than remembering all features of the language of which he'd use 10% most of the time, at best."

This bemuses me.

If I was being asked to pay for a C++ person, I'd expect the guy to at least have a solid grasp of the language.
Why would I pay a plumber £60 per hour to work on a new type of pipe which he had rarely worked on?
Surely I'd get in a decent one who knew his stuff.

My advice would be that if you can't get through a standard C++ test when many others are doing so easily, then you should either look at another career or get learning it properly and charge your client less until you are experienced enough to up the rate.

Only employees should expect to be allowed to "learn on the job".

Re: comments

Get Scott Meyer's "Effective C++" and "More Effective C++" published by Addison Wesley. Invaluable.

Agree!

Very readable.

Re: comments

Stroustrup's bible is simply that and not the most helpful of reads.

Get Scott Meyer's "Effective C++" and "More Effective C++" published by Addison Wesley. Invaluable.

Cline and Lomow's "C++ FAQs" published again by Addison Wesley is quite an interesting read and probably more suited to test type questions.

Oh my god, "quite an interesting read", what for heaven's sake is wrong with me.