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Actually had
3. the optimum number of moves a chess knight must make to get from (0, 0) to (m, n)
in a class forty years ago. Did not get it then either. 
Mongo: Mongo only pawn... in game of life.
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Maybe TopTal is looking for people to work on their chess app for (very low memory) embedded systems.
Knowing how to play chess with the least amount of moves and bits is really important in such solutions! 
That's really the only logical explanation I have for such screening processes anyway.
That and "company policy states we screen at least x candidates every month."
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My last coding test was done via codility that had 3 problems too. I solved the first one, and Codility reported it couldn't be bettered (performance, correctness). Solved the second one as well, but it nitpicked on some edge cases (wouldn't tell me what the test cases are) and as a result the score was a little less. I simply didn't have enough time to do anything with the third one.
I sent a detailed email to the hiring manager (who is a developer as well), and included my code in it. I was asked to come for a face to face interview and coding test later in the week, which was a very well structured code interview with two top nerds. I was offered after the interview, and I now work here.
But I do understand there may be companies who use sites like codility as their sole interview (or coding test) tool, which is rather sad. I have interviewed with a few such companies, and was told by one of them that I simply didn't make the cut. A year later, the same recruiter called me up to check if I was looking for a job change (I told him off) because they still haven't "filled that position". No wonder.
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years ago I ran a group for telcomm. We did a lot of bit twiddling.
Q1) what is the largest unsigned number in a byte?
Many a candidate with a masters degree in Comp Sci just stared at me.
After 60 seconds, I walked them through 2^8-1, etc. Oh, their faces brightened.
spoiler: 255 for all you java and vb dudes out there 
Q2) what is the largest unsigned in a word?
clarification: yes, 16 bits, 2 bytes.
anyone want to guess how many times candidates said 510? 
Algorithms knowledge should show some basic understanding of the tools available to you. But I've dealt with enough bullshit magic code from really smart people over the last 5 years I want to take that algorithm book and shove it some place...
If you're looking for a job, you need a network. I hope Marc learned his lesson. These questions are just stupid crap. Go look at the way Windows 7 does recursive dependency evaluation for patch updates. There's a guy that knows his algorithms - very useful for polishing a turd.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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Remember our discussion on how developers are like players on a sports team? Here we go again!
Haven't yet found an objective way to measure a developer's abilities so the whole exercise of trying to test candidates is pointless.
Developers respond to different problems in different ways. There isn't always the 'right' answer. Developers have good days and bad days; their programming form comes and goes. Some are really good at parsing strings. Others are really good at implementing user interfaces. Some developers do well in a particular team. Others crash and burn because of a personality clash. Some enjoy being under pressure, or turning out a solution quickly. Others want to take the time to get the best solution possible. Some are good at testing. Others at finding and fixing obscure faults. Most are crap at writing good documentation. Nearly every one has their own interpretation of what requirements mean. Or what makes good UI design ....
The most corrosive aspect of testing, or trying to compare developers, is that it can erode a developer's confidence in their own skills. Just like a striker on a soccer team, confidence is a major component of success. You can't measure that.
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I've always been under the impression that these tests are less for skill assessment and more for liability prevention. Someone, somewhere needs to find a legally defensible way of telling you "no".
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I agree that TopTal sucks. I thought they had some kind of system or process of their own for evaluating the skill level of programmers, but relying on one automated test with no human oversight is pretty stupid.
However I see no problem regarding Codility. There are multiple things you would want to look for in a programmer. The things you mentioned, such as OOP practices, DB architecture and similar technical abilities are usually evaluated thoroughly in the technical interview. I believe TestDome may have some more technical questions than Codility, but then again both platforms have lots of test questions so they may have both kinds. But for some programming positions, evaluating the ability to think algorithmically and figure out the "trick" can be crucial. This can be necessary in AI programming for example.
The problem here is not the tests themselves, but the way they are administered, and to whom. A test and it's questions may be useful for some candidates applying to certain positions but may be useless in other contexts. Another important factor is to not rely solely on the automatically evaluated results of these tests, but to have an actual developer look at the code. Not to mention that these tests are not meant to be the sole proof of someone's skill, but are generally intended to be one part of the screening process, where the technical interview usually follows.
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I took the toptal test as well and ended up failing due to "additional" requirements not shown on the test.
Of course the test itself is, as you point out, really just a series of questions that have no meaning related to programming.
It's too bad that companies fall into these traps of thinking that tricky math questions can show whether you can program or not. I myself tried this in the past with people I hired, and found out the hard way that you end up with people who show off well, but do not have good coding skills.
mvarey
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Marc Clifton wrote: the point in which in an array, the count of X from the left != count of X from the right.
Count of X as in the number of times X appears?
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I hire online developers (in a small way).
My teenage son (a keen developer), a couple years back, tried to get me to hire people from TopTal.
"No way", I said, "they are all pose".
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I submitted that to Urban Dictionary: a tech support person that behaves like a bot by asking canned questions, reading the replies, and clicking on canned responses. 
Marc
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Increasingly common, sad to say..
'PLAN' is NOT one of those four-letter words.
'When money talks, nobody listens to the customer anymore.'
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Perhaps "Eliza" would be a good synonym...
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Also - "Thoughtomaton" - operative who can do their job without independent thought
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Pertebot - Tech person acting like bot.
The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.
Paul Valery
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I think Apple calls it Siri.
When you are dead, you won't even know that you are dead. It's a pain only felt by others.
Same thing when you are stupid.
modified 19-Nov-21 21:01pm.
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How about botson instead? 
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Is Peter Pan always flying because he can Neverland?
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Always flying? He must be Hooked on something.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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It's because he's lost, boy.
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
--Winston Churchill
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Wendy'd that happen?
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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I'd tell you, but a crocodile ate my clock.
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We need to Barrie this thread.
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It was a translitteration error of the chinese dubber: Pan should always fry.
DURA LEX, SED LEX
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver
When I was six, there were no ones and zeroes - only zeroes. And not all of them worked. -- Ravi Bhavnani
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Disney have anything better to do?
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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