Code on the whiteboard is counterproductive at best.
Let's hook up your laptop to the projector so I can get a glimpse of how you interact with your computer. I learn more about you by seeing your relationship with your text editor, how you look up information you can't remember, etc. Not watching you sweat with a marker in your hand.
well a programmer that is coding a linked list in c/c++ probably(definitely) should know the pointer semantics. If they are looking that up then they should be a pass unless you are looking for a really junior programmer. Now if you are asking them to connect to a db and update a record with a stored procedure and they looked up the syntax for a db connection to a mysql database then you know they are fairly proficient at that type of coding but just forgot the exact syntax of a db connection because it's not something done every day whereas any c programmer worth their salt should know basic pointer rules.
Any language I have not used for a while get’s tossed out of the buffer, and I need to lookup even the most basic of syntax when I start coding in it. Once I get going I can easily recall if it’s *, &, ->, or ^ but at the start I really do need a refresher.
PS: Oddly enough, I have little issue working on a multi language programs, it's just I think in terms of pointer not C pointer.
My laptop is for reading email and surfing the web in hotel rooms. Occasionally I program on it when I don't have a choice, but I'm far less productive than on my regular workstation, both because of the ergonomic problems and because I haven't invested the time to set up all my usual software the way I like it. (Am I a dinosaur? Does everyone else have a laptop as his primary machine these days?)
As a college student I have noticed many of my peers have to make the choice between a desktop and a laptop. The laptops often win because of their ability to be carried to classes and to collaborate with peers. Having a whiteboard to collaborate on at school and a computer right there to program on afterwards is very nice.
Comments
Code on the whiteboard is counterproductive at best.
Let's hook up your laptop to the projector so I can get a glimpse of how you interact with your computer. I learn more about you by seeing your relationship with your text editor, how you look up information you can't remember, etc. Not watching you sweat with a marker in your hand.
I learn more about you by seeing your relationship with your text editor
Are you sure you are not just learning whether the candidate is superficially similar to you?
well a programmer that is coding a linked list in c/c++ probably(definitely) should know the pointer semantics. If they are looking that up then they should be a pass unless you are looking for a really junior programmer. Now if you are asking them to connect to a db and update a record with a stored procedure and they looked up the syntax for a db connection to a mysql database then you know they are fairly proficient at that type of coding but just forgot the exact syntax of a db connection because it's not something done every day whereas any c programmer worth their salt should know basic pointer rules.
Any language I have not used for a while get’s tossed out of the buffer, and I need to lookup even the most basic of syntax when I start coding in it. Once I get going I can easily recall if it’s *, &, ->, or ^ but at the start I really do need a refresher.
PS: Oddly enough, I have little issue working on a multi language programs, it's just I think in terms of pointer not C pointer.
My laptop is for reading email and surfing the web in hotel rooms. Occasionally I program on it when I don't have a choice, but I'm far less productive than on my regular workstation, both because of the ergonomic problems and because I haven't invested the time to set up all my usual software the way I like it. (Am I a dinosaur? Does everyone else have a laptop as his primary machine these days?)
As a college student I have noticed many of my peers have to make the choice between a desktop and a laptop. The laptops often win because of their ability to be carried to classes and to collaborate with peers. Having a whiteboard to collaborate on at school and a computer right there to program on afterwards is very nice.