C++ Questionnaire

http://gotw.ca

Mock Programmer Test
C++ FAQ Lite
C++ FQA

You might want to check out this site: C++ Tutorial. It's great for brushing up on your skills because it covers a lot of advanced topics in C++. Anyways, I got a questionare for you. See if you can answer it.

How do you instantiate a template?

Derive an exception.

Who is the father of C++?

Describe how you would implement polymorphism in C++?

If you are using multiple inheritance then how would you call a super class function.

Describe virtualization.

Washu's C++ quizzes. Start at the bottom of the bottom of the page and work your way upward. Not every quiz has an 'aftermath' post, though: these were on his Gamedev journal, but I couldn't find it with a very quick Google.

These err more on the side of technical details about the language itself rather than design issues, though.

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http://gotw.ca

Definitely.

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Who is the father of C++?

This is irrelevant.

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If you are using multiple inheritance then how would you call a super class function.

The term is 'base class' in C++, most of the time.

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Describe virtualization.

The term 'virtualization' typically means something entirely different from 'virtual functions,' which is what I assume you're after, and you should use the latter since it is the more common and expected terminology.

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Washu's C++ quizzes. Start at the bottom of the bottom of the page and work your way upward. Not every quiz has an 'aftermath' post, though: these were on his Gamedev journal, but I couldn't find it with a very quick Google. These err more on the side of technical details about the language itself rather than design issues, though.

Washu's quizzes are great, are at the same time I wouldn't feel too bad if you can't get them, as most people cannot, including many of the people who would interview you.

You probably won't learn anything new in a few hours that you'll be able to apply (without looking like you just crammed for it), but hopefully reviewing the material will help solidify the things you do really know. Let us know how it goes.

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Original post by 51mon I got a C++ test for a game job in a few hour.

Go get a lunch, take a little nap, maybe take a walk.

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Original post by jpetrie Quote: Original post by TheUnbeliever Washu's C++ quizzes. Start at the bottom of the bottom of the page and work your way upward. Not every quiz has an 'aftermath' post, though: these were on his Gamedev journal, but I couldn't find it with a very quick Google. These err more on the side of technical details about the language itself rather than design issues, though. Washu's quizzes are great, are at the same time I wouldn't feel too bad if you can't get them, as most people cannot, including many of the people who would interview you.

Out of the 19 questions, I believe I got maybe one and a half of them. And one of those was question 2 in the first quiz, which is by far the easiest. My eyes glazed over just trying to read some of the code, let alone trying to understand what was happening.

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Original post by jpetrie Quote: Who is the father of C++? This is irrelevant.

It's probably not irrelevant if the interviewer asks this and the interviewer doesn't get a job because he can't answer it. Actually, I doubt (and hope) someone wouldn't get a job because of not being able to answer that and indeed, even if it is asked you are right it's irrelevant (I know what you really meant/not trying to be picky).

My point: Aren't C++ interview tests annoying, because quite often they have at least some questions that should be irrelevant. My biggest fear in taking a test is that someone puts something in it that is important to them, but completely irrelevant in the real world, or at worst case is something that can be corrected by asking them to read an item in C++ FAQ's or Effective C++. i.e. the fact that someone doesn't know about said topic shouldn't be an issue and is not worth judging them on.

Besides...Who is the father of C++? I can think of two answers here so I'm not sure what I would actually reply correctly. It's either 'Stroustrup' or 'C', right? :-)

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It's probably not irrelevant if the interviewer asks this and the interviewer doesn't get a job because he can't answer it. Actually, I doubt (and hope) someone wouldn't get a job because of not being able to answer that and indeed, even if it is asked you are right it's irrelevant (I know what you really meant/not trying to be picky).

Right, it's irrelevant because whether or not you know it has zero bearing on what your skill level with C++ is. And anybody who won't hire you because you don't know the answer isn't worth working for, in my opinion. Remember you're interviewing them, too.

Seeing the attitude/reaction of a candidate faced with a totally irrelevant question can be interesting, though.

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Original post by lmelior Quote: Original post by jpetrie Quote: Original post by TheUnbeliever Washu's C++ quizzes. Start at the bottom of the bottom of the page and work your way upward. Not every quiz has an 'aftermath' post, though: these were on his Gamedev journal, but I couldn't find it with a very quick Google. These err more on the side of technical details about the language itself rather than design issues, though. Washu's quizzes are great, are at the same time I wouldn't feel too bad if you can't get them, as most people cannot, including many of the people who would interview you. Out of the 19 questions, I believe I got maybe one and a half of them. And one of those was question 2 in the first quiz, which is by far the easiest. My eyes glazed over just trying to read some of the code, let alone trying to understand what was happening.

I retract my previous statement, I got exactly zero of them correct. Nothing like a thorough pwning for a lesson in humility.

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Original post by lmelior I retract my previous statement, I got exactly zero of them correct. Nothing like a thorough pwning for a lesson in humility.

Don't feel bad, most "professional" programmers don't most of the questions right either. Just take the lesson to heart though, C++ is not a trivial language, and it certainly is not a language for beginners.

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Right, it's irrelevant because whether or not you know it has zero bearing on what your skill level with C++ is. And anybody who won't hire you because you don't know the answer isn't worth working for, in my opinion. Remember you're interviewing them, too.

Not that I've had many job interviews, but of the dozen I've sat through most of the questions I've been asked were essentially irrelevant. A human resources person once told me of a study which claimed that a random sampling of job applicants performed better on average than those filtered by interviewing.

One of the first things I noticed when I actually had to interview people was how many apparently skilled people (PhDs, semi-famous people, people with very impressive prior experience, etc) failed at answering relatively straightforward questions. It seemed a little odd to me, so I asked the same questions to the office intern (english major who took a programming class once) and an artist (occasionally scripted web pages) who both answered more successfully than *any* of the dozen professionals I had interviewed.

Deciding whether someone understands something or has the ability to perform a job well is non-trivial, most likely extremely difficult.

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Original post by jdindia Quote: Right, it's irrelevant because whether or not you know it has zero bearing on what your skill level with C++ is. And anybody who won't hire you because you don't know the answer isn't worth working for, in my opinion. Remember you're interviewing them, too. Not that I've had many job interviews, but of the dozen I've sat through most of the questions I've been asked were essentially irrelevant. A human resources person once told me of a study which claimed that a random sampling of job applicants performed better on average than those filtered by interviewing. One of the first things I noticed when I actually had to interview people was how many apparently skilled people (PhDs, semi-famous people, people with very impressive prior experience, etc) failed at answering relatively straightforward questions. It seemed a little odd to me, so I asked the same questions to the office intern (english major who took a programming class once) and an artist (occasionally scripted web pages) who both answered more successfully than *any* of the dozen professionals I had interviewed. Deciding whether someone understands something or has the ability to perform a job well is non-trivial, most likely extremely difficult.

It was around the time that I was tutoring a masters student in CS when I wasn't finished my degree that I realized that university is a business and that ultimately it is there to inspire academia for academia's sake to keep you paying them for years. This does not mean that it attempts to prepare students for real world situations at all, it implies the opposite.

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Original post by jdindia One of the first things I noticed when I actually had to interview people was how many apparently skilled people (PhDs,

You get two people to show up at your Al's Used Cars and Garage.
- A greasemonkey who's been fixing up cars for 20 years, ever since he started on his dad's 1973 chevy
- A F1 fuel intake specialist and PhD in polymer synthesis

Who will be more effective at your job?

Most software companies are just Used Car Dealers. They simply have nothing to offer to a PhD. They want cheap, expendable greasemonkeys, skill is optional. There's obviously exceptions, but they are far and few in between.

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so I asked the same questions to the office intern (english major who took a programming class once) and an artist (occasionally scripted web pages) who both answered more successfully than *any* of the dozen professionals I had interviewed.

Go into a medical building, then round up 30 people in white coats. Ask them some relevant questions (the type found in such questionaieres):
- what color is blood?
- how many arms does an average person have?
- if Jack and Jill ran up the hill, who arrived first and why?
- How do you spell vaccine?
- What is 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine

Then use the results of such test to determine who of these people is an internationally renowned neurosurgeon.

(btw, in reality, it would be simple. the neurosurgeon would be the one who would get securty called upon you, and have you thrown permanently out of their private clinic after billing you $500 for the time).