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ALGOL 68G is a historical computer programming language developed in the late 1970s at the University of Salford in England. It was an implementation of ALGOL 68, a high-level universal language designed by IFIP WG2.1 and standardized by ISO. The 'G' stands for 'gebruikersgroep', Dutch for user group, referencing its development under the auspices of the British Computer Society's ALGOL 68 committee. This software provided significant influence on many modern programming languages such as Pascal and C++. Its development marked an important milestone in computer science history (Source: "History of Programming Languages", O'Reilly Media).

Ask the right questions secure the right ALGOL 68G talent among an increasingly shrinking pool of talent.

First 20 minutes

General ALGOL 68G app knowledge and experience

The first 20 minutes of the interview should seek to understand the candidate's general background in ALGOL 68G application development, including their experience with various programming languages, databases, and their approach to designing scalable and maintainable systems.

How would you define ALGOL 68G?

ALGOL 68G is an implementation of the ALGOL 68 programming language that is designed to be portable and easy to install on a wide range of computer systems.

What are the key features of ALGOL 68G?

Some of the key features of ALGOL 68G include its strong typing, block structure, nested functions, and the ability to define new data types.

Describe the difference between ALGOL 68G and other ALGOL versions.

ALGOL 68G is a more modern and portable implementation of the ALGOL 68 language, with additional features such as improved error handling and debugging facilities.

How would you declare a variable in ALGOL 68G?

In ALGOL 68G, a variable is declared using the 'INT' keyword followed by the variable name, for example: 'INT a'.

What are the data types available in ALGOL 68G?

ALGOL 68G supports a variety of data types, including integers, real numbers, booleans, characters, and arrays.

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What you’re looking for early on

Does the candidate have a strong understanding of ALGOL 68G?

Has the applicant demonstrated problem-solving skills?

Does the candidate have experience with similar programming languages?

Has the candidate shown an ability to work as part of a team?

Next 20 minutes

Specific ALGOL 68G development questions

The next 20 minutes of the interview should focus on the candidate's expertise with specific backend frameworks, their understanding of RESTful APIs, and their experience in handling data storage and retrieval efficiently.

How would you write a 'for' loop in ALGOL 68G?

In ALGOL 68G, a 'for' loop is written as 'FOR i TO n DO ... OD', where 'i' is the loop variable, 'n' is the end value, and '...' is the code to be executed in each iteration.

Describe the difference between a 'for' loop and a 'while' loop in ALGOL 68G.

A 'for' loop in ALGOL 68G executes a block of code a specific number of times, while a 'while' loop executes a block of code as long as a certain condition is true.

What are the control structures available in ALGOL 68G?

ALGOL 68G provides several control structures, including 'if' statements, 'case' statements, 'for' loops, 'while' loops, and 'until' loops.

How would you handle exceptions in ALGOL 68G?

ALGOL 68G does not have built-in support for exception handling, but errors can be handled using conditional statements and error checking functions.

What are the main uses of ALGOL 68G?

ALGOL 68G is primarily used for scientific computing, but it can also be used for general purpose programming.

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At this point, a skilled ALGOL 68G engineer should demonstrate strong problem-solving abilities, proficiency in ALGOL 68G programming language, and knowledge of software development methodologies. Red flags include lack of hands-on experience, inability to articulate complex concepts, or unfamiliarity with standard coding practices.

Digging deeper

Code questions

These will help you see the candidate's real-world development capabilities with ALGOL 68G.

What does this simple ALGOL 68G code do?
BEGIN
  INT i := 5;
  PRINT((i + 10));
END
This code declares an integer variable 'i', assigns it a value of 5, and then prints the result of adding 10 to 'i', which is 15.
What will be the output of this ALGOL 68G code?
BEGIN
  REAL x := 3.14;
  REAL y := 2.0;
  PRINT((x * y));
END
This code declares two real variables 'x' and 'y', assigns them the values 3.14 and 2.0 respectively, and then prints the result of multiplying 'x' by 'y', which is 6.28.
What does this ALGOL 68G code do with an array?
BEGIN
  [3]INT a := (1, 2, 3);
  FOR i TO UPB a DO
    PRINT((a[i]));
  OD
END
This code declares an integer array 'a' with 3 elements, assigns it the values 1, 2, and 3, and then prints each element of the array using a FOR loop.
What does this ALGOL 68G code do with threading?
BEGIN
  SEMA s := NEW SEMA;
  PAR BEGIN
    DOWN(s);
    PRINT(('Thread 1'));
    UP(s);
  END,
  BEGIN
    DOWN(s);
    PRINT(('Thread 2'));
    UP(s);
  END
END
This code creates a semaphore 's' and two threads. Each thread first lowers the semaphore, prints its thread number, and then raises the semaphore. This ensures that the threads do not print their numbers at the same time.

Wrap-up questions

Final candidate for ALGOL 68G Developer role questions

The final few questions should evaluate the candidate's teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills. Additionally, assess their knowledge of microservices architecture, serverless computing, and how they handle ALGOL 68G application deployments. Inquire about their experience in handling system failures and their approach to debugging and troubleshooting.

How would you write a function in ALGOL 68G?

In ALGOL 68G, a function is written as 'PROC (parameters) TYPE: (body)', where 'parameters' are the function parameters, 'TYPE' is the return type, and 'body' is the function body.

Describe the difference between pass by value and pass by reference in ALGOL 68G.

In ALGOL 68G, pass by value means that a copy of the argument is passed to the function, while pass by reference means that a reference to the argument is passed, allowing the function to modify the original value.

What are the operators available in ALGOL 68G?

ALGOL 68G supports a wide range of operators, including arithmetic operators, comparison operators, logical operators, and bitwise operators.

ALGOL 68G application related

Product Perfect's ALGOL 68G development capabilities

Beyond hiring for your ALGOL 68G engineering team, you may be in the market for additional help. Product Perfect provides seasoned expertise in ALGOL 68G projects, and can engage in multiple capacities.

ALGOL 68G Consultive assessments

ALGOL 68G Application Conversion Assessment ALGOL 68G Application Integration Assessment ALGOL 68G Data & Database Integration Assessment

Custom ALGOL 68G development projects

Custom ALGOL 68G App Conversion ALGOL 68G Custom App Development Process App UI Design for ALGOL 68G Facelifts

Hiring guide for ALGOL 68G Engineers

ALGOL 68G Developer Hiring Guide

What you’re looking for early on

The ideal back-end app developer

What you’re looking to see on the ALGOL 68G engineer at this point.

ALGOL 68G Consultive assessments

Custom ALGOL 68G development projects