Hiring guide for ALGOL 68RS+ Engineers

ALGOL 68RS+ Developer Hiring Guide

ALGOL 68RS+ is an advanced version of the ALGOL 68 programming language, developed by the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment in the UK. This language was a significant milestone in computer science, as it introduced several innovative features such as flexible arrays and parallel processing. It was widely used in scientific computing and system programming during the late 20th century. The development of ALGOL 68RS+ contributed to the evolution of modern programming languages like C, Java, and Python. The information about this influential language can be found in historical documents from RSRE and various computer science literature.

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

First 20 minutes

General ALGOL 68RS+ app knowledge and experience

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

How would you define the ALGOL 68RS+ language?
ALGOL 68RS+ is an extension of the ALGOL 68 programming language, which is designed for system programming and numerical computation. It includes additional features such as the ability to define new data types and operators.
What are the key features of ALGOL 68RS+?
Some of the key features of ALGOL 68RS+ include strong typing, block structure, nested functions, recursion, and concurrency.
Describe the difference between ALGOL 68 and ALGOL 68RS+.
ALGOL 68RS+ is an extension of ALGOL 68. It includes additional features such as the ability to define new data types and operators, which are not available in the original ALGOL 68.
How would you handle errors in ALGOL 68RS+?
In ALGOL 68RS+, errors can be handled using the 'on error' statement, which allows the programmer to specify what action should be taken when an error occurs.
What are the data types available in ALGOL 68RS+?
ALGOL 68RS+ supports a variety of data types, including integer, real, complex, boolean, character, and string. It also allows the definition of new data types.
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What you’re looking for early on

Does the candidate have a solid understanding of ALGOL 68RS+ syntax and semantics?
Has the candidate demonstrated problem-solving skills during the interview?
Is the candidate able to explain complex concepts in a simple and understandable manner?
Does the candidate have experience with other programming languages as well?

Next 20 minutes

Specific ALGOL 68RS+ 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 implement recursion in ALGOL 68RS+?
Recursion in ALGOL 68RS+ can be implemented by defining a function that calls itself. The function must include a base case to prevent infinite recursion.
Describe the difference between strong typing and weak typing in the context of ALGOL 68RS+.
In ALGOL 68RS+, strong typing means that the type of a variable is checked at compile time, and any type mismatches are reported as errors. Weak typing, on the other hand, allows variables to be automatically coerced to different types, which can lead to unexpected behavior.
What are the control structures available in ALGOL 68RS+?
ALGOL 68RS+ supports a variety of control structures, including if-then-else, case, for, while, and until.
How would you implement concurrency in ALGOL 68RS+?
Concurrency in ALGOL 68RS+ can be implemented using the 'par' statement, which allows multiple processes to be executed in parallel.
Describe the difference between block structure and flat structure in the context of ALGOL 68RS+.
In ALGOL 68RS+, block structure refers to the organization of code into nested blocks, each with its own scope. Flat structure, on the other hand, does not have any nesting or scope rules.
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The ideal back-end app developer

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

At this point, a skilled ALGOL 68RS+ engineer should demonstrate strong problem-solving abilities, proficiency in ALGOL 68RS+ 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 68RS+.

What does this simple ALGOL 68RS+ code do?
BEGIN
  INT a := 5;
  INT b := 10;
  INT c := a + b;
  print((c, new line))
END
This code declares two integer variables 'a' and 'b', assigns them the values 5 and 10 respectively, then adds them together and assigns the result to a third variable 'c'. It then prints the value of 'c' to the console, which will be 15.
What will be the output of this ALGOL 68RS+ code?
BEGIN
  REAL x := 3.14;
  REAL y := 2.71;
  REAL z := x * y;
  print((z, new line))
END
This code multiplies two real numbers 3.14 and 2.71 and assigns the result to a variable 'z'. It then prints the value of 'z' to the console, which will be approximately 8.5094.
What does this ALGOL 68RS+ code do with an array?
BEGIN
  [1:5]INT arr := (1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
  FOR i FROM LWB arr TO UPB arr DO
    arr[i] := arr[i] * 2;
  OD
  print((arr, new line))
END
This code declares an array 'arr' of integers with 5 elements. It then loops over the array and multiplies each element by 2. The modified array is then printed to the console, which will be (2, 4, 6, 8, 10).
What does this ALGOL 68RS+ code do with concurrency?
BEGIN
  SEMA s := INIT SEMA(1);
  PAR BEGIN
    DOWN(s);
    print(('Thread 1', new line));
    UP(s);
  END,
  BEGIN
    DOWN(s);
    print(('Thread 2', new line));
    UP(s);
  END
END
This code creates a semaphore 's' with an initial value of 1. It then starts two concurrent threads. Each thread first performs a DOWN operation on the semaphore, prints a message to the console, and then performs an UP operation on the semaphore. The semaphore ensures that the two threads do not print their messages at the same time.

Wrap-up questions

Final candidate for ALGOL 68RS+ 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 68RS+ application deployments. Inquire about their experience in handling system failures and their approach to debugging and troubleshooting.

What are the operator precedence rules in ALGOL 68RS+?
In ALGOL 68RS+, operator precedence is determined by the order of operations. Multiplication and division have higher precedence than addition and subtraction. Operators with the same precedence are evaluated from left to right.
How would you define a new data type in ALGOL 68RS+?
In ALGOL 68RS+, a new data type can be defined using the 'mode' keyword, followed by the name of the new type and its definition.
Describe the difference between static and dynamic typing in the context of ALGOL 68RS+.
In ALGOL 68RS+, static typing means that the type of a variable is determined at compile time, while dynamic typing allows the type of a variable to change at runtime.

ALGOL 68RS+ application related

Product Perfect's ALGOL 68RS+ development capabilities

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