Product Perfect

Alice is a 3D educational programming language developed by Carnegie Mellon University. It was first released in 1994 and is based on the Logo programming language. Alice is designed to teach introductory computer science concepts to students in a visual and interactive way. The language has been used in classrooms around the world and has been cited as a successful tool for teaching computer science.

Ask the right questions secure the right Alice talent among an increasingly shrinking pool of talent.

First 20 minutes

General Alice app knowledge and experience

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

How would you define object-oriented programming in Alice?

Object-oriented programming in Alice is a method of programming where we model real-world things using classes and objects. It allows for encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.

What are the key elements of Alice programming?

The key elements of Alice programming are objects, methods, events, and control structures.

Describe the difference between methods and functions in Alice.

Methods perform an action on an object, while functions return a value. In Alice, every method is a procedure and every function is a question.

How would you create a new method in Alice?

In Alice, a new method can be created by selecting the 'create new method' option in the methods tab of the details area. You can then name the method and define its behavior.

What is the purpose of the setup method in Alice?

The setup method in Alice is used to initialize the program. It's the first method that's called when the program runs.

The hiring guide has been successfully sent to your email address.

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

What you’re looking for early on

Has the candidate demonstrated a strong understanding of Alice programming?

Does the candidate show good problem-solving skills?

Has the candidate displayed effective communication skills?

Is the candidate able to think creatively?

Next 20 minutes

Specific Alice 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 create a new event in Alice?

To create a new event in Alice, you would go to the events tab and then click on 'create new event'. You can then define the event and its behavior.

What are the different types of control structures in Alice?

In Alice, the control structures are sequence, selection, and repetition. Sequence is the default control structure, selection includes if/else statements, and repetition includes loops.

Describe the difference between a single-line comment and a multi-line comment in Alice.

In Alice, a single-line comment is a note for a specific line of code, while a multi-line comment can span several lines. They're used to explain the code and are ignored by the compiler.

How would you use variables in Alice?

Variables in Alice can be used to store and manipulate data. They can be created by selecting the 'create new variable' option in the properties tab of the details area.

What is the difference between a local variable and a global variable in Alice?

In Alice, a local variable is only accessible within the method where it's declared, while a global variable can be accessed by any method in the program.

The hiring guide has been successfully sent to your email address.

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

At this point, a skilled Alice engineer should demonstrate strong problem-solving abilities, proficiency in Alice 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 Alice.

What does the following code do?
{ "name":"John", "age":30, "city":"New York" }
This code defines a JSON object with three properties: name, age, and city. The values of these properties are "John", 30, and "New York" respectively.
What will be the output of the following code?
{ "employees":[ {"firstName":"John", "lastName":"Doe"}, {"firstName":"Anna", "lastName":"Smith"}, {"firstName":"Peter", "lastName":"Jones"} ] }
The output is a JSON object that contains an array named 'employees'. This array has three elements, each of which is a JSON object with properties 'firstName' and 'lastName'.
What does the following code do?
{ "fruits": ["apple", "banana", "cherry"] }
This code defines a JSON object with a single property 'fruits'. The value of this property is an array containing three strings: "apple", "banana", and "cherry".
What will be the output of the following code?
{ "person": { "name": "John", "age": 30, "city": "New York", "cars": [ "Ford", "BMW", "Fiat" ] } }
The output is a JSON object that contains another JSON object named 'person'. This 'person' object has four properties: 'name', 'age', 'city', and 'cars'. The 'cars' property is an array containing three strings.

Wrap-up questions

Final candidate for Alice 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 Alice application deployments. Inquire about their experience in handling system failures and their approach to debugging and troubleshooting.

How would you use the 'Do in order' control structure in Alice?

The 'Do in order' control structure in Alice is used to execute a series of instructions in the order they appear. You can use it by dragging and dropping it into the method editor and then adding the instructions.

What is the purpose of the 'Do together' control structure in Alice?

The 'Do together' control structure in Alice is used to execute multiple instructions at the same time. It's useful for creating parallel actions.

How would you use the 'While' loop in Alice?

The 'While' loop in Alice is used to repeat a block of code while a certain condition is true. You can use it by dragging and dropping it into the method editor, defining the condition, and then adding the instructions.

Alice application related

Product Perfect's Alice development capabilities

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

Alice Consultive assessments

Alice Application Conversion Assessment Alice Application Integration Assessment Alice Data & Database Integration Assessment

Custom Alice development projects

Custom Alice App Conversion Alice Custom App Development Process App UI Design for Alice Facelifts

Hiring guide for Alice Engineers

Alice Developer Hiring Guide

What you’re looking for early on

The ideal back-end app developer

What you’re looking to see on the Alice engineer at this point.

Alice Consultive assessments

Custom Alice development projects