Product Perfect

The Clipper, a type of sailing ship, was developed in the United States during the mid-19th century. Known for their speed and sleek design, clippers were primarily used for transporting goods such as tea from China and gold from California (Britannica). The term "clipper" originated from the phrase "to clip it off," referring to their swift movement through water (Maritime Museum of San Diego). Clippers revolutionized maritime trade by significantly reducing travel time across oceans. Despite being replaced by steamships later on due to technological advancements, clippers remain an iconic symbol of maritime history.

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

First 20 minutes

General Clipper app knowledge and experience

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

How would you install Clipper on your system?

You can install Clipper through its package manager, Clip. To install Clipper, you would first need to install Clip, and then use Clip to install Clipper.

What are some common data types used in Clipper?

Clipper uses a variety of data types, such as numeric, date, logical, character, and memo.

How would you declare a variable in Clipper?

In Clipper, you can declare a variable using the PRIVATE or PUBLIC keyword followed by the variable name.

What are the uses of the SET command in Clipper?

The SET command in Clipper is used to control various system settings and behaviors, such as the decimal separator, date format, and printer settings.

Describe the difference between PRIVATE and PUBLIC variables in Clipper.

In Clipper, PRIVATE variables are only accessible within the procedure or function in which they are declared, while PUBLIC variables are accessible from any procedure or function.

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What you’re looking for early on

Does the candidate have a solid understanding of Clipper programming language?

Has the candidate demonstrated problem-solving skills?

Can the candidate communicate effectively?

Has the candidate shown experience with database management?

Next 20 minutes

Specific Clipper 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 handle errors in Clipper?

Clipper provides several mechanisms for handling errors, such as the ON ERROR command, which allows you to specify a procedure to be executed when an error occurs.

What are some of the database functions available in Clipper?

Clipper provides a wide range of database functions, such as USE, SELECT, APPEND, DELETE, RECALL, REPLACE, and others.

How would you create a database file in Clipper?

You can create a database file in Clipper using the CREATE command followed by the name of the file.

Describe the difference between the USE and SELECT commands in Clipper.

In Clipper, the USE command is used to open a database file, while the SELECT command is used to choose the active work area.

How would you handle multiple work areas in Clipper?

Clipper allows you to handle multiple work areas using the SELECT command. You can switch between different work areas by using SELECT followed by the work area number.

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

What does this simple Clipper code do?
PROCEDURE Main()
  ? 'Hello, World!'
RETURN
This code prints 'Hello, World!' to the console.
What does this Clipper code do?
PROCEDURE Main()
  LOCAL nNumber := 10
  @ 10, 10 SAY 'The number is ' + STR(nNumber)
RETURN
This code declares a local variable 'nNumber' and assigns it a value of 10. It then prints 'The number is 10' at the position 10,10 on the screen.
What does this Clipper code do?
PROCEDURE Main()
  LOCAL aArray := {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
  AEVAL(aArray, {|x| ? x})
RETURN
This code declares an array 'aArray' with 5 elements. It then uses the AEVAL() function to iterate over each element in the array and print it to the console.
What does this Clipper code do?
PROCEDURE Main()
  LOCAL nCount := 0
  DO WHILE nCount < 10
    ? 'Count is ' + STR(nCount)
    nCount := nCount + 1
  ENDDO
RETURN
This code declares a local variable 'nCount' and assigns it a value of 0. It then enters a loop where it prints the current count to the console and increments 'nCount' by 1. The loop continues until 'nCount' is no longer less than 10.

Wrap-up questions

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

What are the uses of the INDEX command in Clipper?

The INDEX command in Clipper is used to create an index file for a database file, which can improve the speed of data retrieval.

How would you create an index file in Clipper?

You can create an index file in Clipper using the INDEX command followed by the name of the index file and the expression to be indexed.

Describe the difference between the INDEX and SEEK commands in Clipper.

In Clipper, the INDEX command is used to create an index file, while the SEEK command is used to search for a specific record in the database using the index.

Clipper application related

Product Perfect's Clipper development capabilities

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

Clipper Consultive assessments

Clipper Application Conversion Assessment Clipper Application Integration Assessment Clipper Data & Database Integration Assessment

Custom Clipper development projects

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

Hiring guide for Clipper Engineers

Clipper Developer Hiring Guide

What you’re looking for early on

The ideal back-end app developer

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

Clipper Consultive assessments

Custom Clipper development projects