Product Perfect

The Curry programming language, named after logician Haskell B. Curry, is a declarative multi-paradigm language that integrates functional, logic and concurrent programming paradigms. It was developed in the late 1990s by Michael Hanus as part of an academic research project at the University of Kiel in Germany. The language's primary aim is to amalgamate features from functional and logic languages to improve expressiveness and flexibility for software development tasks. Its unique feature includes non-deterministic functions which allow multiple results for a single function call - a concept borrowed from logic programming languages like Prolog. Today, it continues to be used primarily within academia for teaching purposes and theoretical computer science research.

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

First 20 minutes

General Curry app knowledge and experience

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

What is the main feature of Curry programming language?

The main feature of Curry is that it combines functional, logic, and concurrent programming paradigms.

How would you define a function in Curry?

In Curry, a function is defined by an equation between patterns. For example, 'f x y = x + y' defines a function f that takes two arguments and returns their sum.

What are the basic data types in Curry?

The basic data types in Curry are Int, Float, Char, and Bool.

How would you use conditional expressions in Curry?

Conditional expressions in Curry are written as 'if...then...else...' expressions. For example, 'if x > y then x else y' returns the maximum of x and y.

Describe the difference between functional and logic programming.

Functional programming is about building and evaluating mathematical functions, while logic programming is about making logical inferences. Curry combines these two paradigms.

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

Does the candidate have a strong understanding of Curry programming language?

Has the candidate demonstrated problem-solving skills?

Is the candidate able to communicate effectively?

Does the candidate have experience with functional and logic programming?

Next 20 minutes

Specific Curry 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 define a data type in Curry?

In Curry, a data type is defined by a type declaration. For example, 'data Bool = True | False' defines a Boolean data type.

What are the higher-order functions in Curry?

Higher-order functions in Curry are functions that can take other functions as arguments or return functions as results. Examples include map, filter, and foldr.

How would you use list comprehensions in Curry?

List comprehensions in Curry are written as '[e | x <- xs, p x]', where 'e' is an expression, 'xs' is a list, and 'p x' is a predicate. This returns a list of all 'e' such that 'p x' holds for some 'x' in 'xs'.

Describe the difference between eager and lazy evaluation.

Eager evaluation means that expressions are evaluated as soon as they are bound to variables, while lazy evaluation means that expressions are evaluated only when their values are needed. Curry supports both evaluation strategies.

How would you define a module in Curry?

In Curry, a module is defined by a module declaration. For example, 'module Main where' defines a module named Main.

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

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

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

What does this simple Curry code do?
add x y = x + y
This code defines a function named 'add' that takes two arguments, 'x' and 'y', and returns their sum.
What will be the output of this Curry code?
let x = 5 in x * x
This code will output 25. It defines a local variable 'x' with a value of 5, then multiplies 'x' by itself.
What does this Curry code do with the list?
map (*2) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
This code multiplies each element in the list [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] by 2. The result is a new list [2, 4, 6, 8, 10].
What does this Curry code do?
threadDelay 1000 >> putStrLn "Hello, World!"
This code will pause the current thread for 1000 microseconds, then print the string 'Hello, World!' to the console.

Wrap-up questions

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

What are the type classes in Curry?

Type classes in Curry are a way of defining interfaces that can be implemented by user-defined types. Examples include Eq, Ord, Show, and Read.

How would you use pattern matching in Curry?

Pattern matching in Curry is used to deconstruct data types. For example, in the function definition 'f (x:xs) = x', the pattern '(x:xs)' matches a non-empty list and binds its head and tail to 'x' and 'xs', respectively.

Describe the difference between call-by-name and call-by-need evaluation.

Call-by-name evaluation means that function arguments are not evaluated before the function is called, while call-by-need evaluation means that function arguments are evaluated at most once, when their values are needed. Curry supports both evaluation strategies.

Curry application related

Product Perfect's Curry development capabilities

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

Curry Consultive assessments

Curry Application Conversion Assessment Curry Application Integration Assessment Curry Data & Database Integration Assessment

Custom Curry development projects

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

Hiring guide for Curry Engineers

Curry Developer Hiring Guide

What you’re looking for early on

The ideal back-end app developer

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

Curry Consultive assessments

Custom Curry development projects