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**Elixir Strings** is a computer software programming language that was created in 2011 by José Valim. It is a functional language that is designed to be used on the BEAM virtual machine, which is the same platform that is used by the Ruby programming language. Elixir Strings is designed to be a modern and performant language that is also easy to learn. It is used by a variety of companies, including Google, Amazon, and Netflix. **Sources:** * [Elixir Strings website](https://elixir-lang.org/) * [José Valim's blog](https://blog.josevalim.com/) * [Wikipedia article on Elixir Strings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elixir_(programming_language))

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

First 20 minutes

General Elixir Strings app knowledge and experience

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

What is the use of the Enum module in Elixir?

The Enum module in Elixir provides a set of algorithms that enumerate over enumerables according to the Enumerable protocol. It includes functions like map, reduce, filter, and more.

How would you define a module in Elixir?

In Elixir, a module is defined using the defmodule keyword followed by the name of the module and do. Inside the do block, we can define functions using def.

What are the data types supported in Elixir?

Elixir supports several data types like integers, floats, booleans, atoms, strings, lists, tuples, maps, and functions.

Describe the difference between lists and tuples in Elixir.

Lists are stored in memory as linked lists, making it efficient to insert and delete elements. Tuples, on the other hand, are stored contiguously in memory, making it efficient to access elements by index.

What is pattern matching in Elixir?

Pattern matching is a powerful part of Elixir. It allows us to match simple as well as complex data structures, destructure data, and assign variables.

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What you’re looking for early on

Does the candidate have a solid understanding of Elixir and its ecosystem?

Has the candidate demonstrated problem-solving skills?

Is the candidate familiar with OTP (Open Telecom Platform)?

Can the candidate work with databases and handle data effectively?

Next 20 minutes

Specific Elixir Strings 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 Elixir?

Elixir uses a mechanism called 'let it crash' for error handling. It also provides try, catch, and rescue for exceptions, and supports the use of supervisors for fault tolerance.

What is the use of the pipe operator in Elixir?

The pipe operator |> in Elixir takes the output of one operation and passes it as the input to the next. It's used for creating a pipeline of function calls.

Describe the difference between Elixir and Erlang.

Elixir is a functional, concurrent, general-purpose programming language that runs on the Erlang virtual machine (BEAM). Elixir builds on top of Erlang to provide distributed, fault-tolerant, soft real-time, non-stop applications but also extends it to support metaprogramming with macros and polymorphism via protocols.

What are Elixir protocols?

Protocols are a mechanism to achieve polymorphism in Elixir. They allow us to define a function that can accept data of any type and perform different actions based on the type of the data.

How would you implement concurrency in Elixir?

Concurrency in Elixir is achieved using processes. Processes are isolated from each other, run concurrently and communicate via message passing.

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

What does the following Elixir code do?
IO.puts "Hello, world!"
This code prints the string 'Hello, world!' to the console.
What will be the output of the following Elixir code?
IO.inspect(Enum.take([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], 3))
This code will output the first 3 elements of the list, resulting in the list [1, 2, 3].
What does the following Elixir code do?
Enum.map([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], fn x -> x * 2 end)
This code doubles each element in the list. The output will be [2, 4, 6, 8, 10].
What does the following Elixir code do?
spawn(fn -> 1 + 2 end)
This code creates a new process that executes the function, which adds 1 and 2. However, the result is not returned to the calling process.

Wrap-up questions

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

What is the role of OTP in Elixir?

OTP is a set of Erlang libraries, which Elixir uses for building concurrent, distributed, and fault-tolerant applications. It provides a framework and reusable components for creating server processes, managing supervised trees of processes, and more.

Describe the difference between Elixir processes and operating system processes.

Elixir processes are lightweight compared to operating system processes or threads. They are isolated from each other, run concurrently, and communicate via message passing. They are not tied to a particular operating system process or thread.

What are Elixir macros and how would you use them?

Macros in Elixir are a way to define reusable chunks of code. They are a mechanism for metaprogramming, allowing us to write code that writes code. They can be used for generating function definitions, injecting code at compile time, etc.

Elixir Strings application related

Product Perfect's Elixir Strings development capabilities

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

Elixir Strings Consultive assessments

Elixir Strings Application Conversion Assessment Elixir Strings Application Integration Assessment Elixir Strings Data & Database Integration Assessment

Custom Elixir Strings development projects

Custom Elixir Strings App Conversion Elixir Strings Custom App Development Process App UI Design for Elixir Strings Facelifts

Hiring guide for Elixir Strings Engineers

Elixir Strings Developer Hiring Guide

What you’re looking for early on

The ideal back-end app developer

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

Elixir Strings Consultive assessments

Custom Elixir Strings development projects