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P# (pronounced "p-sharp") is a statically typed, compiled, open-source, general-purpose programming language designed by Microsoft. It was first announced in 2012 and is the successor to C#. P# is designed to be faster, safer, and more expressive than C#. Source: [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%23_(programming_language)

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

First 20 minutes

General P# app knowledge and experience

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

How would you describe the P# programming language?

P# is a programming language and framework for safe asynchronous event-driven programming. It allows developers to write reliable, highly concurrent, event-driven applications in C#.

What are the main features of P#?

P# provides a modeling language for specifying and testing complex distributed systems, a programming model for asynchronous and event-driven programming, and a systematic testing tool.

Describe the difference between synchronous and asynchronous programming in P#.

In synchronous programming, the system waits for an operation to complete before proceeding. In asynchronous programming, operations can run concurrently, allowing the system to proceed without waiting for operations to complete. P# is designed for asynchronous and event-driven programming.

How would you define an event in P#?

In P#, an event is an action or occurrence recognized by the software that may be handled by the program. P# provides a programming model for asynchronous and event-driven programming, where events are delivered to and processed by machines.

What are the main components of a P# program?

A P# program consists of events, machines, and states. Events can be declared and sent to machines. Machines, which encapsulate state and behavior, process events in the context of a state.

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What you’re looking for early on

Does the candidate have a clear understanding of P# language and its concepts?

Has the candidate demonstrated problem-solving skills during the interview?

Is the candidate able to effectively communicate their thoughts and ideas?

Does the candidate have experience with projects similar to ours?

Next 20 minutes

Specific P# 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.

Describe the difference between a hot state and a cold state in P#.

In P#, a hot state is a state in which an error can occur, while a cold state is a safe state where no errors can occur. The P# testing tool uses these annotations to guide its exploration of the system's state space.

How would you handle exceptions in P#?

In P#, unhandled exceptions in a machine cause it to fail and move to a halt state. Developers can handle exceptions by writing appropriate code in the machine's state handlers.

What is the role of the 'become' statement in P#?

The 'become' statement is used in P# to transition a machine from its current state to a new state. This is a fundamental part of the state machine abstraction provided by P#.

How would you test a P# program?

P# provides a systematic testing tool that can generate a large number of interleavings of asynchronous operations to find bugs. The testing tool can also use hot and cold state annotations to guide its exploration.

What are 'sends' and 'receives' in the context of P#?

In P#, 'sends' and 'receives' refer to the sending and receiving of events. A machine sends an event to another machine or itself, and receives and processes events in a state's handlers.

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

What does the following P# code do?
public class HelloWorld { public static void Main() { System.Console.WriteLine('Hello, World!'); } }
This code prints 'Hello, World!' to the console.
What will be the output of the following P# code?
public class Program { public static void Main() { int x = 10; int y = 20; System.Console.WriteLine(x + y); } }
The output of this code will be '30'. It adds two integers x and y and prints the result to the console.
What does the following P# code do?
public class Program { public static void Main() { int[] arr = new int[] {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}; foreach (int i in arr) { System.Console.WriteLine(i); } } }
This code prints the elements of an integer array to the console. The array contains the elements 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
What does the following P# code do?
public class Program { private static object lockObj = new object(); public static void Main() { lock (lockObj) { System.Console.WriteLine('Hello, World!'); } } }
This code prints 'Hello, World!' to the console. It uses a lock to ensure that only one thread can access the code block at a time, preventing race conditions.

Wrap-up questions

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

How would you ensure the reliability of a P# application?

The reliability of a P# application can be ensured by thorough testing using the P# testing tool, which can explore a large number of interleavings of asynchronous operations. Proper handling of exceptions and careful design of the system's states and transitions can also contribute to reliability.

Describe the difference between 'push' and 'pop' operations in P# state transitions.

'Push' and 'pop' operations in P# are used to manipulate the state stack of a machine. A 'push' operation adds a state to the stack and transitions the machine to that state, while a 'pop' operation removes the current state from the stack and transitions the machine to the previous state.

What is the significance of the 'halt' state in P#?

The 'halt' state in P# is a special state that a machine enters when it fails due to an unhandled exception. Once a machine enters the 'halt' state, it cannot process any more events.

P# application related

Product Perfect's P# development capabilities

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

P# Consultive assessments

P# Application Conversion Assessment P# Application Integration Assessment P# Data & Database Integration Assessment

Custom P# development projects

Custom P# App Conversion P# Custom App Development Process App UI Design for P# Facelifts

Hiring guide for P# Engineers

P# Developer Hiring Guide

What you’re looking for early on

The ideal back-end app developer

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

P# Consultive assessments

Custom P# development projects