Ada Developer Hiring Guide

Hiring Guide for Ada Engineers

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

Ada is a high-level, structured, statically typed programming language that was developed in the late 1970s by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to supersede over 450 programming languages used for its embedded computer systems. Named after Ada Lovelace, often credited as the world's first programmer, it was designed with an emphasis on software engineering principles and strong typing. The language is renowned for its safety-critical support and real-time capabilities which make it extensively used in defense systems, aviation, and space technology. Its most recent standard version is Ada 2012 which introduced contract-based programming features among other improvements. The development and evolution of Ada are maintained by ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG9 working group.

First 20 minutes

General Ada knowledge and experience

The next 20 minutes of the interview should attempt to focus more specifically on the development questions used, and the level of depth and skill the engineer possesses.

What are the different types of loops available in Ada?

Ada provides several types of loops including 'while' loops, 'for' loops, and 'loop' (infinite) loops. These loops can also be controlled with 'exit' and 'next' statements.

How would you handle exceptions in Ada?

In Ada, exceptions are handled using the 'begin', 'exception', and 'when' keywords. You would write your risky code in a 'begin' block, and handle exceptions in an 'exception' block using 'when'.

Describe the difference between a procedure and a function in Ada.

In Ada, a procedure is a subprogram that performs an action but does not return a value, while a function is a subprogram that returns a value.

What are the basic data types in Ada?

The basic data types in Ada are Integer, Float, Character, Boolean, Duration, and String.

How would you declare a variable in Ada?

In Ada, a variable is declared using the keyword 'declare'. The syntax is 'variable_name : data_type := initial_value;'. For example, 'declare x : Integer := 5;'.

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What youre looking for early-on

Can the candidate work under pressure and meet deadlines?

Software development often involves working under tight deadlines. The candidate's ability to manage stress and time is crucial.

Has the applicant shown a willingness to learn and adapt to new technologies or methodologies?

The tech industry is always evolving. A good candidate should show a desire to keep up with new developments.

Does the candidate have experience with software development methodologies such as Agile or Scrum?

Understanding and experience with these methodologies can help ensure that the candidate can work effectively within the team's workflow.

Is the candidate able to communicate effectively and explain complex ideas clearly?

Communication is key in a team setting. The candidate should be able to explain their thought process and solutions effectively.

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

Software development often involves problem-solving. A good candidate should be able to demonstrate this skill.

Does the candidate have a strong understanding of Ada language and its syntax?

This is crucial as the primary task of the candidate will be to write and debug code in Ada.

Next 20 minutes

Specific Ada development questions

The next 20 minutes of the interview should attempt to focus more specifically on the development questions used, and the level of depth and skill the engineer possesses.

Describe the difference between 'in', 'out', and 'in out' parameters in Ada.

'in' parameters are read-only and cannot be modified, 'out' parameters are write-only and their initial values are not defined, and 'in out' parameters can be read from and written to.

How would you implement polymorphism in Ada?

In Ada, polymorphism is implemented using tagged types and abstract types. A tagged type can have multiple implementations, and an abstract type is a tagged type that cannot be directly instantiated.

What is the use of 'with' and 'use' clauses in Ada?

'with' clause is used in Ada to import a package, and 'use' clause is used to avoid prefixing the package name before accessing its members.

How would you use a package in Ada?

In Ada, a package is used to group related declarations. It's defined using the 'package' keyword and can be used in a program by 'with' keyword. For example, 'with MyPackage; use MyPackage;'.

Describe the difference between a task and a protected object in Ada.

In Ada, a task is a type of concurrent unit of execution, similar to a thread. A protected object is a type of data structure that provides mutually exclusive access to its data, ensuring data integrity in concurrent environments.

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The ideal back-end app developer

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

A skilled Ada engineer should demonstrate proficiency in Ada language, have experience with real-time systems, and exhibit strong problem-solving skills. Red flags include lack of specific project examples, inability to explain complex concepts clearly, or unfamiliarity with common Ada development tools.

Digging deeper

Code questions

These will help you see the candidate's real-world development capabilities with Ada.

What does this simple Ada code do?

with Ada.Text_IO; use Ada.Text_IO;
procedure Hello is
begin
    Put_Line ('Hello, world!');
end Hello;

This is a simple Ada program that prints 'Hello, world!' to the console.

What will be the output of this Ada code snippet?

with Ada.Text_IO; use Ada.Text_IO;
procedure Show_Sum is
    A, B, Sum : Integer;
begin
    A := 5;
    B := 7;
    Sum := A + B;
    Put_Line (Integer'Image(Sum));
end Show_Sum;

This Ada code snippet adds two integers, 5 and 7, and prints the result, 12, to the console.

What does this Ada code do, which manipulates an array?

with Ada.Text_IO; use Ada.Text_IO;
procedure Array_Sum is
    type Array_Type is array (1 .. 5) of Integer;
    Array_Var : Array_Type := (2, 4, 6, 8, 10);
    Sum : Integer := 0;
begin
    for I in Array_Var'Range loop
        Sum := Sum + Array_Var(I);
    end loop;
    Put_Line (Integer'Image(Sum));
end Array_Sum;

This Ada code declares an array of 5 integers and calculates the sum of those integers. It then prints the sum, 30, to the console.

What does this Ada code do, which involves tasking and concurrency?

with Ada.Text_IO; use Ada.Text_IO;
procedure Simple_Task is
    task T is
        entry Start;
    end T;
    task body T is
    begin
        accept Start;
        Put_Line ('Task T is running.');
    end T;
begin
    T.Start;
end Simple_Task;

This Ada code defines a task T with an entry point Start. The main program calls T.Start, which triggers the task T to run concurrently and print 'Task T is running.' to the console.

What does this Ada code do, which involves class design?

with Ada.Text_IO; use Ada.Text_IO;
procedure Simple_Class is
    type Class_Type is tagged record
        Data : Integer := 0;
    end record;
    procedure Show (Obj : Class_Type) is
    begin
        Put_Line (Integer'Image(Obj.Data));
    end Show;
    Obj : Class_Type;
begin
    Obj.Data := 5;
    Show (Obj);
end Simple_Class;

This Ada code defines a class (tagged record) Class_Type with a single data member Data and a procedure Show. It then creates an object of Class_Type, sets its Data to 5, and calls Show to print the data member's value to the console.

What will be the output of this advanced Ada code snippet?

with Ada.Text_IO; use Ada.Text_IO;
procedure Advanced_Code is
    type Matrix_Type is array (1 .. 3, 1 .. 3) of Integer;
    Matrix : Matrix_Type := ((1, 2, 3), (4, 5, 6), (7, 8, 9));
begin
    for I in 1 .. 3 loop
        for J in 1 .. 3 loop
            Put (Integer'Image(Matrix(I, J)) & ' ');
        end loop;
        New_Line;
    end loop;
end Advanced_Code;

This Ada code defines a 3x3 matrix and initializes it with the numbers 1 to 9. It then prints the matrix to the console in row-major order, resulting in a 3x3 grid of numbers.

Wrap-up questions

Final candidate for Ada role questions

The final few interview questions for a Ada candidate should typically focus on a combination of technical skills, personal goals, growth potential, team dynamics, and company culture.

What are the features of Ada's strong typing system?

Ada's strong typing system helps catch errors at compile time. It ensures that operations are performed on compatible types, and it requires explicit conversion between different types.

How would you implement inheritance in Ada?

In Ada, inheritance is implemented using tagged types. A new type can extend a tagged type, inheriting its operations and adding new ones.

Describe the difference between a limited type and a private type in Ada.

In Ada, a limited type is a type that can only be assigned at the point of declaration and cannot be copied or compared. A private type is a type whose full definition is hidden from the clients.

What are discriminants in Ada?

Discriminants in Ada are similar to parameters for a type. They allow the creation of variant records, where the structure of the record can change depending on the value of the discriminant.

How would you implement data encapsulation in Ada?

In Ada, data encapsulation is implemented using packages. The package specification defines the public interface, and the package body hides the implementation details.

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Ada application related

Product Perfect's Ada development capabilities

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