Ada 83X Developer Hiring Guide

Hiring Guide for Ada 83X Engineers

Ask the right questions to secure the right Ada 83X talent among an increasingly shrinking pool of talent.

Ada 83X is a version of the Ada programming language, which was standardized in 1983. It is a statically typed, structured and object-oriented high-level computer programming language. Ada 83X was designed by the U.S Department of Defense for use in embedded systems and large-scale software systems development. It features strong typing, run-time checking, parallel processing capabilities and exception handling among others. However, it's worth noting that there isn't any specific version known as "Ada 83X", rather it might refer to an unspecified minor revision or variant of the original Ada 83 standard.

First 20 minutes

General Ada 83X 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.

How would you declare and initialize an array in Ada 83X?

In Ada 83X, an array is declared using the 'array' keyword and initialized using the '=>' symbol. For example, 'Array_Type : array (1..5) of Integer := (others => 0);' declares and initializes an array of integers with five elements, all set to zero.

What is an exception in Ada 83X and how would you handle it?

An exception in Ada 83X is an event that interrupts the normal flow of execution. It is handled using exception handlers that are defined in the 'exception' part of a block or subprogram.

Describe the difference between a procedure and a function in Ada 83X.

In Ada 83X, a procedure is a subprogram that performs an action, but does not return a value. A function, on the other hand, also performs an action but it returns a value.

How would you define a new type in Ada 83X?

In Ada 83X, a new type is defined using the 'type' keyword. For example, 'type New_Type is range 1..10;' defines a new integer type named New_Type with a range from 1 to 10.

What are the fundamental data types in Ada 83X?

The fundamental data types in Ada 83X are Integer, Float, Character, Boolean, Duration, and access types.

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What youre looking for early-on

Has the candidate demonstrated a willingness to continue learning and adapting to new technologies?

This is important in a rapidly evolving field like software development.

Does the candidate communicate effectively?

Good communication skills are important for teamwork and for understanding project requirements.

Is the candidate familiar with the software development life cycle (SDLC)?

Understanding the SDLC is important for planning, designing, and testing software effectively.

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

This is important as developers often need to troubleshoot and solve issues in their code.

Can the candidate demonstrate experience with large system development using Ada 83X?

This indicates that they have practical experience and can handle complex projects.

Does the candidate have a strong understanding of Ada 83X language?

This is crucial because Ada 83X is the primary language they will be working with in this role.

Next 20 minutes

Specific Ada 83X 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.

How would you implement inheritance in Ada 83X?

In Ada 83X, inheritance is implemented using the 'new' keyword in a type declaration. For example, 'type Derived_Type is new Base_Type;' defines a new type that inherits from Base_Type.

What are discriminants in Ada 83X and how would you use them?

Discriminants in Ada 83X are special fields in a record type that can vary the structure of the record. They are used to create variant records, where different variants can have different fields.

Describe the difference between a package specification and a package body in Ada 83X.

In Ada 83X, a package specification declares the public types, variables, constants, and subprograms that can be used by other units. A package body defines the private types and implements the subprograms declared in the specification.

How would you define a record in Ada 83X?

In Ada 83X, a record is defined using the 'record' keyword. For example, 'type Record_Type is record Field1 : Integer; Field2 : Float; end record;' defines a record type with two fields, an integer and a float.

What are the control structures in Ada 83X?

The control structures in Ada 83X are sequence, selection (if and case), and iteration (for, while, and loop).

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The ideal back-end app developer

What you’re looking to see on the Ada 83X engineer at this point.

At this point, a skilled Ada 83X engineer should demonstrate deep knowledge of the language, proven problem-solving abilities, and experience with real-time systems. Red flags could include lack of familiarity with Ada's unique features or difficulties in explaining complex programming concepts.

Digging deeper

Code questions

These will help you see the candidate's real-world development capabilities with Ada 83X.

What does this simple Ada 83X code do?

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

This code prints 'Hello, world!' to the standard output.

What will be the output of this Ada 83X code?

with Ada.Text_IO; use Ada.Text_IO;
procedure Main is
  X : Integer := 10;
  Y : Integer := 20;
begin
  Put_Line (Integer'Image (X + Y));
end Main;

This code will output '30' to the standard output.

What does this Ada 83X code do?

with Ada.Text_IO; use Ada.Text_IO;
procedure Main is
  type Array_Type is array (1 .. 5) of Integer;
  Array_Var : Array_Type := (others => 0);
begin
  for I in Array_Var'Range loop
    Put_Line (Integer'Image (Array_Var (I)));
  end loop;
end Main;

This code declares an array of 5 integers, initializes them all to 0, and then prints each element of the array to the standard output.

What does this Ada 83X code do?

with Ada.Text_IO; use Ada.Text_IO;
with Ada.Task_Identification;
procedure Main is
  task type My_Task is
    entry Start;
  end My_Task;
  task body My_Task is
  begin
    Put_Line ('Hello from task!');
  end My_Task;
  T : My_Task;
begin
  T.Start;
end Main;

This code declares a task type 'My_Task' with an entry point 'Start'. It then creates an instance of 'My_Task', and starts the task. The task prints 'Hello from task!' to the standard output.

What does this Ada 83X code do?

with Ada.Text_IO; use Ada.Text_IO;
procedure Main is
  type My_Type is new Integer;
  X : My_Type := 10;
begin
  Put_Line (Integer'Image (X));
end Main;

This code declares a new type 'My_Type' which is a subtype of 'Integer'. It then declares a variable 'X' of type 'My_Type', assigns it the value 10, and prints it to the standard output.

What will be the output of this Ada 83X code?

with Ada.Text_IO; use Ada.Text_IO;
procedure Main is
  X : Integer := 10;
  Y : Integer := 0;
begin
  if Y /= 0 then
    Put_Line (Integer'Image (X / Y));
  else
    Put_Line ('Division by zero');
  end if;
end Main;

This code will output 'Division by zero' to the standard output because it checks if 'Y' is zero before performing division.

Wrap-up questions

Final candidate for Ada 83X role questions

The final few interview questions for a Ada 83X candidate should typically focus on a combination of technical skills, personal goals, growth potential, team dynamics, and company culture.

How would you implement a generic package in Ada 83X?

In Ada 83X, a generic package is implemented using the 'generic' keyword, followed by a list of formal parameters, and then the package specification. The package body is defined in a separate 'package body' block.

What are the rules for overloading operators in Ada 83X?

In Ada 83X, operators can be overloaded by declaring a function with the operator symbol as the name. The function must have at least one parameter of the type for which the operator is being overloaded.

How would you implement a task in Ada 83X?

In Ada 83X, a task is implemented using the 'task' keyword, followed by the task specification. The task body is defined in a separate 'task body' block.

Describe the difference between a task and a protected type in Ada 83X.

In Ada 83X, a task is a concurrent unit of execution, while a protected type is a data type that provides controlled access to its data to ensure consistency in concurrent situations.

What are generic units in Ada 83X and how would you define one?

Generic units in Ada 83X are templates for creating other units. A generic unit is defined using the 'generic' keyword, followed by a list of formal parameters, and then the unit specification.

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Ada 83X application related

Product Perfect's Ada 83X development capabilities

Beyond hiring for your Ada 83X engineering team, you may be in the market for additional help. Product Perfect provides seasoned expertise in Ada 83X projects, and can engage in multiple capacities.