public class HelloWorld {
public void printHelloWorld() {
System.debug('Hello, World!');
}
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Ask the right questions to secure the right Apex talent among an increasingly shrinking pool of talent.
Apex is a proprietary, Java-like programming language developed by Salesforce.com. It was introduced in 2006 to allow developers to execute flow and transaction control statements on the Salesforce platform server in conjunction with calls to the API (Application Programming Interface). As an integrated part of the Salesforce platform, Apex allows developers to add business logic to most system events, including button clicks, related record updates, and Visualforce pages. Apex code can be initiated by web service requests and from triggers on objects. Its syntax resembles Java and acts like stored procedures (Salesforce Developers Documentation).
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.
In Apex, exceptions are handled using try, catch, and finally blocks. You can also throw custom exceptions with the 'throw' keyword.
Governor limits control the amount of data or number of records you can handle in a single transaction to ensure no single script or process monopolizes shared resources.
SOQL (Salesforce Object Query Language) is used to query records from single objects while SOSL (Salesforce Object Search Language) is used to search text, email, and phone fields for multiple objects.
A basic trigger in Apex would look like this: 'trigger AccountTrigger on Account (before insert) { for(Account a : Trigger.new) { // business logic here } }'. This trigger fires before new Accounts are inserted into the database.
Apex supports primitive data types like Integer, Double, Long, Date, Datetime, String, ID, and Boolean. It also supports collection types like Lists, Sets, and Maps, and user-defined types like classes, interfaces, and enums.
These skills are important for ensuring the quality and reliability of the code.
A strong understanding of Salesforce platform is necessary as Apex is used for custom development within Salesforce.
This is crucial as developers often need to troubleshoot and solve complex problems.
This is a key skill for any developer to ensure codebase integrity and streamline collaborative development.
This is important because they will need to communicate with both technical and non-technical team members.
This is critical because Apex is the backbone of Salesforce development and a strong understanding of it is necessary for the role.
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.
A Map collection can be used to store and retrieve data as key-value pairs. For example: 'Map<Id, Account> acctMap = new Map<Id, Account>([SELECT Id, Name FROM Account]);'.
Apex has three types of collections: Lists, Sets, and Maps. Lists are ordered collections, Sets are unordered collections of unique elements, and Maps are collections of key-value pairs.
You can perform DML operations on multiple records by using a list of sObjects. For example: 'List<Account> accts = [SELECT Id FROM Account LIMIT 5]; delete accts;'.
Future methods are used for fire-and-forget operations and cannot be chained together or monitor their progress. Queueable methods, on the other hand, can be chained together and allow you to track their progress.
The 'final' keyword is used to prevent a method or variable from being overridden or modified.
At this point, a skilled Apex engineer should demonstrate strong coding ability, problem-solving skills, and in-depth understanding of Salesforce's Apex platform. Red flags include lack of specific examples of past work, inability to articulate complex concepts, or evasiveness on technical questions.
public class HelloWorld {
public void printHelloWorld() {
System.debug('Hello, World!');
}
}Integer x = 5;
Integer y = 10;
System.debug(x + y);List numbers = new List{1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
numbers.remove(2);
System.debug(numbers); public class MyRunnable implements System.Runnable {
public void run() {
System.debug('Running in a new thread.');
}
}
System.enqueueJob(new MyRunnable());public class MyClass {
private Integer myVar;
public MyClass(Integer var) {
this.myVar = var;
}
public Integer getMyVar() {
return this.myVar;
}
}public class MyAdvancedClass {
public static void doSomething() {
Integer x = 5;
Integer y = 10;
System.debug(x * y);
}
}
MyAdvancedClass.doSomething();The final few interview questions for a Apex candidate should typically focus on a combination of technical skills, personal goals, growth potential, team dynamics, and company culture.
A test class in Apex would look like this: '@isTest public class MyTestClass { static testMethod void myTestMethod() { // test code here } }'. This test class contains a single test method that tests some functionality in the application.
There are two types of triggers in Apex: before triggers (used to update or validate record values before they're saved to the database) and after triggers (used to access field values that are set by the system and to affect changes in other records).
Batch Apex allows you to define a single job that can be broken up into manageable chunks, where each chunk can be processed separately. It is particularly useful when dealing with large data volumes.
The 'static' keyword is used to declare class variables and methods, which can be accessed without instantiating the class.
A class is a blueprint from which individual objects are created. An interface, on the other hand, is a reference type in Apex, similar to a class, that can contain only abstract methods.
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