Basho Developer Hiring Guide

Hiring Guide for Basho Engineers

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

Basho appears to be a misunderstanding. There isn't a programming language named Basho. However, Basho Technologies is a company known for creating Riak, a distributed NoSQL key-value data store that offers high availability, fault tolerance, operational simplicity, and scalability. Additionally, Bash is a popular Unix shell and command language. It's possible that there was some confusion between these terms.

First 20 minutes

General Basho 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 is eventual consistency in Riak?

Eventual consistency in Riak means that all updates to a distributed data store will propagate across all nodes in the network, and eventually, all nodes will reflect the update.

How would you handle data replication in Riak?

Riak handles data replication using its multi-cluster replication feature. It allows data to be replicated across multiple clusters, providing high availability and fault tolerance.

Describe the difference between Riak KV and Riak TS.

Riak KV (Key-Value) is a distributed NoSQL database that is designed to deliver maximum data availability by distributing data across multiple servers. Riak TS (Time Series) is optimized for IoT and time series data.

What are the key features of Riak?

Riak has several key features including high availability, fault tolerance, operational simplicity, and scalability. It also supports multiple data types and has a robust query interface.

How would you describe Basho?

Basho is a distributed systems company that develops a key-value store called Riak. It is designed to be highly available, fault-tolerant, and easy to scale.

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What youre looking for early-on

Does the candidate have a good understanding of data structures and algorithms?

These are fundamental concepts in programming and are necessary for writing efficient code.

Has the candidate shown a capacity for learning and adapting to new technologies?

The tech industry is constantly evolving, so it's important for a developer to be able to learn and adapt quickly.

Does the candidate have experience with similar projects or tasks?

Previous experience can indicate the candidate's ability to handle the responsibilities of the role.

Is the candidate able to communicate effectively?

Good communication skills are necessary for understanding project requirements and collaborating with team members.

Has the candidate demonstrated problem-solving skills?

Problem-solving skills are essential for a developer to troubleshoot and resolve issues that may arise during development.

Does the candidate have a strong understanding of Basho and its applications?

This is crucial as the role requires a deep understanding of Basho to develop effective solutions.

Next 20 minutes

Specific Basho 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.

What is the role of Riak Pipe in data processing?

Riak Pipe is a framework for processing data in Riak. It allows you to create complex data processing pipelines that can be executed in parallel across your Riak cluster.

How would you handle data partitioning in Riak?

Riak handles data partitioning using consistent hashing. This allows Riak to distribute data evenly across all nodes in the cluster.

Describe the difference between strong and eventual consistency in Riak.

Strong consistency ensures that all reads receive the most recent write. Eventual consistency means that all updates will propagate across all nodes in the network, and eventually, all nodes will reflect the update.

What are the primary use cases for Riak?

Riak is primarily used for high-availability use cases where data loss is not acceptable. This includes session storage, user data storage, and real-time big data applications.

How would you handle conflict resolution in Riak?

Riak handles conflict resolution using its 'siblings' feature. When a write conflict occurs, Riak will store all conflicting versions and the client application is responsible for resolving the conflict.

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The ideal back-end app developer

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

A skilled Basho engineer should demonstrate strong proficiency in Basho technologies like Riak KV and TS, problem-solving skills, and the ability to work in a team. Red flags could include inability to explain complex concepts simply or lack of experience in distributed systems.

Digging deeper

Code questions

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

What does this Basho code do: `riak-admin bucket-type create persons '{"props":{"datatype":"map"}}'`?

riak-admin bucket-type create persons '{"props":{"datatype":"map"}}'

This command creates a new bucket type named 'persons' in Riak. The bucket type is configured to use the datatype 'map'.

What will be the output of this Basho code: `riak-admin bucket-type status persons`?

riak-admin bucket-type status persons

This command will output the current status and configuration details of the 'persons' bucket type in Riak.

What does this Basho code do: `riakc_pb_socket:update_type(Pid, <<"persons">>, Key, update)`?

riakc_pb_socket:update_type(Pid, <<"persons">>, Key, update)

This command updates the 'persons' bucket type in Riak with a new value provided by the 'update' function. The 'Pid' and 'Key' parameters are used to identify the specific instance to update.

What is the purpose of using this Basho code: `riakc_pb_socket:get_pool(Pid, <<"persons">>, Key)`?

riakc_pb_socket:get_pool(Pid, <<"persons">>, Key)

This command will fetch the value from the 'persons' bucket type in Riak using the provided 'Pid' and 'Key'. If the value does not exist, it will return a 'notfound' error.

What does this Basho code do: `riakc_pb_socket:put(Pid, RiakObj, [return_body])`?

riakc_pb_socket:put(Pid, RiakObj, [return_body])

This command will store the 'RiakObj' in Riak using the provided 'Pid'. The 'return_body' option indicates that the command will also return the stored object after the operation.

What will be the output of this Basho code: `riakc_pb_socket:delete(Pid, Bucket, Key, [rw])`?

riakc_pb_socket:delete(Pid, Bucket, Key, [rw])

This command will delete the value identified by the 'Bucket' and 'Key' from Riak using the provided 'Pid'. The 'rw' option indicates that the command will wait for a response from all replicas before returning.

Wrap-up questions

Final candidate for Basho role questions

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

What is the role of Bitcask in Riak?

Bitcask is the default storage backend in Riak. It provides high performance read and write operations and is optimized for high availability and fault tolerance.

How would you handle data modeling in Riak?

Data modeling in Riak is different from relational databases. You need to denormalize your data and model around your application's read patterns.

Describe the difference between Riak and traditional relational databases.

Riak is a NoSQL database that provides high availability, fault tolerance, and scalability. Traditional relational databases focus on ACID properties and support complex queries.

What are the limitations of Riak?

Some limitations of Riak include lack of support for transactions, complex query operations, and the need for manual conflict resolution.

How would you implement full-text search in Riak?

Riak supports full-text search through the integration with Solr. You can index your Riak data in Solr and use Solr's powerful search capabilities.

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Basho application related

Product Perfect's Basho development capabilities

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