Curry Developer Hiring Guide

Hiring Guide for Curry Engineers

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

The Curry programming language, named after logician Haskell B. Curry, is a declarative multi-paradigm language that integrates functional, logic and concurrent programming paradigms. It was developed in the late 1990s by Michael Hanus as part of an academic research project at the University of Kiel in Germany. The language's primary aim is to amalgamate features from functional and logic languages to improve expressiveness and flexibility for software development tasks. Its unique feature includes non-deterministic functions which allow multiple results for a single function call - a concept borrowed from logic programming languages like Prolog. Today, it continues to be used primarily within academia for teaching purposes and theoretical computer science research.

First 20 minutes

General Curry 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.

Describe the difference between functional and logic programming.

Functional programming is about building and evaluating mathematical functions, while logic programming is about making logical inferences. Curry combines these two paradigms.

How would you use conditional expressions in Curry?

Conditional expressions in Curry are written as 'if...then...else...' expressions. For example, 'if x > y then x else y' returns the maximum of x and y.

What are the basic data types in Curry?

The basic data types in Curry are Int, Float, Char, and Bool.

How would you define a function in Curry?

In Curry, a function is defined by an equation between patterns. For example, 'f x y = x + y' defines a function f that takes two arguments and returns their sum.

What is the main feature of Curry programming language?

The main feature of Curry is that it combines functional, logic, and concurrent programming paradigms.

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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. A good understanding of data structures and algorithms is essential for a developer.

Has the candidate shown an ability to learn and adapt?

The tech industry is constantly evolving. A good developer should be able to learn new technologies and adapt to changes quickly.

Does the candidate have experience with functional and logic programming?

Curry is a multi-paradigm language that combines functional and logic programming. Experience in these areas is beneficial.

Is the candidate able to communicate effectively?

Communication is key in any job role. They should be able to articulate their thoughts clearly and effectively.

Has the candidate demonstrated problem-solving skills?

Programming often involves solving complex problems. A good Curry developer should be able to demonstrate their problem-solving skills.

Does the candidate have a strong understanding of Curry programming language?

This is crucial as the job role is specifically for a Curry developer. Their knowledge and understanding of the language will directly impact their ability to perform the job.

Next 20 minutes

Specific Curry 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 define a module in Curry?

In Curry, a module is defined by a module declaration. For example, 'module Main where' defines a module named Main.

Describe the difference between eager and lazy evaluation.

Eager evaluation means that expressions are evaluated as soon as they are bound to variables, while lazy evaluation means that expressions are evaluated only when their values are needed. Curry supports both evaluation strategies.

How would you use list comprehensions in Curry?

List comprehensions in Curry are written as '[e | x <- xs, p x]', where 'e' is an expression, 'xs' is a list, and 'p x' is a predicate. This returns a list of all 'e' such that 'p x' holds for some 'x' in 'xs'.

What are the higher-order functions in Curry?

Higher-order functions in Curry are functions that can take other functions as arguments or return functions as results. Examples include map, filter, and foldr.

How would you define a data type in Curry?

In Curry, a data type is defined by a type declaration. For example, 'data Bool = True | False' defines a Boolean data type.

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The ideal back-end app developer

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

After 20 minutes, a skilled Curry engineer should demonstrate proficiency in functional and logic programming, understanding of Curry's non-deterministic features, and problem-solving abilities. Red flags include lack of clarity in explanations, inability to handle unexpected problems, or unfamiliarity with Curry's hybrid paradigms.

Digging deeper

Code questions

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

What does this simple Curry code do?

add x y = x + y

This code defines a function named 'add' that takes two arguments, 'x' and 'y', and returns their sum.

What will be the output of this Curry code?

let x = 5 in x * x

This code will output 25. It defines a local variable 'x' with a value of 5, then multiplies 'x' by itself.

What does this Curry code do with the list?

map (*2) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

This code multiplies each element in the list [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] by 2. The result is a new list [2, 4, 6, 8, 10].

What does this Curry code do?

threadDelay 1000 >> putStrLn "Hello, World!"

This code will pause the current thread for 1000 microseconds, then print the string 'Hello, World!' to the console.

What does this Curry code do?

data Person = Person { firstName :: String, lastName :: String }

This code defines a data type 'Person' with two fields, 'firstName' and 'lastName'. Each field is of type String.

What will be the output of this Curry code?

let f = (\x -> x * x) in f 5

This code will output 25. It defines a lambda function 'f' that takes an argument 'x' and returns the square of 'x'. Then it applies the function to the argument 5.

Wrap-up questions

Final candidate for Curry role questions

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

What are the concurrency features in Curry?

Curry supports concurrent programming with features like concurrent threads, synchronization primitives, and message passing. These features are provided by the Concurrent Curry preprocessor.

How would you define a type synonym in Curry?

In Curry, a type synonym is defined by a type declaration with the keyword 'type'. For example, 'type String = [Char]' defines String as a synonym for the list of Char.

Describe the difference between call-by-name and call-by-need evaluation.

Call-by-name evaluation means that function arguments are not evaluated before the function is called, while call-by-need evaluation means that function arguments are evaluated at most once, when their values are needed. Curry supports both evaluation strategies.

How would you use pattern matching in Curry?

Pattern matching in Curry is used to deconstruct data types. For example, in the function definition 'f (x:xs) = x', the pattern '(x:xs)' matches a non-empty list and binds its head and tail to 'x' and 'xs', respectively.

What are the type classes in Curry?

Type classes in Curry are a way of defining interfaces that can be implemented by user-defined types. Examples include Eq, Ord, Show, and Read.

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Curry application related

Product Perfect's Curry development capabilities

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