Elm Developer Hiring Guide

Hiring Guide for Elm Engineers

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

Elm is a functional programming language for front-end web development, designed to foster robust, complex applications. Introduced by Evan Czaplicki in 2012 as part of his thesis at Harvard University, Elm was created with the goal of improving GUI architecture. The language is known for its strong type inference and friendly error messages that make it beginner-friendly. Elm compiles to JavaScript, making it compatible with all major browsers. It has gained popularity due to its performance benefits and emphasis on developer productivity and code reliability.

First 20 minutes

General Elm 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 create a function in Elm?

In Elm, you can create a function using the following syntax: 'functionName parameter = expression'.

What is the Elm Architecture?

The Elm Architecture is a pattern for architecting interactive programs, like webapps and games. It has three parts: Model, Update, and View.

How would you declare a variable in Elm?

In Elm, you can declare a variable using the 'let' keyword, like 'let x = 5'.

What are some benefits of using Elm?

Some benefits of using Elm include strong static typing, no runtime exceptions, great performance, and easy refactoring.

How would you install Elm?

You can install Elm using npm with the command 'npm install -g elm'.

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What youre looking for early-on

Has the candidate shown an ability to learn new concepts quickly?

Elm is a relatively new language, and it's still evolving. A good Elm developer needs to be able to keep up with these changes and learn new concepts quickly.

Does the candidate have experience with Elm's package manager?

Elm's package manager is a key tool for managing dependencies. Experience with it is a good sign that the candidate can effectively manage and maintain Elm projects.

Can the candidate effectively debug Elm applications?

Debugging is a crucial skill for any developer. Elm has some unique debugging tools and techniques, so it's important that the candidate is comfortable with these.

Is the candidate familiar with Elm's type system?

Elm's type system is a key feature of the language. A good understanding of it can help prevent many common bugs.

Has the candidate demonstrated the ability to write clean, efficient Elm code?

This is a key skill for any developer. Clean, efficient code is easier to maintain, debug, and extend.

Does the candidate have a solid understanding of Elm's architecture?

This is important because Elm has a unique architecture that separates it from other languages. Understanding this architecture is crucial for writing efficient and effective Elm code.

Next 20 minutes

Specific Elm 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 'map' and 'andThen' in Elm.

'map' is used to apply a function to a value inside a context, like 'Maybe' or 'Result'. 'andThen' is used to chain operations that might fail, it takes a function that returns a context and a value inside a context.

What is the purpose of the 'Maybe' type in Elm?

The 'Maybe' type is used to handle optional values and null checks. It can be 'Just value' or 'Nothing'.

How would you handle errors in Elm?

Elm uses a type called 'Result' for error handling. The 'Result' type can be 'Ok' or 'Err', and you can pattern match on it to handle different cases.

What are Elm signals?

Elm signals are values that change over time. They are used to handle events and user input in an Elm application.

Describe the difference between a record and a tuple in Elm.

A record is a collection of key-value pairs, while a tuple is an ordered collection of values. Records have named fields and are used when you need to bundle related data together. Tuples are used when you need to group a fixed number of values together for a specific purpose.

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The ideal back-end app developer

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

A skilled Elm engineer should demonstrate proficiency in Elm language, understanding of functional programming principles, and experience in troubleshooting. Red flags would include a lack of specifics when discussing past projects or inability to explain complex Elm concepts effectively.

Digging deeper

Code questions

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

What does the following Elm code do?

import Html exposing (text)
main = text "Hello, World!"

This Elm code displays the text 'Hello, World!' on the web page.

What will be the output of the following Elm code?

import Html exposing (..)
main = div [] [ text "Hello", text "World" ]

This Elm code will output a div element with two text nodes 'Hello' and 'World'.

What does the following Elm code do?

import List exposing (map)
main = map ((*) 2) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

This Elm code multiplies each element in the list [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] by 2.

What does the following Elm code do?

import Task
import Time exposing (second)
main = Task.sleep (2 * second)

This Elm code creates a task that sleeps for 2 seconds.

What does the following Elm code do?

type alias User = { name : String, age : Int }
main = User "John Doe" 30

This Elm code defines a User type with fields 'name' and 'age', and creates a User instance with name 'John Doe' and age 30.

What will be the output of the following Elm code?

import Html exposing (text)
type alias User = { name : String, age : Int }
main = let user = User "John Doe" 30 in text user.name

This Elm code will output the name of the user, which is 'John Doe'.

Wrap-up questions

Final candidate for Elm role questions

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

How would you optimize an Elm application for performance?

You can optimize an Elm application for performance by using 'Html.Lazy' and 'Html.Keyed' to minimize DOM updates, and by using 'Dict' and 'Set' for efficient data structures.

Describe the difference between 'Html.map' and 'Cmd.map' in Elm.

'Html.map' is used to lift a child component's message to a parent component's message. 'Cmd.map' is used to lift a child component's command to a parent component's command.

How would you handle side effects in Elm?

Side effects in Elm are handled using commands. A command is a value that represents a side effect, like a HTTP request or a random number generation.

What are Elm subscriptions?

Elm subscriptions are a way to listen to external events, like websockets and time. They are used in the Elm Architecture to handle events that don't originate from user input.

How would you send a HTTP request in Elm?

You can send a HTTP request in Elm using the 'Http' module. You need to create a 'Request' and send it using 'Http.send'.

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Elm application related

Product Perfect's Elm development capabilities

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