That’s just it: replacing a water pump on a common used car is a task any competent mechanic should be able to do. But, possibly not without the repair manual. And, I certainly wouldn’t think they’d be able to describe step by step how to do it without the car or manual in front of them!
Likewise, many interview programming tasks can be are ones a competent programmer should be able to do with the tools of the trade accessible (namely Google and time to think).
Some simply are not. I was once expected to write, debug, and modify a concurrent chat server in an hour long interview. I do think that’s a reasonable programming task, but not one to be completed in an hour, under scrutiny. It’s the equivalent of being asked to rebuild a motor in an interview : definitely doable under real world conditions, but not a realistic test to determine whether to hire someone.
Likewise, many interview programming tasks can be are ones a competent programmer should be able to do with the tools of the trade accessible (namely Google and time to think).
Some simply are not. I was once expected to write, debug, and modify a concurrent chat server in an hour long interview. I do think that’s a reasonable programming task, but not one to be completed in an hour, under scrutiny. It’s the equivalent of being asked to rebuild a motor in an interview : definitely doable under real world conditions, but not a realistic test to determine whether to hire someone.