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Wally Glassett wrote:
>
> Asking a developer if they are knowledgeable about some function or
> technique in some language tends to be a more specific question that should
> have a specific response/answer,
You can sort out alleged C programmers fairly quickly by asking them to
describe Duff's device:
Inability to do so indicates not knowing the Relevant Literature. They might
still be good programmers, but not true wizards versed in the Lore :-)
Or at least, that would hold for Unix C programmers. I tried that question
in a group of expert Windows C++ programmers. One out of five knew what I
was talking about.
> However, I have virtually no idea how often, or if, developers are asked to
> write code during interviews,
Rare, I think. You might ask how they'd tackle a particular problem, and
follow up with related questions. "Why not use ...?" "What interface would
you provide to that code?" ...
> or if they bring "portfolios" of code samples with them to interviews.
Anyone doing serious work on Open Source has a sort of portfolio out there.
Apart from the code, you can look at their mailing list posts about design
issues, bugs, ...
Those working on proprietary code likely cannot show it off.
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