In the real world, I usually understand the constraints I'm facing when I write a piece of code. I know the code will need highest performance or I've come back to rewrite it because perf was a problem. By default I assume maintainability is highest priority. The last sample might be a valid starting point if I need to explain how I got results. There is no "best" solution without knowing the constraints.
Asking for a solution without telling the person the constraints you need, and then judging them on those constraints, seems like it will miss the point of finding great developers. Besides if perf was really important the dev would use an imperative solution. I recall seeing a video where an Apple engineer used the sieve as performance justification of why they made Swift an OOP language instead of a FP language. Fortunately F# is multi-paradigm so we can choose the best one for the job.
Edit: Sorry for obsessing. I observe this kind of process used in hiring quite a bit nowadays, and it irks me. I assume the setup in the article was fictitious, so my complaints are probably a bit misplaced here. 🤐
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
In the real world, I usually understand the constraints I'm facing when I write a piece of code. I know the code will need highest performance or I've come back to rewrite it because perf was a problem. By default I assume maintainability is highest priority. The last sample might be a valid starting point if I need to explain how I got results. There is no "best" solution without knowing the constraints.
Asking for a solution without telling the person the constraints you need, and then judging them on those constraints, seems like it will miss the point of finding great developers. Besides if perf was really important the dev would use an imperative solution. I recall seeing a video where an Apple engineer used the sieve as performance justification of why they made Swift an OOP language instead of a FP language. Fortunately F# is multi-paradigm so we can choose the best one for the job.
Edit: Sorry for obsessing. I observe this kind of process used in hiring quite a bit nowadays, and it irks me. I assume the setup in the article was fictitious, so my complaints are probably a bit misplaced here. 🤐