i worked at a then-web3.0 startup in the 00’s that had built something that could have been pivoted into this, but instead the CEO wanted to be like Digg instead.
the commercial community of practice is small for sure.
i use property based testing for the external api of my business domain service.
yes, the test code is an “oracle”, knowing what the service _should_ be doing. it’s a parallel implementation of the logic, highly geared towards the use-case of testing.
I applied to one position here on a HN job thread a bit back. Looked right up my alley. Doing IoT, 3d modeling, circuit design, and glue code. So, I did the initial phone screen. Then they gave me the 'zinger': we want you to make a webapp for us. We expect this will take 8-12 hours (?!).
I responded back, that's billable time there. That would require me to take PTO at my current job, and do your work unpaid. And that, I will not do.
I kindly told them where they could put their job. (They still advertise jobs on the monthly, but they seem legit aside that onerous 1.5 days of work. And no, I won't mention whom. Hopefully they'll rethink their policies, but alas..)
Yeah, I did ask around in their area with fellow engineer-y types. They are a legit company, and the webapp wasn't a way to get free work. Think of it as a standards approach, rather than bulletpoint resumes that verge on untruth.
To be honest, I'd prefer they have a sit-down with me. They can do their fizzbuzz or linked list test, but I want to get a feel of the problems they're fighting with. I've always liked deep technical discussions, and how I would do it vs how they would/did it. It's a bit more subjective, but I would think that discussing technical aspects and asking how I (interviewee) would do it.
I offered an IoT project Ive developed myself in lieu of it, so they could comment on my code quality. They declined that, and wanted their webapp.
They're missing out :) Although I've an interview with GitLab coming up. Everything I've seen how they operate and treat their people is just awesome. Regardless if I'm a good fit for the position they're offering, I still think highly of them. :)
Take home assignment is basically an inquisition-style "accuse yourself" situation. Implemented the requirements? Sorry, there are no tests and we took them as granted. Skipped non-trivial part of the task? Sorry, the implementation is incomplete. Used XHR? Sorry, Fetch API is the thing. Used Fetch API? Sorry, async/await are the thing. You sent URL to a repository? Sorry, we wanted an attachment. You sent the code as an attachment? Sorry, our spam filter threw it away. ENOUGH.
I'm applying simultaneously to tens of companies, if you insist I can send you a link to my repositories with all take home assignments I've done so far.
Just a month ago I had a company task me with implementing an xSV parser with four cases, the fourth being "arbitrary delimiter." I implemented all cases except this last one (only because of time) and included the tests and benchmarks offered as "extra credit."
The best jobs I have ever had spent less than 2 hours total in on-site interviews. The worst companies that I never heard from again burned a whole day running me through the gauntlet.
ah, Student Congress. I did that and loved it too. I enjoyed it more for learning how to effectively troll, since I wasn't as good as the "politics" part needed to win.
