blog: Voding the Interview

blog/voiding-the-interview-2017-04-16.md

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+---
+template: blog
+title: Voiding the Interview
+date: 2017-04-16
+sitename: Xena
+---
+
+A young man walks into the room, slightly frustrated-looking. He's obviously had
+a bad day so far. You can help him by creating a new state of mind.
+
+"Hello, my name is Ted and I'm here to ask you a few questions about your
+programming skills. Let's start with this, in a few sentences explain to me how
+your favorite programming language works."
+
+Starting from childhood, you eagerly soaked up the teachings of your mentors,
+feeling the void separated into sundry shapes and sequences. They taught you
+many specific tasks to shape the void into, but not how to shape it. Studying
+the fixed ways of the naacals of old gets you nowhere, learning parlor tricks
+and saccharine gimmicks. Those gimmicks come rushing back, you remembering
+how to form little noisemakers and amusement vehicles. They are limiting, but
+comforting thoughts.
+
+You look up to the interviewer and speak:
+
+"In the beginning there was the void, Spirit was with the void and Spirit was
+everpresent in the void. The void was cold and formless; the cold unrelenting
+even in today's age. Mechanical brains cannot grasp this void the way Spirit can;
+upon seeing it that is the end of that run. In this way the void is the
+beginning and the end, always present, always around the corner."
+
+```clojure
+(def void ())
+```
+
+"What is that?"
+
+```
+> void
+>
+```
+
+"But that's...nothing."
+
+You look at the caucasian man sitting across from you, and emit "nothing is
+something, a name for the void still leaves the void extant."
+
+"...Alright, let's move on to the next question. This is a formality but the
+person giving you the phone interview didn't cover fizzbuzz. Can you do
+fizzbuzz?"
+
+Stepping into the void, you recall the teachings of your past masters. You
+equip the parentheses once used by your father and his father before him.
+The void divides before your eyes in the way you specify:
+
+```clojure
+(defn fizzbuzz [n]
+  (cond
+    (= 0 (mod n 15)) (print "fizzbuzz")
+    (= 0 (mod n 3))  (print "fizz")
+    (= 0 (mod n 5))  (print "buzz")
+    (print n))
+  (println ""))
+```
+
+"This doesn't loop from 0 to n though, how would you do that?"
+
+You see this section come to life, it gently humming along, waiting for it
+to be used. Before you you see two ancient systems spring from the memories
+of patterns once wielded in conflict with complexity.
+
+"Apply this function to span of values."
+
+```
+> (range 17)
+error in __main:0: symbol {range 71} not found
+```
+
+You realize your error the moment you press for confirmation. "Again, in the
+beginning there is the void. What doesn't exist needs to be separated out
+from it." The voidspace in your head was out of sync with the voidspace of the
+machine. Define them.
+
+"...Go on"
+
+```clojure
+(defn range-inner [x lim xs]
+  (cond
+    (>= x lim) xs
+    (begin
+      (aset! xs x x)
+      (range-inner (+ x 1) lim xs))))
+
+(defn range [lim]
+  (range-inner 0 lim (make-array lim)))
+```
+
+```
+> (range 17)
+[0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16]
+```
+
+"Great, now you have a list of values, how would you get the full output?"
+
+"Pass the function as an argument, injecting the dependency."
+
+```clojure
+(defn do-array-inner [f x i]
+  (cond
+    (= i (len x)) void
+    (let [val (aget x i)]
+      (f val)
+      (apply-inner f x (+ i 1)))))
+
+(defn do-array [f x]
+  (do-array-inner f x 0))
+```
+
+```
+> (do-array fizzbuzz (range 17))
+fizzbuzz
+1
+2
+fizz
+4
+buzz
+fizz
+7
+8
+fizz
+buzz
+11
+fizz
+13
+14
+fizzbuzz
+16
+```
+
+Your voidspace concludes the same, creating a sense of peace. You look in the
+man's eyes, being careful to not let the fire inside you scare him away. He
+looks like he's seen a ghost. Everyone's first time is rough.
+
+Everything has happened and will happen, there is nothing new in the universe.
+You know what's going to happen. They will decline, saying they are looking for
+a better "culture fit". They couldn't contain you.