topic Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge in BreakPoint

fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

jcarmody — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:28:01 GMT

I read today's Coding Horror blog titled "How to Hire a Programmer", then followed a link to another titled "Why Can't Programmers... Program?" It was in the second one that I read "[...] 199 out of 200 applicants for every programming job can't write code at all. I repeat: they can't write any code whatsoever." The author meant that quite literally. He then suggested a simple coding test to weed out the non-programmers:

Write a program that prints the numbers from 1 to 100. But for multiples of three print "Fizz" instead of the number and for the multiples of five print "Buzz". For numbers which are multiples of both three and five print "FizzBuzz".

The comment that got me to write a solution was "Most good programmers should be able to write out on paper a program which does this in a under a couple of minutes." Could I write this in just a minute or two (or three)? I wasn't too surprised that I could, and I expect that many of y'all can, too.

This would be a good test for folks that are just beginning (students, I'm talking to you). Perhaps you've passed the CLAD (or CLD) and are feeling pretty good about yourself. Try it, you may like it.

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

EvenDeejay — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:29:41 GMT

A nice task I hope I solved without any Rube Goldberg code

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

jcarmody — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:04:23 GMT

Mine was similar:

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

Henrik_Volkers — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:15:39 GMT

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

jcarmody — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:21:34 GMT

Henrik,

This is not a code obfuscation contest! 😄

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

Henrik_Volkers — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:34:46 GMT

I haven't tested it for speed, however I wanted to avoid two quotient&remainder vis 😄

How about a one line regular expression someone?

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

ChrissyC — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:35:39 GMT

Mine's v.similar to jcarmody's, but slightly more convoluted thanks to the select VIs

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

jcarmody — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:46:05 GMT

@Henrik Volkers wrote:

I haven't tested it for speed, however I wanted to avoid two quotient&remainder vis

I was referring to your first solution.

@Henrik Volkers wrote:

How about a one line regular expression someone?

Hmmm...

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

jcarmody — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:47:14 GMT

@ChrissyC87 wrote:

Mine's v.similar to jcarmody's, but slightly more convoluted thanks to the select VIs

Don't be :(. You just beat 199 out of 200 people applying for a programming job. 🙂

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

P@Anand — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:58:03 GMT

@Even Deejay wrote:

A nice task I hope I solved without any Rube Goldberg code

Still small thing you have that kind. You could have used instead of .

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

ChrissyC — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:59:53 GMT

Woo! i can again!

I quite enjoyed this little challenge (compared to some of the mountains I have to climb at work!) perhaps this could be a regular feature?

I'm sure it'd improve my coding (and others) to see some different approaches to problems.

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

altenbach — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:34:05 GMT

Why does everybody use so much duplicate code for the two Q&R operations. Simply divide by an array of [3,5]! Only one Q&R needed. 😮

Case structures are for wimps, so here's a solution that does not hide any code. 😄

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

ChrissyC — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:05:13 GMT

A slightly better version of my first attempt then:

-CC

p.s. what do case structures have to do with Dark Matter? (Wimps)

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

Henrik_Volkers — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:34:49 GMT

@altenbach wrote:

Why does everybody use so much duplicate code for the two Q&R operations. Simply divide by an array of [3,5]! Only one Q&R needed. 😮

Case structures are for wimps, so here's a solution that does not hide any code. 😄

I like these small challenges, learned about the Q&R with array 🙂

however the string conversion and replace array approach is executing worthless in 7/15*100 %

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

altenbach — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:40:21 GMT

@Henrik Volkers wrote:
however the string conversion and replace array approach is executing worthless in 7/15*100 %

If the problem had been to do it for all possible I32 integers and as fast as possible, I probably would have coded it quite differently. You need to find the right balance.

This is sufficient for the current problem. 😄

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

Henrik_Volkers — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:46:50 GMT

@jcarmody wrote:

@Henrik Volkers wrote:

I haven't tested it for speed, however I wanted to avoid two quotient&remainder vis

I was referring to your first solution.

Closer to a TTL logic 😉 using shift registers instead of Q&R (Hey, I started soldering before programming 😉 and still miss the triode.vi 😄 ) , where is the obfuscation?

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

Ben — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:41:21 GMT

@P Anand wrote:

@Even Deejay wrote:

A nice task I hope I solved without any Rube Goldberg code

Still small thing you have that kind. You could have used instead of .

I enjoy reading these type so threads as well.

In my minds eye, I would prefer to find Even's approach with P Anand's mods. It is obvious "at a glance" what the code does. The other approaches are like trying to read one of my "quicky-replies". Yes there maybe an asnwer in there but you hvae to think to figure it out.

Thanks for the entertainment!

Ben

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

P@Anand — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:47:58 GMT

Thank you very much Ben for this kind of reply to my thread.

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

RayFarmer — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:56:03 GMT

here is my variation

Re: fizbuzz - a simple coding challenge

Henrik_Volkers — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:02:18 GMT

Since the interview was joined by marketing and the project leader, the optics was switched to silver and more features had to be included.

Who needed the progress bar (followed by a slow down to make it visible!) couldn't be reconstructed by the protocol 😉