Programmer's Interview: Would source code for a Grades Calculator be too junior for a employer to look at?

I was told Thursday to bring source code for an interview on Monday. Basically, most of the code I have is web stuff (asp .net, SharePoint web parts, javascript) which would have nothing to do with the job and some of my older code in C++ is just horrible. I do have a grades calculator in C# but it just seems to junior, but it's the only piece of code I have that has a good OOP feel to it. I was planning to do a presentation and go through the entire SDLC of the code (including a flow chart of the input %26amp; output in Visio) but I keep thinking this is too junior. I'm sure the main goal of this was to see if I code a lot in my spare time but that's impossible with 2 kids at home. I should have asked them to give me some requirements for a program they would want to see but it's too late for all of that. Shoud I continue with the Grades Calculator presentation or do something else?

Programmer's Interview: Would source code for a Grades Calculator be too junior for a employer to look at?
I would be concerned if you brought a grades calculator to an interview, because it's both an entry-level problem and there are countless versions floating around on the Web, so I might be worried you stole it.





I would think it wise to bring both that AND your ASP.NET stuff. Basically, you want to be able to prove you can work with the GUI but also can create elegant solutions; that would provide some comfort to me if I were interviewing you (albeit, not much).





UPDATE:





You sent me this comment via e-mail:





%26gt;%26gt;This is actually the second interview, so they already know I'm entry-level. ... I actually built this May 06 and I wanted to expand it by writing all grades to a database and allowing students to see their grades via a web page. Do you think this is still a bad way to go? I am prepared to break all of my engagements this weekend much to my wife's chagrin.





Since they know you're entry-level, they're probably more interested in whether you produce clean, well-documented code and whether you can work as part of development team -- that is, take on some small part of a larger product and produce work that others can understand.





So, I would make sure your code is well-commented.





Another option is to find some open-source software -- such as at http://www.sourceforge.net -- and amend the code to either fix a reported bug, implement a requested feature, etc.





You don't actually need to be a member of most projects in order to get the source code, view the bug reports or feature requests. You can always download the source code for any of those projects and tinker with it to your heart's content.





I would feel very good about an entry-level team programmer if he demonstrated an ability to pick up a project that's already underway, be given an assignment to work on some part of it, and he did so well and without harming the other parts of the program.
Reply:I forgot to follow up on this. I want to thank you for your help on this. I didn't get the job due to the company switching gears to search a Senior developer instead but they really liked my interview. Report It

Reply:If you're confident about it, just go for it. Show them that you really understand the concepts of OOP and how much you have put on the design. If you made use of design patterns it would be even better. Some knowledge on algorithms and data structure would make it perfect.


You don't have to show them you have worked with big projects. Just show them how much you know and used in your application. And your ability to overcome any problem.
Reply:Bring it to the interview. Explain it briefly; show that you understand how it does what it does, and get on with the INTERVIEW.
Reply:What you should think about is why they want you to bring some source code. Usually people don't feel like looking at source code, especially if its complicated and especially if its an interview.





There's a good chance that what they want to see is how you write code. Naming conventions, structure and comments. Why? Because if you've ever had to join a project and start looking at code, those are the 1st things you think about. Descriptive variable names are always a plus. Writing object oriented code is what its all about when it comes to structure. No one likes huge blocks of code. Having good comments are also important. Sure you did something fancy with a certain section, or have certain values assigned. It would be good to know why those decisions were made.





Right now I'm working on my thesis and that involves adding a few features to an existing tool. The 1st thing that got me annoyed was that there was a lot of code, though it was clearly modular, and there were hardly any comments and no do specification documentation.





If your grades calculator is too much code in one file, or too little code, then you may want to find a different program or complement it with some other program/work you've done.
Reply:Depends on the job you are trying for. if you're looking for an entry level job, what you have is fine, all they really want to know is that you are trainable.





if you're looking for something other than entry level, you better start coding.

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