I got this exact same question in a Google on-site interview. It was one of those warm-ups :)
It does require someone to think like a C programmer: handling buffers directly, in-place modification and using NULL terminators to end strings that may have memory allocated beyond the NULL. I think it's a great question, but I don't know how well it would go over with CS undergrad students coming out with a Java only background.
Should I look for an equivalent simplistic Java question or stick to the guns and require candidates to know C? (I know the answer for my own team, but curious on others thoughts)
It does require someone to think like a C programmer: handling buffers directly, in-place modification and using NULL terminators to end strings that may have memory allocated beyond the NULL. I think it's a great question, but I don't know how well it would go over with CS undergrad students coming out with a Java only background.
Should I look for an equivalent simplistic Java question or stick to the guns and require candidates to know C? (I know the answer for my own team, but curious on others thoughts)