Re: Interview Question

[Quoted] In article <3394E27F.241D_at_ntsource.com>, Frank Hubeny [Quoted] [Quoted] <fhubeny_at_ntsource.com> writes
>I have been able to eliminate about 50% of the candidates that get
>past nontechnical screenings by simply asking them if they can do an
>"hello world" program in the language in which they claim to be expert.
>
> So, the first question I would ask someone who claims to be expert in
>SQL on Oracle would be
>
> Display the string "hello world" in SQL*Plus.
>

Sorry, I have to disagree.
[Quoted] Doubtless I'm about to be burned at he stake, but as far as I'm concerned, a SQL*Plus expert is not necessarily an Oracle expert. For me, SQL*Plus is primarily an environment for running pre-prepared scripts - usually on or against the server, and maybe for quick and dirty queries or fixes.
It is _not_ a tool for ad-hoc querying, ad-hoc reporting or scheduled reporting, or for that matter for edlin-style editing. There are much better tools available.
It is certainly not a tool for end users. In the 1990's, end users should not have to learn SQL. They click on the information they want and we provide it.
Regards
Paul Brewer Received on Sun Jun 08 1997 - 00:00:00 CEST