Interview Tips Interview Tips, Interview Questions and Answers

21Sep/110

will Google make HTML5 applications viable

To briefly recap my earlier blogpost; HTML5 is causing a lot of buzz at the moment, proving itself to be a serious threat to Silverlight and Flash / Flex. When meeting with out current and potential customers, who work within the financial domain, almost all of them have aspirations to migrate their desktop and web applications to HTML5. There is no doubt that HTML5 and CSS3 bring some fantastic new features to the web, making it possible to develop the kind of complex application that previously required a plugin. However, the fundamental problem with HTML5 is JavaScript, which is not an ideal language for enterprise application development.

Google recognises this issue. An internal email from Nov 2010 that outlines their strategy for ‘Dart’, says:

“Complex web apps–the kind that Google specializes in–are struggling against the platform and working with a language that cannot be tooled and has inherent performance problems”

In the past Google has used Java to JavaScript compilation (GWT) and annotated-JavaScript to JavaScript compilation (Closure) to overcome these problems. In my previous blogpost I speculated that Microsoft could use a similar approach, offering a C# / VB.NET to JavaScript compiler, allowing HTML5 developers to use the full power of Visual Studio. However, with Dart Google are looking to go one step further:

“The goal of the Dash effort is ultimately to replace JavaScript as the lingua franca of web development on the open web platform.”

That’s quite an ambituous goal!

31Aug/100

Interview Questions on Networking, Part 2

What are the commonly used routing protocols?
Routers add entries to routing table with the help of routing protocols. The commonly used routing protocols are,

Routing Information Protocol(RIP):-
It is used to advertise the current status and information in the routing table, including the routes to the rest of the routers in every 30 seconds.

Open Shortest Path First(OSPF):-
It is used to determine the shortest path, otherwise known as the lowest cost path among the nodes of different networks.

What is a routing table?
A routing table contains the path information for data data packets to reach a particular inter-network. Basically this table consists of the following information,
Network ID, Subnet Mask, Gateway Address, Interface(port), and netric(hops or number of gaps between two internetworking devices).

Routers add entries to routing table with the help of routing protocols.

What is attenuation?
Attenuation is the degeneration or weakening of a signal over distance on a network cable. To avoid attenuation amplifiers or repeaters and short cables are used.

What is TCB(Transmission Control Block)?
A TCB is a complex data structure that contains informations about each connection.

What is silly window syndrome?
It is a problem that can affect TCP performance. This problem occurs when data are passed to the sending TCP entity in large blocks, but an interactive application on the receiving side reads only 1 byte at a time.

What is Beaconing?
The process that allows a network to self-repair networks problems is called Beaconing.

The stations on the network notify the other stations on the ring when they are not receiving the transmissions. Beaconing is used in Token ring and FDDI(Fibre Distributed Data Interface) networks.

24Jun/100

The Best Questions to Ask in the Interview

Some good topics to cover include: The company Dave Stanford, executive vice president of client services for contingency and contract staffing firm Winter, Wyman Companies suggests asking:

  • What do you see ahead for your company in the next five years?
  • How do you see the future for this industry?
  • What do you consider to be your firm's most important assets?
  • What can you tell me about your new product or plans for growth?
  • How do you rate your competition? The position's history Asking about why the position is vacant can provide insight into the company and the potential for advancement. According to Annie Stevens and Greg Gostanian, managing partners at executive and career development firm ClearRock, good questions include:
  • What happened to the last person who held this job?
  • What were the major strengths and weaknesses of the last person who held this job?
  • What types of skills do you NOT already have onboard that you're looking to fill with a new hire? The department Asking about your department's workers and role in the company can help you understand more about the company's culture and hierarchy. Stanford suggests asking:
  • What is the overall structure of the company and how does your department fit the structure?
  • What are the career paths in this department?
  • What have been the department's successes in the last couple of years?
  • How do you view your group/division/department? The job's responsibilities To avoid any confusion later on, it pays to gain a solid understanding of the position. FGP International's Eddie Payne recommends inquiring:
  • What would you consider to be the most important aspects of this job?
  • What are the skills and attributes you value most for someone being hired for this position?
  • Where have successful employees previously in this position progressed to within the company?
  • Could you describe a typical day or week in this position? The typical client or customer I would be dealing with? The expectations To determine how and when you will evaluated, Payne recommend advises asking:
  • What are the most immediate challenges of the position that need to be addressed in the first three months?
  • What are the performance expectations of this position over the first 12 months?
  • How will I be evaluated at XYZ company, and how often? The next steps At the end of the interview, don't forget to ask:
  • What are the next steps in the interview process?
  • 31Jan/100

    Jobs That Let You See the World

    Not all jobs are translatable to international positions without a little extra learning or language proficiency -- and you will need to acquire working permits and other legal documentation -- but here are some jobs that can take you away if you're up for the move:

    1. Teacher
    It's no news that teachers aren't highly paid, but if you're an instructor in South Dakota, you're among the lowest-paid in the nation, with an average salary of $33,236, according to a 2003-04 survey by the American Federation of Teachers. Try taking your skills abroad. Learning English is in high demand internationally, and Germany, Switzerland and South Korea are among the countries that pay the largest teacher salaries. South Korea's median teacher salaries range between $25,000 and $60,000, and the country has a positive reputation for providing high income to educators. Salaries in Switzerland range from $65,000 to $80,000. An added perk to employment in Germany is that state employees are regarded as permanent workers, meaning that they are paid necessary social insurances.
    Requirements: A four-year degree in education or a related field, teaching experience and a TESL/TEFL certificate. You will also need an international work visa and work permits, which can be obtained personally or through the school that employs you.

    2. Chef If you are an established chef, international hotels and restaurants may offer the opportunity to build on your career overseas while, in many cases, offering you room and board for a minimum costs. In the United States, the median annual income of a head chef/chef is $40,000, and $43,000 if you work as a chef for a hotel. Kingsbrook USA Inc. is one company that works to place chefs in international regions. They reported England's hotel chef positions as offering £14000, or roughly $26,730 U.S. dollars per year for Chef deParties. Kingsbrook also reported between $32,458 and $38,186 per year for Sous Chefs and between $38,186 and $47,732 per year for Head Chef.
    Requirements: An associate degree and at least three years of culinary experience. Letters of Reference, transcripts and health records and exams will also be required.

    3. Caterer
    Catering managers make an average median salary of $35,590 in the United States, and while other countries offer this position, the commute from national to international can literally be a matter of taste. Caterers who create a name for themselves in the U.S. industry can earn a trusted reputation and follow clients to overseas events. Rock stars and celebrities may have a variety of different catering companies working for them throughout the United States, but larger acts and A-listers like to have a trusted source to make sure their diet is in line with their requests. Working for one of these companies may put you on tour with the band, and if national gigs go well, you could find yourself overseas for the next tour.
    Requirements
    : Chefs and management have culinary training, but staff servers may have little or no experience. To garner a spot on a worldwide tour, a caterer will generally have a lot of experience. Passports are needed for international work.

    28Jan/100

    The Latest Best and Worst Cities for Jobs

    The best...

    Merced, Calif.
    No. of employed in July: 55,200
    No. of employed in October: 56,700
    Percent change: +2.7

    Morgantown, W.Va.
    No. of employed in July: 62,800
    No. of employed in October: 64,300
    Percent change: +2.4

    Dubuque, Iowa
    No. of employed in July: 53,200
    No. of employed in October: 54,300
    Percent change: +2.1

    Wilmington, N.C.
    No. of employed in July: 138,400
    No. of employed in October: 141,300
    Percent change: +2.1

    Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, N.J.
    No. of employed in July: 60,200
    No. of employed in October: 61,400
    Percent change: +2

    Mansfield, Ohio
    No. of employed in July: 53,800
    No. of employed in October: 54,900
    Percent change: +2

    Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.
    No. of employed in July: 798,200
    No. of employed in October: 810,500
    Percent change: +1.5

    Portsmouth, N.H.-Maine
    No. of employed in July: 53,900
    No. of employed in October: 54,600
    Percent change: +1.3

    Raleigh-Cary, N.C.
    No. of employed in July: 500,400
    No. of employed in October: 506,700
    Percent change: +1.3

    Iowa City, Iowa
    No. of employed in July: 91,000
    No. of employed in October: 92,100
    Percent change: +1.2

    And the worst

    Greenville, N.C.
    No. of employed in July: 76,400
    No. of employed in October: 74,900
    Percent change: -2

    Columbus, Ga.-Ala.
    No. of employed in July: 120,200
    No. of employed in October: 117,700
    Percent change: -2.1

    Dalton, Ga.
    No. of employed in July: 68,000
    No. of employed in October: 66,600
    Percent change: -2.1

    Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
    No. of employed in July: 119,400
    No. of employed in October: 116,800
    Percent change: -2.2

    Lafayette, Ind.
    No. of employed in July: 96,700
    No. of employed in October: 94,500
    Percent change: -2.3

    Bellingham, Wash.
    No. of employed in July: 82,200
    No. of employed in October: 80,300
    Percent change: -2.3

    Greeley, Colo.
    No. of employed in July: 79,700
    No. of employed in October: 77,800
    Percent change: -2.4

    Barnstable Town, Mass.
    No. of employed in July: 96,000
    No. of employed in October: 93,700
    Percent change: -2.4

    St. George, Utah
    No. of employed in July: 49,600
    No. of employed in October: 48,400
    Percent change: -2.4

    Gainesville, Ga.
    No. of employed in July: 75,300
    No. of employed in October: 73,400
    Percent change: -2.5