Is there a C++ or C certificate?

[Leo]

Dear All,

I am wondering if there is any programming certificate in C++ which can
prove somebody's C++ skills.

I just had a job phone interview. Somebody asked me a lot of C and C++
questions which I was not prepared well. To avoid such questions in the
future job interview, I hope to take some kind of C++ certificate. I am
not interested in Microsoft's certificates. I am wondering if there is
any others.

Thank you very much.

 

[ma740988]

|| To avoid such questions in the future job interview, I hope to take
some kind of C++ certificate.

For starters, I suspect your post is off-topic but I'm not here to
delve into that. I find your comment somewhat amusing, in that, it
leads me to believe that you'll tout your certificate at the next job
interview. Akin to - I suspect - an individual touting his/her degree.
While I'm unsure of any certificate that'll prepare you for your next
interview, you ask me. I recommendation you get a few (used
sparingly) good books about the language and work through them.

Hopefully by the next interview, you'll be armed with enough knowledge
to answer the questions, withouth the need to 'tout' a certificate.

 

[W Marsh]

|| To avoid such questions in the future job interview, I hope to take
some kind of C++ certificate.

For starters, I suspect your post is off-topic but I'm not here to
delve into that. I find your comment somewhat amusing, in that, it
leads me to believe that you'll tout your certificate at the next job
interview. Akin to - I suspect - an individual touting his/her degree.
While I'm unsure of any certificate that'll prepare you for your next
interview, you ask me. I recommendation you get a few (used
sparingly) good books about the language and work through them.

Hopefully by the next interview, you'll be armed with enough knowledge
to answer the questions, withouth the need to 'tout' a certificate.

It's the std::tout.

 

[atgraham]

I am wondering if there is any programming certificate

in C++ which can prove somebody's C++ skills.

I certainly hope not. If there is, I don't want to be a part of any
company that chooses prospective employees based on these certificates.

The problem with a certificate is that it's only as good as the
organization that produces it. Since these organizations usually exist
only to soak up as much cash from as many gullible people as they
possibly can (Microsoft is a good example), their results are not
trustworthy.

Besides, it would be almost impossible to determine the full range and
depth of someone's skills based on a test that could be taken in any
reasonable amount of time. Most likely, if you did poorly in an
interview, you're either not the person for the job, or you were
interviewed by an idiot.

 

[JustBoo]

I certainly hope not. If there is, I don't want to be a part of any
company that chooses prospective employees based on these certificates.

Couldn't you say the same thing about a lot of the "Java Colleges"
now?

The problem with a certificate is that it's only as good as the
organization that produces it. Since these organizations usually exist
only to soak up as much cash from as many gullible people as they
possibly can (Microsoft is a good example), their results are not
trustworthy.

Couldn't you say the same thing about a lot of the "Java Colleges"
now? We had an Electrical Engineer from Grambling who could
not read a schematic. I'm not kidding. And they will not lose their
job either. I think she escorts people for a living now. At an EE's
pay grade mind you. Had another grad in CS from Uni of Arizona,
if it wasn't simple Java he was lost.

PLEASE do not read anything into the above except
precisely what I wrote. I used those cases because I had personal
experience with them. Not just an urban myth of someone's best friends
brother's uncle twice removed.

I'll give you the other side of the coin right now. I guess you have
to use something to predetermine capability. And that is a degree.
Yes, I get it.

Besides, it would be almost impossible to determine the full range and
depth of someone's skills based on a test that could be taken in any
reasonable amount of time. Most likely, if you did poorly in an
interview, you're either not the person for the job, or you were
interviewed by an idiot.

See above.

"The only real education is self-education" - Aristotle
And I include that of a formal institution... of learning I mean

 

[vord.fok]

I learn from this group ... Allot i guess , i'm just a rookie whos
getting his education in c++ programming
( And i love comming to this group )
You know what so fun here ?
The community and how people respond to all sorts off questions .
I think ( In comination of a good education in c++ ) that this is a
good way to prepare a good job interview .
It would take years tho , But if your as passionate about it like most
of these people who visit this group , You'd probably won't be jobless
long
Good luck on the market !
Greets ,

 

[E. Mark Ping]

I just had a job phone interview. Somebody asked me a lot of C and C++
questions which I was not prepared well.

What were the questions? Perhaps we can tell you whether they were
reasonable or not.

 

[Jaspreet]

Dear All,

I am wondering if there is any programming certificate in C++ which can
prove somebody's C++ skills.

I dont think there's a std::covered_all kind of a test available on
Earth. However there is a certification exam conducted by Brainbench
but to my knowledge it had atleast 4-5 errors which I could easily
notice out of 40 questions.

So, its better left un-touched.

I just had a job phone interview. Somebody asked me a lot of C and C++
questions which I was not prepared well. To avoid such questions in the
future job interview, I hope to take some kind of C++ certificate. I am
not interested in Microsoft's certificates. I am wondering if there is
any others.

Could you please give us some examples of the kind of questions he
asked ? For starters, if you have read Bjarne Stroustroup's book on C++
thoroughly, you would not face any difficulty in answering most of the
valid questions.

Again that is just my personal opinion and others may not subscribe to
it.

Bottom-line, no such certifications and please do not go-in for them.
You would just end up losing your $$.

 

[Leo]

He asked me the mechanisms of "go to" and others. I need to answer his
questions at assembly language level.

For some reasons, when I was studying CS in school, I missed a course
teaching how to write a compiler. So I have never done it. (Without that
course, my fundamental understanding of programming seems shaky.)
Otherwise, I would be able to handle most of the interviewer's questions
with confidence.

Could anybody recommend me ways to catch up? Which book to use?

Thank you.

 

[doors_0612]

Hello,
Pls guys,don't recommend someone to start learning C++ using
Strouustrop's book.Third edition, definitely is much more kinder than
the 2nd one, still ;-)
Person should rather start with either Stanley Lippman or if u want
loads of examples Bruce Eckel's TIC++.
I am 100% sure that 99.99% of the people who recommend Stroustrop to
beginners is just trying to show off.Most of them would have started
with something else and then graduated to Stroustroup. I remember
reading in one i/w given to a publication, BS himself recommends
Lippman for C++ beginners.

 

[W Marsh]

Hello,
Pls guys,don't recommend someone to start learning C++ using
Strouustrop's book.Third edition, definitely is much more kinder than
the 2nd one, still ;-)
Person should rather start with either Stanley Lippman or if u want
loads of examples Bruce Eckel's TIC++.
I am 100% sure that 99.99% of the people who recommend Stroustrop to
beginners is just trying to show off.Most of them would have started
with something else and then graduated to Stroustroup. I remember
reading in one i/w given to a publication, BS himself recommends
Lippman for C++ beginners.

Strouustrop, Stroustrop AND Stroustroup?

 

[Jaspreet]

Hello,
Pls guys,don't recommend someone to start learning C++ using
Strouustrop's book.Third edition, definitely is much more kinder than
the 2nd one, still ;-)
Person should rather start with either Stanley Lippman or if u want
loads of examples Bruce Eckel's TIC++.
I am 100% sure that 99.99% of the people who recommend Stroustrop to
beginners is just trying to show off.Most of them would have started
with something else and then graduated to Stroustroup. I remember
reading in one i/w given to a publication, BS himself recommends
Lippman for C++ beginners.

I guess the OP is not a beginner since he just had a C++ job interview
recently. I myself did not start with his book. I followed the books
listed on:
http://www.rudbek.com/books.html

Hey I never said I have gone through Stroustroup (apologies for
incorrect spellings). i just said if one goes through the book, he
would have no problems in clearing an interview.

Oh, apologies if it seemed like I wa showing off. BTW, Ii still have
not gone thorugh the book completely.

 

[Leo]

I just came back from the library and checked a couple of compiler books.

Now I see, the interviewer's questions mostly were like the final exam
questions of this course. (Since he was not satisfied with my answers,
he didn't ask me further questions. So I don't know the other questions'
related areas.)

By browsing those compiler books, I admit those knowledge will enhance
my understanding of programming languages dramatically. It is like
knowing mechanisms behind a scence.

I might just admit my weakness and start to read the book.

 

[Mike Smith]

Dear All,

I am wondering if there is any programming certificate in C++
Sure.

which can
prove somebody's C++ skills.

Nope.

 

[roberts.noah]

He asked me the mechanisms of "go to" and others. I need to answer his
questions at assembly language level.

For some reasons, when I was studying CS in school, I missed a course
teaching how to write a compiler. So I have never done it. (Without that
course, my fundamental understanding of programming seems shaky.)
Otherwise, I would be able to handle most of the interviewer's questions
with confidence.

Could anybody recommend me ways to catch up? Which book to use?

It sounds to me like you just need to apply for a job you are qualified
for. Obviously this position had an expectation of expertice in C++ at
the platform and hardware level. Meaning they expected you to know how
a compiler does what it does, which is not necessary knowledge for
being a C++ programmer. However, such knowledge can help in areas of
code that are performance intensive.

You will not get that kind of information from courses on C++. You get
that kind of information from classes on compiler design and possibly
asm or computer organization (a course on how a PC functions). Those
classes are "standard" in an undergraduate CS degree (though compiler
design wasn't in mine and more and more schools are shooting for
workplace information type degrees and C#). You could go to college
and get a CS degree and/or read books on the subjects mentioned.

You could always start with the Knuth books - all joking asside, if
you can understand them you could do a lot worse than reading those
books but they are VERY heavy and not because they are big.

 

[roberts.noah]

Come to think of it, the interviewer might have just wanted to know how
you might do it. I don't know how any given compiler works but I know
what goto does and I could probably come up with a reasonable approach
for implementing it.

 

[E. Mark Ping]

Pls guys,don't recommend someone to start learning C++ using
Strouustrop's book.Third edition, definitely is much more kinder than
the 2nd one, still ;-)

It's how I learned, and every other book I've found has problems that
would keep me from recommending it.

 

[Neil Cerutti]

I guess the OP is not a beginner since he just had a C++ job
interview recently. I myself did not start with his book. I
followed the books listed on: http://www.rudbek.com/books.html

Hey I never said I have gone through Stroustroup (apologies for
incorrect spellings). i just said if one goes through the book,
he would have no problems in clearing an interview.

Bjarne Stroustrup's book doesn't cover all of C++ in depth. You
will need more material than just _The C++ Programming Language_.
Besides, the silly questions asked on certification tests often
require recall of obscure details that sane programmers needn't
think of on a daily basis. The ability to choose, consult and
understand proper reference material is more important than the
ability to recall arbitrary arcane facts during a programming
test.

 

[JustBoo]

Besides, the silly questions asked on certification tests often
require recall of obscure details that sane programmers needn't
think of on a daily basis. The ability to choose, consult and
understand proper reference material is more important than the
ability to recall arbitrary arcane facts during a programming
test.

Amen to that. Forward that to the HR dept.

However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally
look at the results. - Winston Churchill

 

[BigBrian]

I agree with this based on some of the certification tests that I have
seen. However, if somebody has a good understanding of the language,
they should be able to answer such questions eventhough you don't need
such constructs on a daily basis. No test is perfect, but
certification tests can serve a purpose.