I have found that a 30-minute discussion on a random variety of technical topics (including questions such as those posted above) is sufficient to determine whether someone has required technical expertise.
Coding exercises entirely miss the point, because writing code is the easy part. The hard part about good software engineering is being able to rapidly acquire problem domain expertise and knowing which engineering design choices enable rapid, scalable, and maintainable development to solve the problem. That's why companies using code exercises to screen candidates are generally not worth the interviewee's time to work for - it indicates that the interviewers don't understand the problem domain, either, and (by extension) that company is mired in mediocrity.
I've had code exercise interviews. I'm quite happy that I have never had to work for one of the companies that used them. I have never given a code exercise interview, and I've been quite pleased with the candidates that have responded and worked with me.
Coding exercises entirely miss the point, because writing code is the easy part. The hard part about good software engineering is being able to rapidly acquire problem domain expertise and knowing which engineering design choices enable rapid, scalable, and maintainable development to solve the problem. That's why companies using code exercises to screen candidates are generally not worth the interviewee's time to work for - it indicates that the interviewers don't understand the problem domain, either, and (by extension) that company is mired in mediocrity.
I've had code exercise interviews. I'm quite happy that I have never had to work for one of the companies that used them. I have never given a code exercise interview, and I've been quite pleased with the candidates that have responded and worked with me.
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