[nilkn]

> But if you end up picking something that doesn't exist, well, you aren't earning yourself any points.

I don't know about your personal interviews, but I'd find this reasoning slightly strange if I were being asked to write computer code on a whiteboard. I'd find it much less strange if I were actually handed a laptop to write a functioning program on.

Expecting perfectly correct code on a whiteboard seems to me to be a slight abuse of the medium. Whiteboards and chalkboards specifically exist to sketch things out in an adhoc fashion, often in a collaborative and easy-to-edit way.

[flurgl123]

I don't think he meant perfect code. But I've had candidates claim their main language is Java, but were unable to write a proper for loop or know basic data types like arrays or ArrayLists. I've met such people with PhDs and impressive CVs.

Interview enough people and you'll encounter some that are very convincing until you dig down into details. So you have to dig into details.

[xsmasher]

To "not code in X correctly" is ambiguous, but I assume/hope the parent poster means that someone makes fundamental, non-syntax errors in their code - in C++ this would be something like returning a pointer to an object that's on the local stack.

If you're trying to filter for people can be productive in a particular language from anyone else, that's what you need to look for.

If you let the candidate pick their strongest language and they still make fundamental errors, you know they're not going to be immediately productive in any language.