[chrshawkes]

"I hate anything that asks me to design on the spot. That's asking to demonstrate a skill rarely required on the job in a high-stress environment, where it is difficult for a candidate to accurately prove their abilities. I think it's fundamentally an unfair thing to request of a candidate." Scott Meyers

I'll take this guy's word over yours I'm sorry. Your supposedly simple use case is given in a different environmental surrounding than a typical day on the job.

[blindhippo]

At no point did I suggest I ask anyone to design anything - it's a simple question with a simple solution (if they know how to program).

My opinion, of course, but a "good programmer" can think through the solution entirely in their head without hands touching keyboard. Code is the byproduct of the person's thoughts. I'm looking for people who think like programmers. If that bar is too high, I'm rather disappointed with the state of the programming community.