[Florin_Andrei]

If you ask me to "code" something on the whiteboard, that simple request is more an indication of your competence or cluefulness, or rather lack thereof, than the result would be an indication of my qualities.

The proper reaction to such a request would be: "So, you guys do all your work here on whiteboards? That's seems unusual, I used laptops or workstations at all my previous jobs."

[loumf]

What if I told you before you came in that we'd be coding on whiteboards. That my expectations were calibrated properly for that, and that the problems would be "white-board" sized.

I've done this -- had people talk to me about their anxiety or problems with it, and put them at ease. For some, I have recommended that they just go practice of an hour or so with a friend -- it's really not that hard to code "whiteboard" level code if you code every day and practice it a little. It's such a common tech interview style, that if you are looking for a job, it's worth working a little at it.

Frankly, in a code-editor, my expectations are much higher -- I don't even require you get any framework class or method name right (or even perfect syntax) -- but the compiler will. It gets in the way of the essence of the question -- which is more about collaboration.

[rimantas]

So instead of not doing a stupid thing you still do it but just warn people in advance and even tell them to practice doing that stupid thing, even if it will not be a part of their job?

[loumf]

I don't think it's stupid, but I do think you shouldn't be surprised by tech interviews.

This is for a screen to make sure you are a programmer. If you can't code up a four line function without an editor, there are going to be a lot of jobs you might like that you won't get. Ditto with calling strangers stupid.

[Florin_Andrei]

Advertising it beforehand does not make a stupid thing less stupid.

[ori_b]

Not all our work, but we definitely use code sketched out on whiteboards as a communication tool. Are you claiming that you can't reason about algorithms or communicate them effectively if you're not in front of a computer?

I don't give a flying fuck about minor syntax errors, forgotten API, or anything a compiler can catch. If you forget an API, I either give it to you or ask you to make up something reasonable. (Chances are, I can't remember it either). But if you can't describe an algorithm to me in front of a whiteboard, I don't want you on my team. And if you can't translate it to pseudocode that resembles the language you're going to be working in, I also don't want you on my team.

[iMark]

I asked for a laptop in an Amazon interview and was told I had to use the whiteboard. It was frustrating to say the least.