Clipper Developer Hiring Guide

Hiring Guide for Clipper Engineers

Ask the right questions to secure the right Clipper talent among an increasingly shrinking pool of talent.

The Clipper, a type of sailing ship, was developed in the United States during the mid-19th century. Known for their speed and sleek design, clippers were primarily used for transporting goods such as tea from China and gold from California (Britannica). The term "clipper" originated from the phrase "to clip it off," referring to their swift movement through water (Maritime Museum of San Diego). Clippers revolutionized maritime trade by significantly reducing travel time across oceans. Despite being replaced by steamships later on due to technological advancements, clippers remain an iconic symbol of maritime history.

First 20 minutes

General Clipper knowledge and experience

The next 20 minutes of the interview should attempt to focus more specifically on the development questions used, and the level of depth and skill the engineer possesses.

Describe the difference between PRIVATE and PUBLIC variables in Clipper.

In Clipper, PRIVATE variables are only accessible within the procedure or function in which they are declared, while PUBLIC variables are accessible from any procedure or function.

What are the uses of the SET command in Clipper?

The SET command in Clipper is used to control various system settings and behaviors, such as the decimal separator, date format, and printer settings.

How would you declare a variable in Clipper?

In Clipper, you can declare a variable using the PRIVATE or PUBLIC keyword followed by the variable name.

What are some common data types used in Clipper?

Clipper uses a variety of data types, such as numeric, date, logical, character, and memo.

How would you install Clipper on your system?

You can install Clipper through its package manager, Clip. To install Clipper, you would first need to install Clip, and then use Clip to install Clipper.

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What youre looking for early-on

Does the candidate show a willingness to learn and adapt?

The tech field is always evolving. A good candidate should be open to learning new skills and adapting to changes.

Is the candidate able to work in a team?

Software development often requires teamwork. It's important that they can work well with others to complete projects.

Has the candidate shown experience with database management?

Clipper is often used for database management, so experience in this area is a strong indicator of their ability to succeed in this role.

Can the candidate communicate effectively?

Communication is important in any job, but particularly in development where they may need to explain complex concepts to non-technical team members.

Has the candidate demonstrated problem-solving skills?

Problem-solving is a key skill for developers. They should be able to identify, analyze, and solve problems that may arise during the development process.

Does the candidate have a solid understanding of Clipper programming language?

This is essential as the job requires developing applications using Clipper. Their understanding of the language will directly impact their ability to perform their job.

Next 20 minutes

Specific Clipper development questions

The next 20 minutes of the interview should attempt to focus more specifically on the development questions used, and the level of depth and skill the engineer possesses.

How would you handle multiple work areas in Clipper?

Clipper allows you to handle multiple work areas using the SELECT command. You can switch between different work areas by using SELECT followed by the work area number.

Describe the difference between the USE and SELECT commands in Clipper.

In Clipper, the USE command is used to open a database file, while the SELECT command is used to choose the active work area.

How would you create a database file in Clipper?

You can create a database file in Clipper using the CREATE command followed by the name of the file.

What are some of the database functions available in Clipper?

Clipper provides a wide range of database functions, such as USE, SELECT, APPEND, DELETE, RECALL, REPLACE, and others.

How would you handle errors in Clipper?

Clipper provides several mechanisms for handling errors, such as the ON ERROR command, which allows you to specify a procedure to be executed when an error occurs.

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The ideal back-end app developer

What you’re looking to see on the Clipper engineer at this point.

A skilled Clipper engineer should possess strong problem-solving skills, in-depth knowledge of Clipper programming language, and experience with debugging. Red flags include a lack of examples of past work, inability to solve basic problems, and poor communication skills.

Digging deeper

Code questions

These will help you see the candidate's real-world development capabilities with Clipper.

What does this simple Clipper code do?

PROCEDURE Main()
  ? 'Hello, World!'
RETURN

This code prints 'Hello, World!' to the console.

What does this Clipper code do?

PROCEDURE Main()
  LOCAL nNumber := 10
  @ 10, 10 SAY 'The number is ' + STR(nNumber)
RETURN

This code declares a local variable 'nNumber' and assigns it a value of 10. It then prints 'The number is 10' at the position 10,10 on the screen.

What does this Clipper code do?

PROCEDURE Main()
  LOCAL aArray := {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
  AEVAL(aArray, {|x| ? x})
RETURN

This code declares an array 'aArray' with 5 elements. It then uses the AEVAL() function to iterate over each element in the array and print it to the console.

What does this Clipper code do?

PROCEDURE Main()
  LOCAL nCount := 0
  DO WHILE nCount < 10
    ? 'Count is ' + STR(nCount)
    nCount := nCount + 1
  ENDDO
RETURN

This code declares a local variable 'nCount' and assigns it a value of 0. It then enters a loop where it prints the current count to the console and increments 'nCount' by 1. The loop continues until 'nCount' is no longer less than 10.

What does this Clipper code do?

PROCEDURE Main()
  LOCAL oObject := MyClass():New()
  ? oObject:MyMethod()
RETURN

CLASS MyClass
  METHOD New()
    RETURN Self
  METHOD MyMethod()
    RETURN 'Hello, World!'
ENDCLASS

This code declares a local variable 'oObject' and assigns it a new instance of the 'MyClass' class. It then calls the 'MyMethod' method of 'oObject' and prints the returned value to the console. The 'MyClass' class has two methods: 'New', which returns the current object, and 'MyMethod', which returns 'Hello, World!'.

What will be the output of this Clipper code?

PROCEDURE Main()
  LOCAL nNumber := 10
  DO WHILE nNumber > 0
    ? 'Number is ' + STR(nNumber)
    nNumber := nNumber - 1
  ENDDO
RETURN

This code will print 'Number is 10' to 'Number is 1' in descending order. It declares a local variable 'nNumber' and assigns it a value of 10. It then enters a loop where it prints the current number to the console and decrements 'nNumber' by 1. The loop continues until 'nNumber' is no longer greater than 0.

Wrap-up questions

Final candidate for Clipper role questions

The final few interview questions for a Clipper candidate should typically focus on a combination of technical skills, personal goals, growth potential, team dynamics, and company culture.

What are some of the advanced features of Clipper?

Clipper includes several advanced features, such as support for object-oriented programming, a powerful macro compiler, and a built-in assembler.

How would you handle file and directory operations in Clipper?

Clipper provides several functions for handling file and directory operations, such as FOPEN, FCLOSE, FREAD, FWRITE, and others.

Describe the difference between the INDEX and SEEK commands in Clipper.

In Clipper, the INDEX command is used to create an index file, while the SEEK command is used to search for a specific record in the database using the index.

How would you create an index file in Clipper?

You can create an index file in Clipper using the INDEX command followed by the name of the index file and the expression to be indexed.

What are the uses of the INDEX command in Clipper?

The INDEX command in Clipper is used to create an index file for a database file, which can improve the speed of data retrieval.

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Clipper application related

Product Perfect's Clipper development capabilities

Beyond hiring for your Clipper engineering team, you may be in the market for additional help. Product Perfect provides seasoned expertise in Clipper projects, and can engage in multiple capacities.

Clipper Consultive assessments

Custom Clipper development projects

Hiring guides

Hiring guides at a higher level of coverage

Zooming out above a specific programming language, these other hiring guides may be helpful.

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Front-end Web Developer

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Full Stack Developer (.Net)

Full Stack Developer (MEAN)

Full Stack Developer (MERN)

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Database Engineer (Oracle)

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Sr. AI Engineer (Python)

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