IMHO, it depends a lot on what kind of programming you are asking for. Somebody who can grok the complexity of C++ syntax has to have a decent mind to start with. If that person has coded at the _systems_ level, I think I'd be very willing to sit down and interview him/her.

There's a huge difference between a systems (or embedded) programmer and someone who has only done programming abstractions. Some web programming approaches this level, though only some.

Java, I'm less friendly to. The very things that are its advantages are in the way of getting things done in a Perl world, especially if your programmer needs to work with other programmers. I'd suspect that a Java programmer would quickly retreat back to his world with his tail between his legs (though he wouldn't see it that way!).

As to your intern, I'd agree with the advice to assess that person in terms of his/her grasp of programming concepts, especially the ability to think on multiple levels. My first programming job was 8051 assembler for a complex automated factory system, and I'd never coded anything in the real world before, only studied Intel manuals and programmed one of their 8088 SBC's for myself over a course of six months. That job required interleaving multiple stepper motors with different acceleration curves and different mechanical requirements, and I was every bit as good as the guy who hired me within a month of hire, and far better after two. I contrast that with guys I know who have degrees, certificates, and years of coding behind them who can't sit down and write out a system description to save their bacon.

There is a huge difference between programmers, both in their social and coding abilities. Every programmer is unique, and every work situation equally so.