Well, I only used the &foo syntax for clarity of expression: "&foo" is the one and only name of the function "foo", while foo() could refer to an operator. When teaching or explaining about function calls I think it reasonable to use the ampersand. In real code, of course, I avoid ampersands whenever possible.

But to answer your question: I'd probably smile broadly and hire the candidate on the spot. If there was no hurry, I would first indulge in a thoroughly enjoyable argument over how attempts to improve readability can break things by accident. (Contrary to popular folklore, &func is not synonymous with func(@_); the former shares a single @_ array, while the latter makes a temp copy that disappears when func returns. Don't feel bad if you didn't know that; I actually caught TheDamian in the same mistake at TPC5.)

It's certainly true that a good programmer is a good programmer no matter his background. But background can take time to overcome, and some habits are difficult to unlearn. A really good programmer must grok his tools, above all his language. I was hired in my current job to mostly code Python (ack! spit!); I thought for sure I'd have no problem with it, but it's taken a few months to get get to the point where coding in Python isn't like translating English to Spanish word for word. (Which, incidentally, sucks.)

UPDATE: Fixed usage of the word "latter", per tilly's kind correction.

    -- Chip Salzenberg, Free-Floating Agent of Chaos

In reply to Re (chip): Re3: Technical Interview by chip
in thread Technical Interview by jonjacobmoon

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