Should a developer know common things with 2+ years of experience?

Question

I have 2 years experience in Ruby on Rails. I have basic (very bsic) mysql knowledge, such as inserting data, joining, selecting from more than one table. But now I want to know more about this, because my friends have problems with interviews when they are asked questions such as:

• What is a trigger?
• what trigger is called when ...?
• What are the views in mysql? etc.......

Are these questions for developers? Is this the base database? Also, what other developers should know, having experience of 2 years or more.

I am in the mind, because I have more than two years of experience in ruby, and I learn new things every day, only in ruby. If someone asks me to rate myself, I cannot give more than 5 out of 10 in ROR only.

So my question is: what common things should a developer know with 2 years of experience?

Hi,

Salil Gaykvad

Answer 1

This is not even a “basic” database, IMO. I would ask about things like normalization, indexing, etc.

A web application developer needs to know about HTTP, TCP / IP, CSS, and JavaScript.

XML and JSON are important data transfer formats.

You should read something about web page design. "Don't make me think!" this is a good start. Also read about graphic design.

Ruby is just one language for developing on the Internet. This is not the only way. It is better to learn some of these basics.

Answer 2

I believe that the answers to these questions are very subjective. Sometimes a developer with ½ years of experience will call a developer with 5 years of experience stupid because he thinks there is such a thing that you should know. The five-year veteran probably never needed these things and is still very productive. Everyone has different expectations.

If you have a question that you cannot answer even with 2 years of experience, is it your fault? You may be a Ruby and rails veteran, but you still can't be the master of things specific to MySQL if you've always used Postgresql. If your previous applications were not heavy in the database, it is clear that you know little about databases. I would say that it depends on the work, what kind of knowledge you need.

Answer 3

To be honest with you, it looks like you're too focused on a single technology (Ruby on Rails). If you find it difficult to answer questions about database technology, focus your energy on MySQL for the next few months.

The questions you ask are a bit advanced, but they are relatively common. Although it’s great that the developer understands ActiveRecord, I really want to determine how candidates will work without tools.

Do you know how to manually write SQL, for example?

I expect junior web application developers to learn (X) HTML, CSS, JavaScript, database development concepts, and at least have a basic understanding of the web server they are targeting.