Hitcents C#Programming Test

 

This test is designed to evaluate generalC# and Xamarin development skills. Prior knowledge of C# or Xamarin tools isnot a requirement, we are really evaluating your skills to learn quickly, use searchengines and StackOverflow, and problem solve—all on your own.

 

Begin by installing Xamarin.Android andXamarin Studio here: http://xamarin.com/android

 

The installer will take some time, but willinstall Java, the Android SDK, and everything you need to take this test. Itshould work on a Mac or Windows. After using Xamarin Studio with Androidprojects, you may get a prompt saying you must purchase a license, select theoption to start a 30-day trial.

 

General Rules:

  • You may use the internet, books, or any other programming-related material.  Open source projects available on Github, CodePlex, etc. are also fine to use to assist you on each question.
  • Points will be deducted for solutions that include poor programming practices, excessive RAM or CPU usage, or could be considered slow and non-optimized.  Likewise, bonus points may be awarded for excellent software design and quick executing code.
  • You may complete any question in any order, although some questions may build onto answers from previous questions.

 

Question 1 (Sorting data):

  • Create a C# console project in Xamarin Studio. This will just run natively on your desktop.
  • Prompt the user to enter several “words” separated by spaces
  • When the user presses , sort the words alphabetically
  • Print out the sorted words, and prompt the user for a new set of words
  • The application will continue to prompt for more words, until the user types the word “exit”
  • Make your program user-friendly, your text printed at the console should be nicely formatted and easy to understand

 

Question 2 (Importing data):

  • Create a C# console project in Xamarin Studio. This will just run natively on your desktop.
  • You are given a large text file containing address data for many different stores in the United States.  Look in “Question 2\Stores.txt”, you may also see the layout of this file described in “Stores.xls”.
  • Create the necessary tables to store the information in SQLite. Use proper data types, primary keys, indexes, etc., as your schema design is taken into account.  Make sure to trim blank spaces out of each column, and handle the possibility of bad data.
  • Create a console application that will load this text file into SQLite, you must load the file and insert each row from C# code.  No import tools or classes can be used, you will have to read the file from C# and parse the data by hand (or via an open source project if desired).  You may use any method you wish to connect to the database.
  • Part of the challenge in this problem is to find an appropriate C# library for working with SQLite and integrate it into your project.
  • Speed is a priority, so make sure the time it takes for the entire file to load is printed in the console window on completion.  Full time format in HH:MM:SS.mmm is preferred.

 

 

Question 3 (Importing more data):

  • Create a C# console project in Xamarin Studio. This will just run natively on your desktop.
  • Building onto your existing SQL database, you will have to keep track of order information for each store fromQuestion 2.
  • You will have to parse the Orders.xml file located in the “Question 3” folder.  You may use any method you wish for parsing the xml.  You should not have to worry about malformed xml.
  • An order contains the following: