Focus Backend Engineer Exercises

Both exercises involve implementing code and then verifying that the written test cases pass as expected.

All tests are located in test_backend_engineer_interview.py

Structure

backend-engineer-interview/
  backend_engineer_interview/
    app.py
    handlers.py - Routes should be implemented here
    models.py - Database models, new models should be added here
  tests/
    test_backend_engineer_interview.py - Test cases for the exercises
  app.db - initialized sqlite db
  openapi.yaml - Open API specifications

In person exercise

Pair programming task (candidate drives) where the goal is to implement a function that splits a start and end date around a specified split date.

Pair Programming Exercise Instructions

Implement handlers.split_start_end_dates. Use the test cases in TestSplitDates to verify your work. The exercise is complete when they all pass.

Async Exercise

Exercise is meant to be completed asynchronously and then brought to the follow up interview. The exercise can be completed using any IDE, but this repo includes settings for VSCode.

The overall structure of the API has routes defined in openapi.yaml which are then wired to python functions with operationId. For an example, look at the provided /v1/status endpoint.

Setup Instructions

1. Install python@3.9.7. This can be managed with asdf and asdf-python
2. Install poetry
3. Run poetry config virtualenvs.in-project true
4. Run poetry install --no-root. Installing the dependencies will take a few minutes.
5. Run poetry run python -m backend_engineer_interview to bring up the API server

Async Exercise Instructions

1. Complete the get_employee endpoint in handlers.py. The table model and response model already exist. To verify that it's working as expected, all of the TestGetEmployee tests should pass.
2. Implement the patch_employee. To verify that it's working as expected, all of the TestPatchEmployee tests should pass.
3. Implement the post_application API definition and implement the handler. To verify that it's working, all of the TestPostApplication tests shuold pass.

FAQ

• How do I reset the database?

  Delete the app.db file and run poetry run alembic upgrade head

• What URL are the docs at?

  http://localhost:1550/v1/docs

• How do I see an example response?

  If you would like to see the example response generated from the open API definition. Simply comment out operationId.

• How do I create new tables from models?

  New tables can be generated by running poetry run alembic revision --autogenerate -m "Revision name" and then poetry run alembic upgrade head