• Origin story: Ada Lovelace is considered to be the first programmer ever as she created "Algorithm for the Analytical Engine", the first-ever programming language in 1883.
• Widely popular: As of 2019, according to State of the Developer Nation, there are more than 27 million programmers in the world. India and China have 32.67% of the total programmers in the world.
• Top programming languages: Languages like Python, Java, C/C++, Go, SQL, NoSQL, JavaScript, etc. are used by tech companies.

• Research and development: Research relies on data, and machines can help researchers aggregate, analyze, synthesize, and visualize data.
• Marketing and business operations: Programmers can help businesses manage operations by building apps and tools for internal use or customer-facing solutions.

The following are some of the tools used by programmers at various stages of development:

1. Code Editors

• Sublime - is a cross-platform text editor for code, markup, and prose with tons of plugins. It supports many programming and markup languages.
  
• VS Code - developed by Microsoft is an IDE that supports all operating systems like Windows, Linux, macOS, etc. It is highly customizable and extensible.  

2. GUI tools for database management

• Sequel Pro for Mac - is open-source fast database management for working with MySQL and MariaDB databases.
• SQL Editor - allows programmers to run Structured Query Language (SQL) statements in a Zen database.

3. Unit testing tools

• NUnit - is an evolving unit testing framework for writing and running tests in Microsoft, written in C#. 
• Quilt - is a Java software development tool that measures coverage, and the extent to which unit testing exercises the software under test.

4. Deployment tools

• AWS CodeDeploy - is a deployment service that automates deployment to various services like Amazon EC2 and Amazon Fargate. It makes it easier for programmers to rapidly release new features, helps you avoid downtime during deployment, and handles the complexity of updating their applications.
• Octopus Deploy - is an automated deployment and release management tool used to simplify the deployment of ASP.NET applications Windows Services and databases.

Below are some key points that we at Flexiple have learned through trial and error - a process of filtering through over 15,000 programmers.

• Years of software development experience: Be specific about the technology you’re looking for and the number of years of experience needed when you hire programmers. A proxy to years of experience can be the number of production-level apps worked on.
• Expertise in a specific language: All languages have their peculiarities and nuances. While good programmers can pick up many languages, it’s a plus point to hire a programmer who already has expertise in some of them.
• Type of products built in the past: Based on the type of product you are trying to build - social network, SAAS product, etc. - you can prioritize certain programmers over others.
• Exposure to specific industries: Programmers who have built products in certain industries will already know key aspects of laying the foundation for a great product and will be able to predict possible problems.
• Experience working remotely: A programmer with past remote work experience is an added advantage as they would have first-hand experience of everything - right from how contracts work to streamlined communication, as well as timelines and deliverables.
• Strong communication: An essential thing to look at when hiring a freelancer is excellent communication skills. Since all the interaction happens online, a freelancer should be able to effectively communicate to ensure a streamlined execution of all work.

Now that you have made a quality JD, it can still be tricky to evaluate the skills of your applicants when you hire programmers. To help you with that, we have created a pool of questions that a good programmer should be comfortable with.

It is important to note that the ability to answer these questions doesn't imply that you have a top quality candidate. But it definitely is a big step in that direction.

To help you navigate through these questions, we’ve categorized the interview questions in 3 parts:

A. Basic concepts: Includes all basic concepts used across languages. This section will give you an understanding of how strong their programming foundation is.

B. Advanced concepts: Includes all concepts that someone with higher expertise should know.

C. DS/Algorithm questions: To test the logical capability of the candidate.

A. Basic concepts

What are views in MySQL?

Views in MySQL help you return a particular set of rows based on the query executed. Rather than returning all the relevant records, MySQL only returns the desired set of records.

Furthermore, aliases can be set to columns to make the data more readable.

The below code can be used to create a view

CREATE [OR REPLACE] VIEW view_name AS    
SELECT columns    
FROM tables    
[WHERE conditions];  

What are "Options" in REST APIs?

Options is an HTTP method that fetches all the various HTTPS options/operations that are supported. This helps the client decide which operations can be used.

REST Option methods are also used for Cross-origin Resource Sharing (CORS).

B. Advanced concepts

What is the difference between AJAX and REST?

AJAX

• Requests are sent to the server using the XMLHttpRequest object. Javascript later interprets the response and changes the page dynamically
• AJAX supports asynchronous requests and thereby does not require constant client-server interactions
• AJAX dynamically updates the UI without reloading the page

REST

• REST uses a URL and a request/response pattern to access resources
• REST requires a constant client-server interaction
• REST requests data or information from the server and then updates it

What are trie data structures in Java?

A trie is a data structure that stores data in an ordered tree structure, taking advantage of the keys that it stores. The node's position in a tree defines the key which is associated with the node and the descendants of the node have a common prefix.

Because of this structure, trie’s offer better performance and are also significantly faster at retrieving data.

However, the only disadvantage of using a trie, is that it requires more storage space.

C. Data Structure/ Algorithm

1. Write a program to find whether a string or number is palindrome or not.

import java.util.Scanner;
public class Palindrome {
    public static void main (String[] args) {
        String original, reverse = "";
 Scanner in = new Scanner(System.in);
       int length;
        System.out.println("Enter a number or a string");
        original = in.nextLine();
        length = original.length();
        for (int i =length -1; i>;=0; i--) {
            reverse = reverse + original.charAt(i);
        }
        System.out.println("The reverse is: " +reverse);

        if(original.equals(reverse))
            System.out.println("The string is a palindrome");
        else
            System.out.println("The stringis not a palindrome");

    }
}

Output:
For String- Enter a number or a string
sam
The reverse is: mas
The string is not a palindrome

For Number-Enter a number or a string
99
The reverse is: 99
The number is a palindrome 

2.What will the output of the following code be?

var p = 2;
var q = 4;
var r = 6;
if (p > q > r)
     document.write("true");
else
    document.write("false");

The answer is False. It may look like the output can be true because 6 > 4 > 2 is true, but PHP evaluates $z > $y 
first, which returns a boolean value of 1 or true. This value (true or 1) is compared to the 
next integer in the chain, bool(1) > $z, which will result in NULL and echo “false.”

That is everything you need to know about hiring a freelance programmer. As discussed, it isn't easy to find a quality freelance programmer but this guide makes the process easier for you. To offload the entire hiring process, reach out to us at Flexiple. We've designed a high-quality, 6-step screening process to find the top 1%, freelance programmers. You can find the best freelance Programmershere. We've already served over a hundred clients, earning great reviews for the quality of service.

Lastly, to quickly summarize the process of hiring a programmer for you:

• Note your project requirements and hire accordingly. Do not go for the lowest or the highest-paid programmer.
• Don’t hire without vetting- consider asking questions right from the basics to advanced to logical questions.
• Look for companies like Flexiple that help you find the perfect fit when you hire programmers.

Happy hiring! :)