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cheers
Chris Maunder
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Holy crap - is this your best work 
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I'd claim the opposite.
Algorithms require understanding.
Clean code only training.
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Maybe we have different experiences 
cheers
Chris Maunder
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Well, they actually depend on each other. If you don't understand what you're doing, the code will certainly appear as unclean
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Agreed, to add to that:
- Algorithms and data structures are topics easy to look up and teach.
- OO and SOLID concepts are somewhat abstract and open to interpretations, some people never get it, others take a long time to really understand how to leverage it. Much harder to teach.
- Clean and understandable code is on of the rarest trait to find. It's a gem and I would surely not waste it.
To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems - Homer Simpson
Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction - Francis Picabia
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That's who I'd for, but I'd add that most basic data structures have already got perfectly good implementations. You don't normally need to know how a HashMap works inside, only what circumstances that you should use it for.
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The one with the big t*ts.
Because ... 
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Because the guy with the big t*ts looks like he spends more time at his desk?
This space for rent
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I can't believe noone asked yet what the product is.
Are you building missile control systems, or a CMS?
I'd say that is quite important for choosing.
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Not enough information.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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TheOnlyRealTodd wrote:
Candidate A...has the software engineering side of things down, but he knows nothing about algorithms or data structures...
How is this even remotely possible? Perhaps he is not truly an engineer. I would further postulate that a programmer generally precedes an engineer, and a programmer most assuredly knows about algorithms and data structures.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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Actually that's quite possible. Maybe it shouldn't be and they shouldn't be called engineers, but there are lots of self-called "Engineers" that actually barely know how to code, yet they are able to talk a lot on how to write maintainable code, unit tests etc... but somebody else probably needs to write the code for them if they are doing anything more complex than a "Hello world" application.
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TheOnlyRealTodd wrote: You're a hiring manager
If you're one of these then you'd probably wouldnt have a clue as to what the difference is between the two so you'd hire the cheapest! 
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Hire the girl, they can be a pleasure to work with and we need some gender balance in our industry. If one is not a girl then throw em back until you get one.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Well, you could always ask who of the two is willing to undergo a gender transformation 
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
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Hiring manager: The one who asks for smaller paycheck.
Me: I would give A some time and read up about one of the algorithms that you might be using. If he can pick it up in say 30 minutes (at least bare basics) I would know if he is a quick learner. And by pick up I do not mean cram it up; I mean if he can at least tell me why are we doing what we are doing for at least first two steps.
For B, I would ask him to write a complex algorithm. I guess he will be done with it fairly quickly. Then I can ask him to refactor it and make it cleaner.
Post these two tasks, I might have a better understanding of whom to hire.
"It is easy to decipher extraterrestrial signals after deciphering Javascript and VB6 themselves.", ISanti[ ^]
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Depends on the work they have to do.
Personally, I've never needed to write a (complex) algorithm in my professional life (as they're all already implemented in .NET), so candidate A would be my pick.
Other algorithms, like file compression or whatever, written by people who can code AND know their algorithms, can be downloaded from GitHub 
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I'd hire A. From my experience, algorithms can be taught, high-levl mentality can't. While A surely will simply use std::vector, B will run a custom variant of everything except malloc (and maybe even that) resulting in an unmaintainable mess of code. A, on the other hand, will produce clear, reviewable and debugable code. While B's solution may squeeze a couple of milliseconds runtime out of the same platform, A's solution will squeeze out man-years or productivity of actually getting things done.
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That largely depends on how complex the algorithms will be.
If we are talking about relatively complex stuff (R/B trees, etc.) then hire the data/algo guy.
Otherwise, hire the SOLID code one.
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Something's wrong with your interview process. It seems unlikely that a candidate could have mastered object oriented design without understanding encapsulation of algorithms. It seems like someone willing to learn should have picked up object oriented design. You clearly didn't ask the right questions at interviews.
Don't hire either of these unqualified candidates.
In addition, fire the interviewers.
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What's the job? What's the schedule?
Candidate B needs ramping up.
Candidate A may hit the ground running.
Got any "specs"?
Insufficient information.
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As a manager or architect, I would personally hire A, since again, algorithms can be taught, and clean code will provide the right structure to allow the most appropriate algorithm to be used in the most appropriate place.
That being said, the industry seems obsessed with hiring B. In many cases, and I have personal experience here, you can't make it through the final interview if you aren't B.
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You are filling a void. You mention nothing of the team, or the size of the team.
Which of the two candidates is likely to GIVE and TAKE from the team in positive ways.
How amenable to tutoring are the two candidates?
Code Reviews will help keep the clean code function, which is easier to teach algorithms.
Which candidate is most likely to appreciate the growth they need to do the most?
Which one has the longest work cycles and the best references?
I could hire either, depending on the impact I am willing to absorb, and the effect on the team. If one is a self-righteous SOB, then he will fit right in (LOL, just kidding), we would pass.
Bring them both in. Toss them in a conference room with a butter knife and ONE envelope...
Inside the envelope: "You are too aggressive for our team, choose the other person!" LOL
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