title: What questions should an expert in STL be expected to answer, in an interview
body: <p>I was looking at a job posting recently and one of the requirements was that a person be a 9/10 in their knowledge of STL.</p>
  
  <p>When I judge my skills, to me a 10 is someone that writes advanced books on the subject, such as Jon Skeet (C#), John Resig (JavaScript) or Martin Odersky (Scala).</p>
  
  <p>So, a 9/10 is basically a 10, so I am not certain what would be expected at that level.</p>
  
  <p>An example of some questions would be found at: <a href="http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.414500.47" rel="noreferrer">http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?joel.3.414500.47</a></p>
  
  <p>Obviously some coding will be needed, but should everything be expected to be memorized, as there is quite a bit in STL.</p>
  
  <p>In some cases Boost libraries extend STL, so should it be expected that I would be using Boost also, as I may sometimes confuse which function came from which of the two libraries.</p>
  
  <p>I am trying to get an idea if I can answer questions that would be expected of a STL expert, though it is odd that being a C++ expert wasn't a requirement.</p>
  
  <p><strong>UPDATE</strong></p>
  
  <p>After reflecting on the answers to my question it appears that what they may be looking for is someone that can see the limits of STL and extend the library, which is something I haven't done. I am used to thinking within the limits of what STL and Boost give me and staying within the lines. I may need to start looking at whether that has been too limiting and see if I can go outside the box.  I hope they don't mean a 9 as Google does. :)</p>