What question would you ask this person to determine the level of fluency he has in Perl?
I would suggest a few open questions with no right-or-wrong answers. To get you started:
What is your favorite useless (or not-so-useless) Perl module? Why? (e.g., Acme::Bleach)
Who is your favorite module author, and why? (e.g., Conway, because he solves wonderful problems I didn't know I had, and the journey is often more interesting than the solution, which is never trivial.)
Did you follow or participate in the Quiz of the Week? If so, which was your favorite Quiz? Why?
When is Perl the right tool for the job? When is it not?
If Larry could go back in a time machine and change one thing about Perl, what would you want him to change? Why? (e.g., add a multiline comment facility)
Encourage both serious and non-serious responses. It's not so much what is said, but whether there is experience lurking behind the answers.
If the interviewee seems capable of talking at length about almost any aspect of Perl, you've got a winner. If "Larry who?" comes up, you *may* have spotted a fake.
-QM
--
Quantum Mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of
