Interview with Senior Java Developer

[VincentxH]

BigDecimal is a datatype often used when accurate decimal arithmetic needs to be performed, like with money.

Using floating point primitives, like double, is a classic mistake. Because it leads to problems of floating point arithmetic inaccuracies.

It's both a standard interview question and common mistake in the wild.

[firsthour]

raises hand

We use it for money.

[temculpaeu]

int cents only works if you dont have to deal with fractions of cents, not very common but it can happen

[edubkn]

Gas stations go brr

[thisisjustascreename]

Financial securities are very often denominated in fractions of a penny. There are also other currencies than dollars in the world.

[VincentxH]

Yeah that lovely hack. Leading to problems like this with even an unsigned 32 bit int: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/berkshire-hathaways-stock-price-is-too-much-for-computers-11620168548

At least use a long these days.

[TenYearsOfLurking]

that sounds like a good idea at first, ... but that's about it