questions for a junior developer position

[Spudhead]

We're looking to take on a junior front-end developer; the usual skillset based around HTML, CSS and JS. As well as a face-to-face interview and examples of work, I'd like to gauge applicants through a written test. This should hopefully identify those with a genuine understanding of the required technologies.

I've made a start on a few questions but I'm starting to run a bit dry. I'm looking to strike a balance between straight factual questions that could be answered by knowing where to look in the relevant documentation, and questions that would indicate a degree of experience - common sense stuff that can't be book-learnt but that any half-decent developer should be aware of. I also want to get a wide range of difficulty - some simple, absolute basics stuff, and some that would suggest a particularly excellent knowledge - although I would stress that this is for a junior position and we'd be looking mainly at first-jobbers.

I'd really appreciate any comments on the questions below, and especially your suggestions for other questions I could ask.


HTML

1. In a form with a file input field, What should the form's enctype attribute be?

2. Where do you use the label tag?


CSS

3. Define the CSS float property and suggest an example of its use.

4. What are the 4 possible values for the position property?


Javascript

5. Illustrate the shorthand syntax for variable assignment via an IF statement.

6. What is the prototype property of an object used for?

7. Name three common javascript framework libraries.


General

8. Describe three documented bugs with IE6 and suggest a fix or workaround for each.

[VIPStephan]

Honestly, I wouldn’t know from mind what encryption type to use for a file input because I’ve never really had to use them when creating a site. But I would know where to look and get that info within a minute or so. Don’t know if that question is something that denotes a good developer. I mean, how often do you have file inputs? And more importantly: What does it matter to the front-end developer what encryption type to use? I’d think that’s more a concern of the back-end guy.

In my personal opinion one very important fact that distinguishes a good developer from a bad developer is the understanding of semantic HTML. What it is, why it’s good, and how to approach it (i. e. a simple task could be to get a design comp and the applicant should describe in a few sentences how he would mark up the document (where to use which divisions, headlines, tables etc.); a more complex one could be to have him/her code a relatively simple page – depends on how much time there is for the test).

Another kind of question could be to show the applicant some layout and ask him/her if it would be appropriate to use a certain HTML element (e. g. table or whatever) and why.

You could also ask what a DOCTYPE is, why it, and which one should be used for a certain kind of document. Also, as a basic level question you could ask for the difference of an inline and a block-level element and have th applicant name three examples of each.

As to CSS questions, I’m not so sure. … Ah, just got a good one: What are collapsing margins and how do they affect the visible outcome? You could also have the applicant code a simple menu with graphical rollover buttons to check his/her ability to use image replacement methods.

JS wise I can’t contribute very much as I’m not that proficient at it myself.