If you were at an interview and were asked what you would need to think of to program a lift what would you say?

I...I don't understand the question at all.

Im sorry. Im not so clear on it either. A mate got asked it at an interview. Hope its worded a bit better below.

If you went to an interview and they said to you:

We have a lift. What do you need to think of if you had to program it?

What answer would you give?

How tall is the building?

How many floors will the lift stop at?

How many lifts does the building have?

Is it for freight or passengers?

What is the desired lift capacity (weight and volume/dimensions)?

What is the lift mechanism? Max ascent/descent speed? Safety interlocks?

What is the desired transit time? Floor-to-floor, top-to-bottom?

Is there an express mode?

Are there security requirements? Preferred implementation? (keycard, keypad with pin, bio ID)?

Call scheduling, movement optimisation. What is desired max wait time when the lift is called.

Emergency cut-off procedures? Emergency communications?

I'm sure you can think of more.

Surely the most important question is which OS the elevator is running?

Whether it should have a supply of vomit bags in case it goes into an infinite loop.

This is a fairly standard interview question for computer engineers. It's common enough that I am shocked few have heard it before. Then again, it is sort-of specific to engineers working with hardware control systems and other such things. The "correct" answer is varied and often shows what sort of engineer the person answering it is. You won't be likely to get direct answers to questions about desired lift capacity or anything like that. It is a scenario where you would discuss how you would go about designing such a system and the major things you are likely to use. You are expected to know what is "important" and what is not... that is part of the question. Back in school we spent a whole day in one class discussing these sorts of questions and how to handle them correctly.

Whatever you do, don't declare the floor number as an unsigned integer - things could get hairy, quickly.