These guys want you to do a large amount of programming in fairly unmarketable subjects before you get an interview at less then software dev avg rate 70k for entry 85 for mid level. They reached out to me on stack overflow. I thought the subject was interesting so I took a break from marketable things like spring and .net, and I went ahead and made programs that read binary files, decrypt binary files using Linear feedback shift registers. transcribe their encoded documents, break binary files and transcribe their decoded pictures, and performed everything that the document requested. I went an extra mile to write the stuff in java with good oop concepts and design patterns using concepts of the generation, and made translating algos since java has different hex storing properties then C that requires trimming and conversions. I program with micro controllers on the side arms, ti, micron, arduino so it wasn't to far out of scope for me, and have 10 years in NSA and cybercom going for entry level, so encryption for the sake of encryption is not new to me. They responded with a generic note saying we accept less then 1% of applicants, and one sentence from the recruiter actually referring to code feedback "He failed to demonstrate a solid grasp on working with binary data". not very enlightening for writing 1000 lines of code implementing encryption from the 80s, with the end result exactly what the document requires, but its good to know there are so many companies willing to take you through a bunch of hoops. If you have work that requires a challenge demonstration great, but don't waste peoples time doing extensive coding., if your intention is to hire 1% of the people that are jumping through hoops for you, perhaps you can break your required proof of demonstration into smaller chunks and levels, and disclose that upfront, so were not wasting our time taking your seriously, with something the company perceives as a lotto selection. We are not looking to play games and lotto with you, we are looking for work.