While applying for an Android Developer job position, a recruiter called me and said: i had just received your CV and we are currently looking for Android developer but first you have to do a coding exam just press on the link and you will do the exam if you pass it we will make it up for an interview.

I was extremely satisfied until i saw the exam and it was full of hard alogirthm functions and data structure. In which i don't remember

Do you think after years of experience and projects such exams are still required?

Hard to tell without seeing the questions.

I do believe though exams like that should be required in most cases.

Companies are looking for people who know how to program, think and use their brain/creativity in general.

Just because you know all the syntax of a language and libraries out of your head doesn't actually mean you're a good programmer.

@8BitOverdose Knowing how to write complex algorithms doesnt necessarily make you a good programmer either. You could write an amazing algorithm which is super fast and super efficient, and has zero tests and is completely unmaintainable by anyone other than you. To me thats a bad programmer who I dont want on my team.
For me its finding a decent balance of knowing your basic library features, knowing how to solve certain problems, and having an understanding of clean code and professional practice. Passing an algorithms exam is not sufficient.

@CrashOverride
That is very true as well.

I still think a lot depends on the industry.

If you're going for game development, sure, barely anyone will care about the way you approached the problems and wrote your code.
As long as it's readable and others can work with it.

But imagine you would go into the medical sector and every millisecond latency could make a difference between life and death (I know it probably isn't like that but let's just assume something like this). In that scenario anyone would prefer that amazing genius that could write the most optimized code

@8BitOverdose As someone who has written ipad apps for paramedics, my biggest wish is that the devs before me had kept better care of the tests and made the code more maintainable. Our company recently lost that ambulance service as a client because the application was so bug ridden that the clinical risk of using it in the field was just too high, and they werent willing to wait for us to build them a new app using our new platform. With things like that, I would argue that maintainability and stability are just as important as low latency and precision. But I get what you are saying.

I personally feel general aptitude test is a must..

I find it curious that they give you a coding challenge over email and not in person... most times they interview you, they rather want to see how you would accomplish the task but it's rather so they can see your analytic skills or if you are asking questions and can work in a team. Beware of companies that give you algorithm coding challenges because those can be real problems you are solving for them for free. Happened to a friend of mine.